Everyone wants to make sure that their hair looks perfect and thick for the years to come. For this, one has to change many things in life including lifestyle, stress free life, increased physical activity and most important the right diet with adequate amount of minerals and vitals for the life i.e. vitamins.

Our hair needs the right kind of vitamins to ensure that it grows with the right depth and quality. For this, it is important that we must know about the right vitamin for hair i.e. Biotin. Biotin vitamin is the best vitamin for hair growth.

What is Biotin and why we need biotin?

In simple words, biotin is a water soluble B complex vitamin. Biotin is essential for our body for cell growth, for fatty acids and metabolism of amino acids & fats.

Industry of vitamins and supplements are of multi-billion dollar but hardly few people have heard of vitamin H.‘H’ in vitamin H comes from the German word “Haar und Haut” which means hair and skin. It is also referred to as beauty vitamin. Vitamin H is commonly known as Biotin, Vitamin B₇ or Co-enzyme R.

It plays an important role in many complex metabolic processes inside our body, converts the different forms of energy for the regulation of proteins or amino acids. As our hair is made up of protein (keratin), it is necessary to consume the adequate amount of biotin for hair growth.

Biotin Deficiency and Symptoms

If you are suffering from biotin deficiency, you may notice adverse effects like alopecia, dermatitis, loss of appetite and achromotrichia- a condition in which hair pigmentation is lost.

Biotin Interactions

It is still not clear the interactions of biotin with other medications or other dietary supplements. Nevertheless, always talk to your doctor before using any new drug or supplement. There are some drugs that can lower the biotin levels in your body. These include:

• Antibiotics taken for a long time
• Anti-seizure medications like carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and primidone
• Smoking may also lower the biotin levels in your body
• Raw egg whites can prevent the body from absorbing biotin

Possible Biotin Benefits for Hair Growth

Biotin vitamin for hair growth is mostly recommended by the doctors. There are various reasons that why biotin benefits you.

• Biotin produces the “Keratin” protein in the body. This keratin helps to transfer oxygen to the scalp cells known as ‘Dermal papillae’ cells. Dermal papillae cells allow the nutrition, oxygen and blood supply to the hair through hair follicles.
• Biotin also carries away the carbon dioxide from the scalp cells and strengthens them.
• It also forms the protective layer on the top most layers of your tresses, giving them protection from the environmental damage and prevents them from dryness.
• Biotin also gives the volume and length to your hair along with the thickness.
• Biotin helps to augments your hair strength, growth and texture.

Possible Biotin Side Effects for Hair Growth

As you know, there are always pros and cons of everything. We must keep in mind the side effects of the biotin. No doubt, it is mostly referred to as the best biotin for hair or best biotin vitamin. But there are few side effects of the biotin. So it is highly recommended to consult with the physicians before taking any biotin hair growth supplement. If you are taking biotin in combination with other drugs for diabetes, cholesterol or neurological drugs, you may also experience few side effects. Some of the side effects of biotin are:

• You may face symptoms of allergic reactions like itchiness, nausea, rashes, throat infection etc. if you face any of these symptoms then consult your general practitioner.
• Cystic acne on jaw line, chin and cheeks can be another side effect of biotin. So if you are taking the biotin tablets for hair growth, you must drink loads to water in a day to avoid the acne.
• It is highly suggested to discuss with your physician about the biotin levels to consume if you are pregnant. It is believed that uncontrolled biotin levels can lead to miscarriage.

What are the biotin rich foods?

Due to the hectic lifestyle, getting the right kind of food down your neck everyday is little difficult chiefly if you are looking for the right food for hair. Auspiciously, it is quite simple to get the adequate level of biotin. Following are the best and most common biotin rich foods for hair growth;

Food Item		Amount of Biotin (Per 100g)
Peanuts		95 mcg
Almonds		20 mcg
Hazelnuts		81 mcg
Calves Liver		76.1 mcg
Egg Yolk		54 mcg
Shiitake Mushroom		36.6 mcg
Chickpeas		21 mcg
Herring		20 mcg
Oysters		20 mcg
Sweet Corn		6.0 mcg

How much biotin for hair growth is required?
Biotin is even well tolerated at high levels. It is a water soluble vitamin and is excrete out of body via urine. But still it is an urge to consult with doctor and ask the best biotin supplement. The recommended dosage on the basis of an internet survey is;
How much biotin for hair growth is required?
Biotin is even well tolerated at high levels. It is a water soluble vitamin and is excrete out of body via urine. But still it is an urge to consult with doctor and ask the best biotin supplement. The recommended dosage on the basis of an internet survey is;

• Biotin AI (adequate intake) Summary, Ages 0 through 12 Months

• Biotin AI Summary, Ages 1 through 18 Years

• Biotin AI Summary Ages 19 years & older

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK114297/

What steals the biotin from your body?

You should take care while consuming anything or about the things that triggers the deficiency of biotin. Few of them are;

• Alcohol: Alcohol inhibits the absorption and utilization of biotin. It also interferes with the metabolism
• Broad spectrum antibiotics: As our body itself produces biotin in the intestines, various broad spectrum antibiotics like tetracycline, (Demeclocycline, Doxycycline and Methacycline),Amoxicillin/Clavulanic Acid (Augmentin),Vancomycin – will kill the colonies of good bacteria in the gut that help make Biotin.

Pregnancy and Biotin

Biotin is likely safe if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Nonetheless, you should always let your doctor know about any supplements you are taking if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or may become pregnant.

Other Hair Growth Enhancers than Biotin: Physicians often prescribe zinc, magnesium or other multivitamins also to stimulate the hair growth. Except for biotin, there are other effective hair growth promoters like Minoxidil and Finasteride for hair growth which are recommended by doctors. Minoxidil for hair growth is available as OTC while finasteride is available only on prescription by the doctor.