Biotin and hair thinning (women)

squirrelzzrule22
squirrelzzrule22 Posts: 640 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Wondering if any women take Biotin for hair growth and what their experience has been. I've been shedding more than usual lately since going off the pill for the first time in a few years (a common side effect.) I'm hoping Biotin might combat that, but I've read mixed reviews and already take a multi vitamin, iron around TOM, probiotic gummies, and fish oil for my skin so I don't want to add another pill to take unless I will reap benefits! Experiences?

Replies

  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
    I do take it. When I go in for color my stylest has commented on how healthy it is compared to when I didn't take it. I also notice that I can't go as long between nail fills as I used to either. I use Trader Joe's brand.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I started taking it about a year ago mostly because my nails are normally super thin and weak. Also, as the number of grey hairs increases on my head the texture of my hair has been changing and I wanted to see if it would help.

    I've always had thick, fast growing hair and in the past year I've seen some of the thinning that comes with age reduce and my hair is growing even faster (not necessarily a good thing since I now have to color it more often :laugh: ) It's made a huge difference in my nails. They grow faster and are definitely stronger. I can feel more resistance when I press down on them to bend them. (Yes, they are that thin!) I haven't had a nail split or break in months, either. I started out taking the Hair, Skin and Nails formula that is sold at Costco. Since my multivitamin already covers many of the vitamins and minerals in that, I switched a few months ago to a 5000 mcg Biotin-only tablet that melts on your tongue.
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  • squirrelzzrule22
    squirrelzzrule22 Posts: 640 Member
    Thanks for the feedback! I have naturally thick hair and have always shed a fair amount, but lately its been way more than usual so I think I will give it a shot. I got a 1000mg tablet from whole foods and I think I will start with one per day and then up it to two before trying out the larger pills- the ones I saw ranged from 500mg to 10000 so I went with one in the middle!
  • focusedonfitness2015
    focusedonfitness2015 Posts: 240 Member
    My hairdresser swears by it and says she has clients that use it all the time and she's seen a huge difference. I finally bit the bullet and started taking it. Too recent to notice any changes. I have fine and thin hair, always have, and I'd love to see a positive change. Wondering though.....does it make the hair on your legs, etc thicker as well? Why would it discriminate against what hair grows thicker or longer? It would have to affect all the hair on your body, right?
  • squirrelzzrule22
    squirrelzzrule22 Posts: 640 Member
    My hairdresser swears by it and says she has clients that use it all the time and she's seen a huge difference. I finally bit the bullet and started taking it. Too recent to notice any changes. I have fine and thin hair, always have, and I'd love to see a positive change. Wondering though.....does it make the hair on your legs, etc thicker as well? Why would it discriminate against what hair grows thicker or longer? It would have to affect all the hair on your body, right?

    Hah! I have no clue....its a funny question. I guess it probably wouldn't make a huge difference in how often I shave because I will still shower the same amount?
  • JOLUBUG3
    JOLUBUG3 Posts: 16 Member
    I take Womens daily chewable vitamins with Biotin that I purchased at Walmart....and also wash my hair with beautiful lengths shampoo by Pantene. I have noticed a huge difference in my hair its so pretty now and growing quickly. My nails are longer as well.:flowerforyou: My hair loss was due to a medication I was on I normally have very thick hair.
  • jamie_lee80
    jamie_lee80 Posts: 176 Member
    I take GNC Ultra nourish hair vitamins, 2 every morning and a folic acid pill. I notice a huge difference in my hair and nails. The downfall is that I have to have my roots touched up a lot more frequently now.
  • dimple_gal
    dimple_gal Posts: 139 Member
    I suffered from this problem after going off the pill, stress, peri-menopause, etc. I tried the Invati products at Aveda (OK but expensive), other hair and skin formulas, but I now swear by the Natures Bounty Hair Skin and Nails Gummy Chews. My hair is finally looking like it's old self, and my nails are amazing - even after removing gel manicures they are stronger than ever. And they taste good too! haven't noticed the hair on my legs changing - that's funny! You do have to give it some time though, it will take a few months for hair to improve.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    I have been on/off with Biotin. I have noticed my hair thinning and falling out more. I find when I take Biotin, I get horrible acne. I take 1000mcg's once a day (when i do take Biotin). I noticed increasing my calories really helps. When I went from a 500 calorie deficit to a 250 deficit, this made by far the most difference.
  • rlynnehawk
    rlynnehawk Posts: 71 Member
    I take it and have noticed a positive difference!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I took it for a while and did not notice any difference. One thing recommended for hair that did seem to help was MSM, which my doctor suggested for joint issues. The main thing that stopped my shedding was raising my fat and protein macros, especially the fat. I used to eat about 15% of my total calories in fat and since I upped it to 30% I have not had a shed. My pony used to be just over 2" in diameter and now it is just shy of 3".
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    It works for me, since the birth of my 3rd child (4 years ago) my hair just never grew back to how it was pre pregnancy. It fell out so much and looked so thin, biotion stopped it falling out so much hence thicker hair.

    I somehow forgot to keep taking it and my hair started falling out again, I'm back to taking it daily. Just remember to be patient as it might take a good few weeks and/or even months to see the difference.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    My hairdresser swears by it and says she has clients that use it all the time and she's seen a huge difference. I finally bit the bullet and started taking it. Too recent to notice any changes. I have fine and thin hair, always have, and I'd love to see a positive change. Wondering though.....does it make the hair on your legs, etc thicker as well? Why would it discriminate against what hair grows thicker or longer? It would have to affect all the hair on your body, right?
    That's a good question but I haven't noticed any difference in the hair on the rest of my body. As another poster pointed out, I'm going to shave with the same frequency, regardless.

    It really will take several months to notice any real difference, especially in your nails. It takes several months or so for the growth at your cuticles to reach the end of your finger, or for a black toenail to grow out, so it's going to take at least that long before any real difference is noticed in the strength of your nails.

    I hadn't given a though to the correlation between taking Biotin and acne. I've always suffered with it and it has been worse lately. Looks like I need to do a little more research on that one.
  • jigsawxyouth
    jigsawxyouth Posts: 308 Member
    The healthiest my have has been was when I was pregnant

    (seriously, after I had my son, I was shedding so bad)

    I started taking Nature Made Hair, Skin, and Nails formula (and their women's multi vitamin because it's the only brand that doesn't make me nauseous) and it has really helped in all three departments. My nails grow much faster (normally, they're thin like egg shells), I recently had a trim up on my hair, which really helped with any shedding , and my skin is on point!
  • squishprincess
    squishprincess Posts: 371 Member
    if you're going to take it, start slow and make sure you drink A LOT of water. like more than you normally would. because it's more than likely going to break you out like it does so many other people. you want to be flushing out the excess. personally i only took it for maybe a month, because i was tired of battling the acne if i slipped up on drinking water. i just make sure to eat a lot of foods that promote strong healthy hair. eggs, salmon, walnuts, just lots of good sources of protein. and lentils/beans, sweet potatoes, spinach, blueberries. things like that. i'm sure you can find some lists online that tell you which foods you can add to your diet more to help. i've been struggling with what i believe to be TE (telogen effluvium) for several long months, and i hope it's starting to slow. it's why i started taking biotin but ended up stopping. sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for your body to try and figure things out and it kinda sucks. cus 6 or 7 months down the road, although the thinning has slowed, it still happens. so i feel your pain when it comes to thinning hair/shedding because i used to have THICK thick hair i was so proud of and now well..... i hope you find what works for you. wishing you the best!

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