Biotin Dosage--how much does it take?

[Canarygirl]

I've noticed a huge discrepancy in the amount of biotin added to regular vitamins as well as hair vitamins...anything from 500 micrograms (mcg) to 5 milligrams (mg). :confused:

I would love to hear people's experiences with how big a dose they needed in order to reap the benefits of biotin's growth-enhancing reputation.

Thanks!

[Maddy25]

I take one 5000 mcg everynight. I read that that is the best max dosage :)

I take a lot of vitamins and because I dont measure my hair, it is hard to tell the difference it has made, but I am averaging around 3/4 - 1 " a month which I think its pretty good!

[whiteisle]

I'm sure it depends a lot on the person and their particular needs. I take a 5mg capsule in addition to whatever is in my prenatals (800mcg I think). It's water soluable so whatever your body doesn't need gets flushed. I'm planning on measuring in a couple of weeks to see if there is any significant improvment. If nothing else, hopefully it will contribute to healthy hair! :)

[wimitlee]

I have been taking 5 mg per day(spaced out 2 mg in am and 3 mg in pm) for several months and it has helped me go from a 1/4 inch per month to:

August-1/2 inch growth
September- 1 inch growth (but trimmed 1/2 inch to even out hemline)
October-already have grown a 1/2 inch these 2 week into the month(measured this am)

Hope that helps:-)

[redneckprincess]

5000 mcg = 5 mg

I take 2 5000 mcg per day used to take more but started having BAD breakouts

[Spring]

I take a hair vitamin with 3mg of biotin, plus I take an additional 2 tablets that equal 2mg. I can't tell if it's a combination of hair vitamins and other supplements or if it's just the biotin that has caused an increase of growth. I just hope it continues, I've had 2 good months so far.

[Canarygirl]

thanks everyone, that does help. :)

[ambychelle]

i started taking it 52 days ago. I can't tell that it's done anything for me to slow down my shedding :( but I do notice that it makes my scalp get oily faster. I was taking 5mg every morning and then went to half in the morning and half in the evening.

Anybody care to share how long it was before you noticed a difference? In a week, it will have been two months for me. Do I need to give it a full three months to tell?

[Spring]

Ambychelle, I'm not certain, but I think at least 3 months should be enough time

[friskybiznus]

I take 1000 mcg per day. The bottle says that is 333% of the RDA, so I just stick to that. Not sure what is contributing, but my hair is definitly getting thicker and the growth is good! No skin breakouts, either - if anything, it's better, too.

[piratejenny23]

Anybody care to share how long it was before you noticed a difference? In a week, it will have been two months for me. Do I need to give it a full three months to tell?

unless it's bothering you, i wouldn't stop at 3 months even if you haven't noticed a difference. i used to lose quite a lot of hair every day, and since taking biotin it has been reduced significantly!

however, it took about 3 months until the fallout slowed down. i wasn't even expecting it to help my hair grow faster, but after about 9 months everyone started commenting on how thick and healthy my hair looked, and how long it was getting. i went from about 1/2" growth per month to 3/4" then 1".

i've been taking 5mg (5000mcg) once per day since last summer, and i've gained at least 9" even after a couple of trims.

[clairenewcastle]

What with not being a fan of taking supplements I was wondering if anyone knew what foods contain biotin?

[clairenewcastle]

Bearing in mind that I am not a fan of taking supplements, does anyone know what foods contain biotin?
Thanks in advance.

[frangipani]

I just googled it, apparently royal jelly and brewer's yeast are high in dietary biotin . mmm, excuse to drink more beer

[clairenewcastle]

Don't know why I asked that twice.....but thanks for the info!

[Spring]

i've been taking 5mg (5000mcg) once per day since last summer, and i've gained at least 9" even after a couple of trims.

Piratejenny23, have you grown 9" since the summer of '09, or '08? If it was the last summer that just past, that is tremendous growth:D.

[ambychelle]

unless it's bothering you, i wouldn't stop at 3 months even if you haven't noticed a difference. i used to lose quite a lot of hair every day, and since taking biotin it has been reduced significantly!

however, it took about 3 months until the fallout slowed down. i wasn't even expecting it to help my hair grow faster, but after about 9 months everyone started commenting on how thick and healthy my hair looked, and how long it was getting. i went from about 1/2" growth per month to 3/4" then 1".

i've been taking 5mg (5000mcg) once per day since last summer, and i've gained at least 9" even after a couple of trims.

Thank you. That's very encouraging at a time when I'm getting very discouraged. I've read several accounts of people who started taking it and within a couple of weeks their shed slowed. The skeptic in my says that their shed would have natrually slowed even without taking the biotin and that it should take at least three months to show any real difference since what our hair is doing now is a reflection of what was happening three months ago and not 14 days ago. But 3-4 months can feel like an eternity when you are losing so much hair every day. I'll keep taking it and hope it makes a difference.

[jojo]

It made no difference at all to me, apart from I grew abcess like spots on my face!

Your better eating a healthy diet!

[Sissy]

I take 600 mcg and my women's multivitamin contains another 600 mcg.

[paperwhite]

I've been taking Biotin for about a month and a half and have noticed less shedding. That said, I've also been a lot gentler on my hair when it's wet, and that's when I saw the most loss. The lost hairs I see when it's dry/nearly dry I chalk up to the hair just naturally falling out and not having anywhere to go. Even added to the wet "shedding" (it was probably me breaking my hair), I think it's decreased since I started taking Biotin.

Also, I haven't had any major skin problems. I did notice a few more very minor breakouts, but that passed really quickly.

[natorade]

I take 1200 mcg and i am only growing 1/2 inch a month so I don't think it is doing much for me. I wish i could take a higher dose to see if it would speed up my growth but even the 1200 breaks me out enough that I have to stop taking the biotin for a few days to stop the outbreaks.

[Sissy]

oh in terms of my growth... with the total 1,200 mcg I take daily I have been getting 1 inch growth per month (and I S&D like crazy so must lose some length from that). However, I can't be CERTAIN that it's all from the Biotin as I've also been taking MSM, Fish Oil, and Evening Primrose Oil for hair growth. I have also been eating a lot of veggies which contain vitamins helpful to hair growth (cucumbers for silica, etc). So, I can't say my results are totally the Biotin, but I can say I have no neg. effects from Biotin usage.

[curlytiff27]

For those that are having break outs from Biotin, try taking Vitamin C with your does. When I first started MSM and Biotin I had this problem, big cycstic acne. When I then added 500 mgs of Vit C (morning and then another 500 at night) I barely get breakouts. And right now I am taking 1000 mgs of MSM (yep, I've started back) and 8000 Mgs of biotin split between the day. HTH! :-)

Oh and also, not getting enough water will also cause the break outs. I'm not taking just your 8 glasses a day...I usually drink over a gallon of water just at work... and when I am consisent, this also helps.

[juliaxena]

I cant get a supplement with dosages that big in my country. I have a pill with 300 micrograms (not miligrams) and it says it's 200% RDA. I have notice there is a big deifference in RDA levels around the world.

[marla]

I currently take 5000 mcg biotin a day and I am thinking of upping it to 10,000 because I want more thickness. Has anyone taken this high a dose? I am wondering if it would be safe.

[omgkfclolz]

I currently take 5000 mcg biotin a day and I am thinking of upping it to 10,000 because I want more thickness. Has anyone taken this high a dose? I am wondering if it would be safe.
it is safe.... biotin is b vitamins. it's non toxic. i think the body can only handle up to 5000 mcg and the rest is disposed of in the urine, so the extra that your taking is really just a waste, safe it for the next day.

[Amberlynnskie]

I take 1 5000mcg (or 5mg) capsul a day of biotin, and I have continuously for 2 years now. I swear by biotin!! I've never measured my growth, but I know it is fast. In two yrs. my hair went from around apl to tb.

I forgot to say that I trim my hair an inch every 4 to 6 months also.