Biotin or Hair and Nails Multi-Vitamin

[MsPretty31]

Does anyone know whether I should buy a biotin vitamin or a hair multivitamin? I've noticed the hair multivitamin is a little bit more money. Where should I get it? :confused:
Thanks in advance! :):D:p

[vanillabones]

I take a hair, skin and nails, and a multivitamin. So that is what I would suggest because the bition makes me break out in acne, so I have a bottle just sitting waiting to be used :( I avoid it though.

[celebriangel]

Skin, hair and nails multivits are basically more money for nothing.

Just buy a good-quality, general multivitamin which doesn't have huge doses of everything, and you should be sorted. You don't really want to be taking *one* b-vitamin - they work in concert, and taking just 1 will upset the balance. There should be biotin in the multi.

[julierockhead]

Skin, hair and nails multivits are basically more money for nothing.

Just buy a good-quality, general multivitamin which doesn't have huge doses of everything, and you should be sorted. You don't really want to be taking *one* b-vitamin - they work in concert, and taking just 1 will upset the balance. There should be biotin in the multi.

Sage advice! Save your money for hair toys. :gabigrin:

[rowie]

I've been using biotin for over six months now. Last year I used to take multivitamins, and I think they are the same. I think it's just a matter of personal preference.

[HairFaerie]

My hair/skin/nail vitamins have Biotin in them. They also have silica and fish oil, horsetail, MSM and other stuff good for hair. Regular multi-vitamins don't have that stuff in them.

If you are in the US, they are available at The Vitamin Shoppe and most other health food stores. The brand is Irwin Naturals. They were on sale at the Vitamin Shoppe for $11.49 for a bottle of 60.

I like them. I have always taken a variety of multi-vitamins as well as specific ones for hair/skin/nails.

That's just my personal preference though.

[YepLilly]

I take regular multivitamins plus biotin. But I think hair and nail supplements will do about the same job. Your best bet is looking at the supplement facts in the bottles and comparing them.

[MsPretty31]

Thanks :) Off to the store!

[DiablitaNoir]

I've heard that prenatal vitamins are good for the hair, skin and nails, regardless of whether or not you're pregnant, of course. :) I've thought about checking into getting vegetarian prenatal vitamins that have all the nutrients needed for strong, healthy hair. My hair is about hip-length, or close, and I want it to get to classic faster than it is taking me.

[CornishMaid]

I was just reading the MSM thread, and lots of posters mentioned taking Biotin also with good results. So I have just ordered some Biotin and some MSM supplements, as they were cheaper than buying an all in one vitamins for Hair & Nails one.

[oktobergoud]

I take a lot of supplements, but I want to get a multivitamin after these. Right now I take: iron & vitamins (one supplement, it also contains vitamin b's), sometimes instead of that one a normal vitamin b-complex, MSM, horsetail and yeast supplements!

I used to take one for women, I liked that one! I want to get one like those afterwards. I think in the end it doesn't really matter and taking 1 pill is easier than taking like 10 a day :P

[Panth]

If you read the back of a 'Skin and Nails' type supplement you will find that it is basically a multivitamin with a couple of extra things and/or a couple of things at a higher dose than in a regular multivitamin. Thus, you do not need to take both! That can result in vitamin overdose, particularly of the fat-soluble ones.

Taking a prenatal vitamin when not pregnant is not a great idea - you can quite easily overdose on iron by doing that. Anyway, bear in mind that pregnancy causes large increases in hair growth and/or thickness in many women - so, any anecdotes you hear about prenatal vitamins causing hair growth are likely the result of this, not the vitamins.

With regards to biotin, I ask you to please read this post before considering taking them: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1433422&postcount=105

You really should not need to take any supplements (unless advised by your doctor) as your diet should provide all the vitamins and minerals you need for health. If it doesn't you should change your diet and fix the problem rather than trying to 'patch' the problem. As Celebriangel said, vitamins and minerals work in concert, so upping your dose of one likely won't help as it needs others to act to its best ability and/or to be absorbed properly.

Finally, I really don't think that vitamin/mineral intake proportionally increases hair growth - it's not as if 1/2 RDA will give you, say, 1/2" growth; full RDA will give you 1" growth; double RDA will give you 2" growth. It just doesn't work like that! Your hair has a maximum growth rate and the best thing you can do is not take supplements but rather improve your general health, through diet and exercise, to reach your personal maximum growth rate. Hair is considered to be low-priority by the body - if you are deficient in your diet, your body will sacrifice your hair to save other more important body parts. So, you are best to improve your health overall which will improve your hair growth (among other things!).

Unfortunately, that's not as easy as taking a tablet once a day and, in this quick-fix, easy-answer world... *shrug*

[FrozenBritannia]

I just bought both, and will take both because the hair and nails one has more ingredients but only 35mcg of biotin in it. I'm also taking a multi with 50 mcg of biotin and the straight biotin is 1000 mcg.

I was doing some googling and one place said that 5000 mcg was the optimum amount to be taking each day but that more won't hurt you as I gather like most other vitamins what the body can't used gets "eliminated".

Is 5000mcg dose per day the general agreement? I'm just wondering how much I should take!

[YepLilly]

I just bought both, and will take both because the hair and nails one has more ingredients but only 35mcg of biotin in it. I'm also taking a multi with 50 mcg of biotin and the straight biotin is 1000 mcg.

I was doing some googling and one place said that 5000 mcg was the optimum amount to be taking each day but that more won't hurt you as I gather like most other vitamins what the body can't used gets "eliminated".

Is 5000mcg dose per day the general agreement? I'm just wondering how much I should take!

I'm taking 5000mcg of Biotin. I remember doing some research back in the day and found many suggestions indicating that dose. Sadly I have no more information, but hopefully someone else will chime in :)

ETA: I added some new information of post #20

[HuggyBear]

Skin, hair and nails multivits are basically more money for nothing.

Just buy a good-quality, general multivitamin which doesn't have huge doses of everything, and you should be sorted. You don't really want to be taking *one* b-vitamin - they work in concert, and taking just 1 will upset the balance. There should be biotin in the multi.

I agree with celebriangel. I take a really good whole-food vitamin called New Chapter Every Woman's One Daily. I take it more for health reasons than I do for hair growth though. They make me feel like I have more energy. I also take MSM again more for overall health than just hair. :)

[FrozenBritannia]

I'm taking 5000mcg of Biotin. I remember doing some research back in the day and found many suggestions indicating that dose. Sadly I have no more information, but hopefully someone else will chime in :)

Thank you so much! :D

[maria_asa]

If you read the back of a 'Skin and Nails' type supplement you will find that it is basically a multivitamin with a couple of extra things and/or a couple of things at a higher dose than in a regular multivitamin. Thus, you do not need to take both! That can result in vitamin overdose, particularly of the fat-soluble ones.

Taking a prenatal vitamin when not pregnant is not a great idea - you can quite easily overdose on iron by doing that. Anyway, bear in mind that pregnancy causes large increases in hair growth and/or thickness in many women - so, any anecdotes you hear about prenatal vitamins causing hair growth are likely the result of this, not the vitamins.

With regards to biotin, I ask you to please read this post before considering taking them: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1433422&postcount=105

You really should not need to take any supplements (unless advised by your doctor) as your diet should provide all the vitamins and minerals you need for health. If it doesn't you should change your diet and fix the problem rather than trying to 'patch' the problem. As Celebriangel said, vitamins and minerals work in concert, so upping your dose of one likely won't help as it needs others to act to its best ability and/or to be absorbed properly.

Finally, I really don't think that vitamin/mineral intake proportionally increases hair growth - it's not as if 1/2 RDA will give you, say, 1/2" growth; full RDA will give you 1" growth; double RDA will give you 2" growth. It just doesn't work like that! Your hair has a maximum growth rate and the best thing you can do is not take supplements but rather improve your general health, through diet and exercise, to reach your personal maximum growth rate. Hair is considered to be low-priority by the body - if you are deficient in your diet, your body will sacrifice your hair to save other more important body parts. So, you are best to improve your health overall which will improve your hair growth (among other things!).

Unfortunately, that's not as easy as taking a tablet once a day and, in this quick-fix, easy-answer world... *shrug*

This.

Please read the article and be careful with supplements. Even the water soluble ones can be very dangerous if heavily overdosed.

[NightOwl26]

My hair supplement is Hair Fare. I love it. I order it online for $6.50 (give or take) per bottle of 60 and only need to take one a day. I also take fish oil, biotin, and a multi. Some doses are high combined, but the hair supplement has mostly different minerals than my multi anyway.

As said above, I don't think these supplements make hair grow faster (from my experience). I do believe they make my new hair healthier and shinier, hopefully stronger.

[swearnsue]

Thank you for posting that information Maria asa, and the link. It makes a lot of sense.

[YepLilly]

I'm taking 5000mcg of Biotin. I remember doing some research back in the day and found many suggestions indicating that dose. Sadly I have no more information, but hopefully someone else will chime in :)

I posted this a few minutes ago, but after doing some research and reading the link Panth provided (very useful), I have decided to finish my bottle of 5000mcg and scale it down to 1000mcg or 500mcg (as to not quit cold turkey). My only other source of Biotin right now is my multivitamin, which only has 30mcg (10% of RDA allowance), so I'm good on that front.

While water soluble vitamins are not as dangerous for organs as fat solluble ones, huge excess will always make the kidneys work harder.

There's a difference between going over the RDA allowance (which is a minimum to prevent deficiencies) and mega dosing. I found this part of Panth's link (Igor's post) very useful:



It is okay to overdose on water soluble vitamins. They are, after all water soluble. They will be processed and filtered out if you are healthy and don’t suffer kidney problems.
Overdose, yes. Mega dose, no.
Different numbers on “okay” doses are out there on the internet. 1000 mcg seems to be pretty common as an okay dose. Of course this in itself is a dose used to treat legitimate biotin deficiencies. As in; The doctors and scientists that monitor and cure biotin deficiencies says that this is an okay dose to take… If you are deficient. 88 times the recommended daily allowance is not.

[catamonica]

I used Three bottles of botin. Didnt help my hair at all. The only product that worked was
horse shampoo. My hair grew fourteen inches. One inch past my waist. Try it. You might
really like it. Add a capful of olive oil to the shampoo & conditioner. It will make your hair soft.

[QueenJoey]

I take a hair multivitamin because it has biotin in addition to a bunch of other good stuff.

[FrozenBritannia]

I used Three bottles of botin. Didnt help my hair at all. The only product that worked was
horse shampoo. My hair grew fourteen inches. One inch past my waist. Try it. You might
really like it. Add a capful of olive oil to the shampoo & conditioner. It will make your hair soft.

I did read somewhere that biotin in caplets is not absorbed by people with an A blood type, but I'm not sure if it was a reliable resource or not, do you think that might account for why some people see dramatic growth and others like yourself do not or have skin breakouts?