Does Biotin promote Hair Growth?

Biotin. Ever heard of it? Biotin is a vitamin of the B complex, found in egg yolk, liver, and yeast. It is involved in the synthesis of fatty acids and glucose. It's meant to be good for promoting nail and hair growth.

Biotin deficiencies are rare. But because people with a deficiency often show symptoms of hair loss or a scaly red rash, some doctors and supplement companies recommend increasing your intake. However, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that there is insufficient data to support recommending supplementation. So, with all the scientific nonsense aside, as usual, I'll give you my personal view on the human growth agent itself. 

I started using Biotin about four years ago, in an attempt to help encourage healthy hair growth, at a time when I was showing early stages of male pattern baldness. Just to clarify, Biotin will not cure MPB, but it can certainly help the function of hair follicles and their ability to grow hair faster and stronger. 

I took Biotin in conjunction with various other treatments that I was using, and to be fair, I am not entirely sure if it was Biotin that helped me halt my balding problem. Currently, I do not take Biotin on its own, as I get my daily hit of this vitamin through my usage of HR23+, which contains it. 

I would say, to get the very best results from Biotin, it would be best to take it with a DHT blocker, such as Saw Palmetto. I found that the two work well together to form a even balance that helps prevent hair loss and maintain hair growth. 

Does Biotin have any side-effects? 

Honestly, I haven't noticed any bad side effects at all. The only noticeable things I did pick up on were faster nail growth and facial hair growth - but don't worry, ladies, this stuff won't encourage facial hair on you. 

How much Biotin should you take? 

I started off taking 10,000mcg, but I later found out it was far too much. The human body cannot process that much daily, so most of it goes to waste. I now get my Biotin hit from taking HR23+, which contains around 2000mcg. That is more than enough per day, especially if it is part of a multi-vitamin supplement.

HR23+ Has Changed to Capsules

Ok, so all of a sudden, one of my favourite hair products, HR23+, has changed from tablets to capsules. I wasn't aware of this until I got one of their monthly newsletters the other night, so it did come as a surprise. 

For those of you who aren't too aware about what I am talking about, well, basically, the supplement has now changed from the tablet form to a capsule form. Now, this isn't an additional product added to their range, the new capsules will be replacing the tablets completely, so what we're left with is exactly the same supplement in the way of ingredients and dosage, but the pill itself has changed in appearance. 

old form: tablets

The reason for the conversion from tablets to capsules is quite simple. The company released the statement:

"We've taken our customer feedback on board, and we are now delighted to offer HR23+ Hair Health Supplement in capsule form. Many customers were complaining that our tablets were too difficult to swallow, therefore from mid-February 2016, HR23+ supplement will be of capsule form only. Our new capsules contain exactly the same formula as the original tablets, except the formula is packed into capsules rather than tablets. The capsules are much smaller than the tablets, meaning the daily dosage is spread out over four capsules, rather than two tablets. The capsules are much easier to swallow and are more effective for digestion. They are also suitable for men and women, plus vegans and vegetarians."

new form: capsules

So, there you have it - it's been a simple evolutionary step that does actually make a lot of sense. It's pretty well documented on here how much I love this brand and their products, and if I was to name one thing about it that perhaps could have been improved, that would be that the tablets can sometimes be quite hard to swallow, so the new capsule form totally makes sense. 

I will be ordering my regular three month supply nearer to the end of this month, so I shall keep you all updated as to how I get on with them.