The Truth about Hair Vitamins

Photo by ocf.berkeley.edu

Hair Vitamins are all the buzz right now. But what's the deal? Do they really work? If so, how? And what are the side effects? We are going to cover all of that and more right here, so keep reading!

As you probably know, the key ingredient in hair vitamins is biotin. Biotin (or B7 or Vitamin H) is a B complex vitamin that improves the keratin infrastructure (Keratin is a protein that makes up hair, skin and nails.) So, in a nutshell, biotin strengthens the hair, providing a couple of benefits:

1. Prevents breakage
2. Thickens hair

As a matter of fact, one of the first things that you'll notice when you start taking hair vitamins is that your hair is thicker!

These days, biotin is showing up in topical products as well, like our own Hot Sauce! 

So this means that the biotin in hair vitamins doesn't necessarily cause your hair to grow faster but it will help you retain length - which accomplishes the same goal of longer hair, so that's all good! Now, some hair vitamins contain other ingredients, like MSM and Vitamin C, which have been proven to assist in increasing the hair growth rate. Using one of these vitamins will be especially beneficial because you're tackling your growth goal from 2 angles:

1. Increased growth
2. Length retention

Tip: If you're using a hair vitamin (and even if you're not), add in a regular scalp massage! Scalp massages help to increase blood flow which will get all those great nutrients that you're intaking to your scalp faster. Plus, it just feels great!

So, now we know what hair vitamins are and that they really do work! But what about possible side effects?

Photo by medicalnewstoday.com

Well, as with the case of most vitamins, your body only can handle so much. Biotin is no different. As a matter of fact, biotin is especially relevant to this conversation. You see, biotin is only one of several B vitamins. And your body absorbs biotin (B7) through the same intestinal receptors that Vitamin B5 is absorbed. So when we increase the amount of biotin in our system, the balance of Vitamin B5 is disturbed creating a B5 deficiency. And (this is the kicker), a B5 deficiency causes acne! So, it isn't the addition of biotin wrecking havoc on your skin, it's the lack of B5. And acne is the most common side effect reported with biotin supplements.

So, what can we do? There are a couple of things actually:

1. Take less biotin. This is the obvious answer! This doesn't mean that you have to completely remove biotin supplements from your regimen, but maybe cut the pill in half or take it every other day.
2. Take a vitamin B5 supplement. This will increase the biotin-b5 balance and calm your skin down.

So, go ahead and take that vitamin to help reach your Repunzel goals! Now you're armed with the knowledge of how your body handles these ingredients and how you can mitigate any side effects! Best of luck!!

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