Starting Biotin + another vitamin: Questions

[Aevra]

Okay, so I don't know if there is another thread like this yet, and if there is then Please delete this or move it or whatever you'd like.

So, you ladies and gentlemen have raved about the effects of biotin on your hair growth. My goal is TB so I've started taking biotin. While I was at the vitamin store I picked up another vitamin called Inositol. I read about it while at the store and the book said that it was a good vitamin for hair and nail growth, among other things. So for the past few days I've been taking Biotin and Inositol once a day.

My questions are:
1: With Biotin, how much growth do you see monthly on average?
2:How much Biotin do you take on a daily basis to get that growth?
3:Have you heard of Inositol?
4: Do you take Inositol?
5:If you take Inositol, how much growth do you see monthly on average?
6:How much Insitol do you take on a daily basis to get that growth?
7: Do you take Inositol and Biotin together?
8:Repeat questions 1, 2, 5, and 6.

I know that I could probably get all the information for biotin from multiple different threads across LHC, but I thought it would be easier to combine it with the Inositol questions and have it all in one place.

[Aevra]

Another question that I have, totally off topic, but I didn't want to make another thread...

So I use Olive Oil in my hair, and it had made it insanely soft and brings out the red so much, I love it. I was just wondering what difference Coconut oil would do. I mean it's an oil so I assume that it would do the same thing...but how is it different? And does it have that coconut smell that you get in beauty supplies or shampoo with coconut in it?

[Cleopatra18]

I have been taking 5000 mcg of biotin daily for about one month and half.Being honest i dont think i noticed any growth from it.I have been taking B-complex and fish oil with it too.i haven't heard about inositol's effect on hair but would love to know.About olive oil,it's known to penetrate the hair shaft same as coconut oil.But i think the stucture of coconut oil resembles more the natural hair sebum produced by the scalp.some people also find it lighter than evoo which can get really greasy if you're not careful.personally,i dont find coconut oil smelling like the shampoos and lotions that are sold everywhere (i wish it did lol) but it doesnt have a bad scent either.Though there is a brand of coconut oil called parachute that i tried last year and had a much stronger smell than regular coconut oil and i really loved it (it was the familiar coconutty smell) and it worked great on my hair.HTH
BTW in my personal opinion,i think if you plan to use the oil on your scalp as well then stick with the olive oil,i think it would be more useful.

[Aevra]

Thanks.

Yeah, I am not a big fan of the coconutty smell, I think I used it too much as a kid (in body sprays and lotions) and just got sick of it, heh. Thank you for your information though. I hope that this combo works well, I've not seen anything about Inositol in the forums, but Biotin is a big one here.

[Xandrra]

Hi! I have not heard of Inositol, but I have been taking biotin a bit less than a month. About 2000mcg a day with a supplement of other B vitamins because I heard it is easier absorbed that way :)
I have not yet seen an improvement in hair growth, bit from what I've read it will take about another month for the biotin to kick in so I'm being patient :) Also, I did not break out from the biotin, although some people do, so if your skin is sensitive you might want to be a bit careful with taking it.


About the oils:
I found that live oil was really heavy on my hair, but coconut oil did leave a greasy feeling on my hair (which the olive oil did even after 2 washes) it is also the only oil proven to penetrate the hair shaft and strengthen it. To be honest I didn't get any improvement in shine/softness from either so I just use coconut.
I also use the refined version so it has no smell, I haven't yet tried the unrefined ones to tell about those sorry :( they usually do have a noticeable scent from what I've read though

[Aevra]

Thank you Xandrra.

Iv'e heard that Biotin takes a little while to kick in...I'm really looking forward to seeing if I get results.

Though, I am bad at being patient, so this might just frustrate me.

[nycstar]

I will follow your thread because I'm going to start taking biotin this weekend (while on vaca) and am eager to see the results myself. Keep us posted--and I'm also interested to read all the comments to come!

[Aevra]

What is Vaca?

I will certainly keep you all posted. I'm thinking about taking a picture every week...probably Tuesdays to that TBF can take pictures of my hair since he won't have class!

Well lookie there, today is Tuesday...time to get crackin' on that photo!

But seriously, I am very excited about the results.

[phistash]

What is Vaca?


"Vaca"=Vacation. Usually pronounced "vay-cay".

I tried to find any studies on the efficacy of taking inositol for hair growth but haven't found anything yet. I have access to pretty much every science journal there is, so I will post if I find anything.

MSM, however, has been proven to work, so you may want to try that.

ETA, I've been taking biotin, MSM, fish oil, and a multivitamin daily for a few months and I have no idea if my hair is getting longer faster (I have wavy hair that is hard to measure). However, I have noticed that my nails are stronger and grow faster.

[Carolyn]

I've taken 5,000 mcs of biotin for several years. I have better quality hair but no increase in growth rate. Better quality meaning thicker stronger strands. My nails are in much better shape and *maybe* grow a little faster. I used to take Inositol too but I stopped. I guess I kind of forgot to purchase it once and then never thought about it again. It was something I bought at an out of town health food store and it wasn't all that convenient to purchase. I don't recall that it did anything much. I took both supplements at the same time.

I've used both EVOO and coconut oil. I get about the same results from both oils. I switch around just because I like to switch things around for fun.

[julliams]

I have just begun (like this morning) taking a supplement called Hair Food Plus by Figaro. In each capsule there is 2.5mg of biotin and 100mg of inositol. I will be interested to see how I go. I am also using their Hair Root Lotion which has biotin and inositol in it that you spray directly to the roots each morning and night.

I have been measuring monthly since November 2009 and get an average of 5/8" of growth per month so it will be very interesting to see how it goes. I don't expect to see any difference until about end of May but I will post any findings I have.

[Purdy Bear]

Iv just been reading the Hair Bible, and Kingsley says it takes 2 months for the follicle to get the benefit from any supplements, and then 6 months for any true notice.

Iv not tested it yet though.

[Aevra]

Thank you guys^_^, and thank you for the info Bear. 6 months eh? I think I"ll go die of impatience now:doh:

I wonder if we have a journal feature here that I can track my progress on O.o

[seraphine]

I just wanted to reply to this thread with the mention that I have found "the perfect" Biotin source... I am a big fan of vitamins derived from whole foods, and not in some weird lab :p so I've been buying from Quantum Nutrition Center for a while now, but today I was looking to restock on my vitamins, and with Biotin in mind (thanks to this forum ;)) I found this sprouted B-complex; http://www.qncenter.com/store/product.php?productid=16622&cat=0&page=1
I ordered it and reading it's source and nutritional value, am already excited, and I haven't even received it yet! haha

Currently I take a multi B-vitamin from the brand NOW, but I was looking for a more natural whole food source, so I will quit this one when my Quantum Nutrition Center ones arrive.. so excited!!!

[whoanellie]

I wish I could estimate how long I've been taking Biotin and how much growth I've had since, but unfortunately I don't know exactly when I started taking it it, though I'd estimate about 4 months. I haven't had my hair cut since March 2009, and I do feel that my hair growth has been faster since I've been taking the supplement, but I unfortunately don't have details to prove it, just a feeling and trying to judge by photos.

I take 2000 mcg a day in a hair/vitamin/skin supplement that says a daily portion is 3 pills, yet I only take 2. And I only take it at work (I need to get another bottle for home and stop being lazy), so that's 2000 mcg 5 times a week. I think I'm going to bump that to 3000 mcg and every day!

[Aevra]

Ooooooh, that sprouted B-Complex looks awesome. I might give that a shot if this Biotin/Inositol mix doesn't work.


Thank you Whoanellie, ^_^

[nycstar]

I just wanted to reply to this thread with the mention that I have found "the perfect" Biotin source... I am a big fan of vitamins derived from whole foods, and not in some weird lab :p so I've been buying from Quantum Nutrition Center for a while now, but today I was looking to restock on my vitamins, and with Biotin in mind (thanks to this forum ;)) I found this sprouted B-complex; http://www.qncenter.com/store/product.php?productid=16622&cat=0&page=1
I ordered it and reading it's source and nutritional value, am already excited, and I haven't even received it yet! haha

Currently I take a multi B-vitamin from the brand NOW, but I was looking for a more natural whole food source, so I will quit this one when my Quantum Nutrition Center ones arrive.. so excited!!!

I love Whole Foods--thanks for this. I'll look for it!