Alternatives to biotin?

[Sprigs]

I have taken biotin for a few weeks on two separate occasions and both times the biotin gave me terrible cystic acne. I am still battling against acne, so I really dont want to try it again.
What are some good alternatives? Im currently taking MSM and getting a lot of new baby hairs, and Im about to start taking a fish oil and evening primrose supplements too.

[Natalia]

Aside from specialty supplements like MSM ans EPO i would just try to make sure you are meeting the general requirents. While biotin is known as the "hair vitamin" if your seriously lacking in anything it will effect your hair. A good multi and reading your supplement lables to make sure your within the upper tolerable intake levels is agreat place to start :). I know thats all pretty non specific and probaly not alot of help but i figure its wirth a mention.

[Sprigs]

My hair seems to grow quite fast anyways (I am growing out a relaxer so it is easier for me to tell), I was just hoping to find something else that causes my hair to grow super-fast like biotin did, without the terrible skin :(
I will wait and see what happens once I start taking the EPO and a fish oil and maybe get a multi-vitamin too.

Thank you for the tips! :)

[Jordan S.]

I've heard you need to take it with B-complex in order to prevent breakouts.

[jojo]

I get the same with biotin shame as I see lots of good frowth with people on here, but I take msm, glucosamie, DE and iron with mollasses and I am getting good results.

[pinchbeck]

I take msm, glucosamie, DE and iron with mollasses and I am getting good results.What is DE? Have you heard that blackstrap (not fancy) molasses is supposed to help prevent gray hair? It would be interesting to know if this is true.

[Vermelha]

You could:
Take a B-Vitamin Complex, which includes Biotin (which kinda go together anyhow).
A Multivitamin with Iron (which increases oxygen flow to the extremities meaning more oxygen and nutrients to the scalp)
Protein, which could either be eating more meat, poultry, legumes and fish or actually taking a protein supplement (Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, etc. etc.) Usually these have Amino Acids, which are the building blocks of healthy skin, hair and body.
Amino Acids, taken alone, can be useful.
MSM, an organic source of sulfur known for lengthening the growth stage of hair.
Oil supplements, like Cod Liver Oil, Fish Oils, Flaxseed Oil, Flax Oil, or any oil with Omega-3s. I hear even Canola Oil has more Omega-3s than Olive Oil...

HTH!

[Arctic_Mama]

Have you tried sticking it out with the biotin? I got terrible acne with biotin as well, but it went away after about a month and hasn't come back since, but my skin has been brighter and my hair has been really benefitting from it, as well.

I take a D vitamin, a B-complex, a hair/skin/nails vitamin, and fish oil. That works well for me during normal times and pregnancy too, and my hair and scalp seems to like them :)

[jojo]

What is DE? Have you heard that blackstrap (not fancy) molasses is supposed to help prevent gray hair? It would be interesting to know if this is true. yes its black strap mollasses i take in pill form for DE see this link http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=34933

[hmmm]

Best alternative for me is to get all the vitamins from food. I eat a lot of fruit and that cleared up my acne considerably - and shows on my hair a lot. I find that eating eggs and fruits regularly makes me get growth spurts.

[Centelleo]

I have taken biotin for a few weeks on two separate occasions and both times the biotin gave me terrible cystic acne. I am still battling against acne, so I really dont want to try it again.
What are some good alternatives? Im currently taking MSM and getting a lot of new baby hairs, and Im about to start taking a fish oil and evening primrose supplements too.

An excess of evening primrose can cause an uptick in hormonal based breakouts due to the high Omega-6 levels. Be careful in your dosage, especially if your fish oil is a "complete" formula with Omega 3-6-9's! I'm dealing with a huge breakout from excessive O6 consumption. I was taking Udo's Choice 3-6-9 (which contains evening primrose) as well as Barleans Cod Liver Oil but when I stopped the Udo's Choice, my skin started clearing up.

[MandyBeth]

Biotin helps my skin actually - but only if I'm getting enough of the B-vitamins in general.

Of my vitamins and such - I take MSM/Gluco (taken for my crabby joints - has kept my large joints flexible, small joints not so much), DE (actually taken for the pest benefit having gone down and gotten dirty in Katrina waters), Biotin, L-lysine, B complex, Calcium, Magnesum, and a pre-natal vitamin. Not going to GET pregnant, but I tolerate that better than most of the other forms of "women's" vitamins. I'm too lazy to take anything else.

The lysine and pre-natals also help my frequently crabby skin - from the SLE.

But yummm, black strap molasses on corn bread. Yummmmm

[Heidi_234]

You might also want to try switching brands or lower the dosage.

In any case, vitamins and mineral aren't products, and you can't really substitute one with another, so there's no real alternative for biotin. Only thing you could do is to try something else, and make sure you cover the basics. Supplements don't make your hair grow faster, unless you were deficient in the first place.