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Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:14 pm  |
More misadventures in beauty. I have long hair, which if I blow dry correctly, looks thick and lush. But the strands are rather thin, so I wanted stronger hair. I heard biotin was great for this, and I bought a jar at the health store.
Well--I got a nasty case of cystic acne almost immediately, and it stopped after I ceased taking it. I read some online forums, which suggested my body needed to get *used* to the additional biotin, so I tried again months later, and still, the same thing happened.
Is this a thing, or am I just reacting strangely to biotin? Any other suggestions for stronger hair? I would really like my hair to hold up against heat-based tools and windy weather .... |
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Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:46 pm |
I have never personally experienced this because I am not a fan of taking individual vitamins--I always think a multi is best it combines vitamins that work best together--but what you experienced is something I read a lot about on a hair forum I used to frequent. The solution was to balance the biotin with B5.
My recommendation to you would be to take a multi that is meant for healthy hair instead of taking just Biotin as most will contain Biotin as well as other goodies. At the time I joined the forum, I wanted to do everything right so while I had been on a good multi for years and my hair was fine, I tried to find a multi that didn't make me OD on oil-soluble vitamins if taken with my regular overall health multi. The brand that seemed to meet the bill was Great Hair by Vitol. (Click the supplemental facts tab to see what's in it.) I didn't break out taking this but I didn't stick with it because my hair was fine as it was and so it made no difference to it. (Supplements make a difference to you if your body is lacking in the particular elements. Since I try to eat healthy and was already taking a good multi, I really didn't need the extra boost. Besides biotin is in so many of the foods I was eating on a regular basis so perhaps that is why the extra had no effect.) I do wonder if breakouts aren't another sign that you are getting too much.)
Hair, skin and nail supplements are also a good option as they address 3 areas instead of just one. In fact the Vitamin Shoppe's brand IMO is a good brand. It doesn't just have the "usual suspects" you find in HSN vitamins but looks more like a total health vitamin with extra hair useful herbs added. So I suppose it can replace a regular multi....
Yeah, try to get your Biotin from a product that has it balanced with other nutrients. I think you may have better results that way. |
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Fri Nov 22, 2013 1:05 am |
Thanks for your suggestion! I probably will try to balance with B5 in the future--hopefully it work out.
Incidentally, the biotin I bought was actually the GNC brand for hair, skin and nails. Yes, my nails and hair definitely became stronger and more durable, but my skin .... looked terrible, unfortunately. I think I will try again, this time with B5 taken alongside. |
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Fri Nov 22, 2013 2:06 am |
Well, Lagay, if your biotin is part of a HSN supplement, I am sure B5 is already in the product. The examples I was giving were of people who bought Biotin alone and got breakouts then bought B5 on its own and it helped.
Is this the one you are taking?
Perhaps it is the ratio of B5 to Biotin that is too low? Great Hair had 600 mg of B5 to 3 mg of Biotin. That GNC supplement seems to have just 13.5 mg of B5 to 3 mg of Biotin. So maybe getting a 500 mg B5 like this one may be what you need. |
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Fri Nov 22, 2013 2:33 am |
Vitamins in pills are crap.
Get some real stuff aka nettle leaf and horsetail.
Boar bristle brushing as needed. |
_________________
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. |
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Fri Nov 22, 2013 8:31 am |
I had breakouts from biotin so I ended up giving it to the hubby. Not cystic but enough to be a problem nonetheless. He did not have any trouble with it.
I will have to check to see what my B5 intake had been. I take B12 and B6.
I have the same reaction to iodine and algae supplements. |
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Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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Fri Nov 22, 2013 10:13 am |
| Double-checked and B5 is in my multivitamin, so there you go. |
_________________
Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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Mon Nov 25, 2013 9:14 am |
| So my brand was actually Nature Valley, but pretty much the same idea. 15 mcg of B-5. Perhaps I would need more to get the benefits of biotin ... an experiment I will carry out soon! |
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