PDA

View Full Version : From Biotin to Silica for Hair Growth



A. Correira
January 5th, 2012, 09:25 PM
Hello All!
So... I currently take Biotin... and I don't know if I have really seen an increase in the growth of my hair with it but I don't want to just stop taking it and stall my hair. I have read a lot about Silica and have heard from people that it is a lot like Biotin.
Biotin makes me break out like CRAZY! Before I started taking it, my skin was finally clearing up after getting out of the teenager phase. Now after, it is terrible! So bad that I can't take it anymore!
I do get some Biotin with my mulivitamin everyday, but what do you all think about taking Silica instead of Biotin? Do you think this could solve my problem, or not really do anything at all?

Please Help.... I'm feeling rather miserable about my face...:(

Achtland
January 5th, 2012, 09:34 PM
... but I don't want to just stop taking it and stall my hair.

Just curious, where did you here stopping biotin would stall your hair? #curious

I take both. Horsetail extract (8% silica) and biotin (1000mcg) as well every once in a while. I try to take my biotin daily but I probably do more like 4 out of the 7 days in a week :undecided

I don't really have an answer to your question but really wanted to know where you heard stopping biotin would stall your hair, since I am kinda on and off with it. Thanks

A. Correira
January 5th, 2012, 09:46 PM
I meant that I didn't see any extra growth but I am scared that if I stop taking it then my hair's growth might change. Even though I couldn't really see a change, it doesn't necessarily mean that it did nothing to my hair. I don't really want to go without anything that could give me a boost.

Achtland
January 5th, 2012, 10:01 PM
Ah I see :) Okay well how long have you been taking the biotin for? I believe you are supposed to take it for at least a few months before you start noticing a difference.

The same goes for silica, I was told at least wait about two months before you start to notice a difference. Since I have been taking both I have definitely noticed a change in the HEALTH of my new hair. I am currently growing out my natural hair color and am just over a year in, so the natural growth is just about past my ears. The hair on the very top of my head (vitamin-rich hair?) seems so soft, shiny, amazing. I can also see lots of baby hairs sticking out all over the place that are about 2-3 inches long. Yay for baby hairs!

What I would do, is start taking silica... go off biotin for a few weeks. Stay on your multi and then see if the biotin was really the problem. Goodluck!

spike316
January 5th, 2012, 10:08 PM
If biotin is making you break out that's probably your body's way of telling you that you're actually getting too much of it. There are more people on here that could tell you more about this and I'm sure they will. But our bodies actually produce biotin naturally so there's a lot less people out there that need it as a supplement than people think.

Hotrox
January 5th, 2012, 11:59 PM
my advice is to stop taking it straight away.

You said yourself that it has done nothing to increase your growth rate and it is affecting your skin and self-esteem. I see no good reason to continue on with it.

Your hair was growing before you took it and it will continue to grow when you stop.

Step away from the Biotin :D

Amber_Maiden
January 6th, 2012, 06:13 AM
Stop taking the biotin. And maybe take a break from the supplements. Sometimes it's better to just you and your hair just 'be'.

rock007junkie
January 6th, 2012, 06:19 AM
In my opinion (don't know how true this might be) Biotin only works for hair growth for those people that have a biotin deficiency. If you regularly take vitamins and eat healthy then adding an extra dose of biotin really does not do anything extra.

pepperminttea
January 6th, 2012, 06:22 AM
So Biotin hasn't improved your hair growth, your skin's breaking out and making you miserable, and the multi-vitamin you're already taking has it in anyway? Stop taking the extra Biotin, it isn't worth all this hassle. As long as your health and diet are okay your hair will grow happily at its own pace. :)

A. Correira
January 6th, 2012, 08:38 AM
Thank you everyone! I really think that I am gonna stop it now. I had been taking it for at least three months so I guess there is really nothing that it can do for me if I take too much of it! I guess just I needed a little convincing to completely stop taking it.
I'll see how I do without taking it. Hopefully my skin will be happy again!

Nae
January 6th, 2012, 09:39 AM
Thank you everyone! I really think that I am gonna stop it now. I had been taking it for at least three months so I guess there is really nothing that it can do for me if I take too much of it! I guess just I needed a little convincing to completely stop taking it.
I'll see how I do without taking it. Hopefully my skin will be happy again!

Oh goodness. I am so glad you are going to stop. Mega dosing on biotin almost always causes Cystic Acne. It is just not worth it, biotin is only going to work if you are deficient in it. If you live in a Western country you almost certainly aren't. It is in tons of stuff. Cheese and other dairy products, fatty fish, peanut butter, yeast, eggs, mushrooms, pork, chicken, raspberries....you would really have to TRY to be deficient.

Stick with your mulit-vitamin. Pitch the biotin, I have heard some people get scars from the acne that don't go away for ages and ages. It totally isn't worth it. I don't know anything about silica. Frankly, the best way to get growth is to eat healthy, get exercise, and take care of your hair. It will grow!!:)

Avital88
January 6th, 2012, 09:47 AM
biotin made me break out like crazy too! my skin never was this bad not even in puberty, it sucks.. silica works wonders for my hairgrowth though

Rosa
January 7th, 2012, 05:39 AM
Avital, I didn't know about silica for hair growth. Great! I'll look into it. Has anyone tried folic acid?

Helenae
January 7th, 2012, 07:02 AM
I've been taking biotin for over 2 months and had no break outs, guess it depends on the person.

However, I also take zinc and a multivitamin. Zinc works is sort of a natural tetracycline.

I can't lie, I've seen results - but nothing amazing. I guess I should take it up to 6 months before I can judge...

Tattersail
August 23rd, 2013, 08:29 AM
@A.Correira; biotin is actually a water-soluble vitamin; vitamins generally act as catalysts in biological functions, or in other words, they are neccessary for certain mechanisms to take place, such as production of tissues and facilitating other functions in the body.
silica is actually a mineral; minerals are the building blocks of tissues.
so you need the building blocks (minerals, protein) and energy (carbohydrates, fats) and catalysts (vitamins, enzymes) to actually make stuff. you need a bit of everything. if you don't have enough/ too much of something imbalances can occurr and then you get deficiencies and those deficiences show up as oily skin/dry skin/flaky skin, whatever.

also silica is one of the basic building blocks of cell tissue and is part of pretty much all cells of your body. if you want to try it out safely, get as a 'tissue salt', its ground up very finely (as a homeopathic preparation) and is really easy for your body to take up.

if something makes you break out its probably a sign that its not needed by your body; your body is saying 'ah, what's all this sh#t?!' and tries to get rid of it. silica, especially when its taken as a tissue salt is also very good for pushing waste out of your body. just do a google search for 'silica cell salt' or 'silica tissue salt' and you'll get some info
:cool:

Tattersail
August 23rd, 2013, 08:34 AM
@rosa, folic acid is simply vitamin b9, as long as you eat some red meat and green leafy veg you should be fine - its very important for the production of dna and the correct process of cell division and growth; therefore very important to have sufficient amounts if you are pregnant and trying to grow a new human inside you

ladylowtide
August 23rd, 2013, 10:05 AM
Did biotin for 3 months. Thought it was helping. Turned out my hair was just having a growth spurt. Made me break out something fierce. IMO not worth it.

jacqueline101
August 23rd, 2013, 10:23 AM
I agree don't ruin your health with extra supplements your body is rejecting.

sofo
August 23rd, 2013, 11:18 AM
I use some supplements with silica paired with some b-vitamins including a small dose of biotin. My skin actually breaks out less which is the main reason I continue to take them, and I guess I need to shave my legs more often. If my hair grows faster or not is hard to tell. I have also noticed that the hair on my arms gets so long I feel I need to trim it, its long enough to curl otherwise. Never had that issue before. If it affects the hair on your head its very likely to affect the hair on the rest of the body as well. Might be worth thinking about. I do have a ton of body hair supplements or not though. I'm just happy its blonde, because it wouldnt be pretty otherwise... Guess I'm optimized for a cold climate.

Leeloo
August 23rd, 2013, 01:48 PM
I don't think biotin and silica are self exclusive vitamins and they are both included in the hair, skin and nails vitamins. Silica is known to be very beneficial to skin in the long run, so I think you'll benefit from both or just silica.

BlondeWavyGal
August 23rd, 2013, 04:50 PM
Biotin has an initial break out, usually one or two weeks worth. When I started biotin I got it super bad, but I started drinking 8 glasses of water a day and using hot compresses. Within three days, the inflamation had gone down. You are breaking out because you arent drinking enough water to dilute the biotin, because its water soluble. The only way to flush the excess biotin out is water. So, either drink more, or take a lower dosage. If you stop, it wont change your hairs growth, you may notice it grows slower but not that much. Silica may differ from biotin, but silica isnt as strong as biotin is so you might end up with even less growth but still have breakouts.

BlondeWavyGal
August 23rd, 2013, 04:55 PM
Oh goodness. I am so glad you are going to stop. Mega dosing on biotin almost always causes Cystic Acne. It is just not worth it, biotin is only going to work if you are deficient in it. If you live in a Western country you almost certainly aren't. It is in tons of stuff. Cheese and other dairy products, fatty fish, peanut butter, yeast, eggs, mushrooms, pork, chicken, raspberries....you would really have to TRY to be deficient.

Stick with your mulit-vitamin. Pitch the biotin, I have heard some people get scars from the acne that don't go away for ages and ages. It totally isn't worth it. I don't know anything about silica. Frankly, the best way to get growth is to eat healthy, get exercise, and take care of your hair. It will grow!!:)
This is true, the biotin initially gave me Cystic acne very very badly. But its almost gone now, and I still take the biotin. It can take up to four months to notice a change in your hair, but yes. the biotin does help. If you cannot drink enough water to flush it out you should stop taking it, the acne will go away. I had acne before though so I just shrugged it off. I like the added growth more than I despise a few more spots each month.

catamonica
August 23rd, 2013, 11:36 PM
Biotin didn't help me at all. After year's of no growth, I tried Original mane & tail horse shampoo. From
wall mart. If you don't have it where you live, you can order it online. It doesn't work for everybody. But you could try it. My hair grew to my waist. It is at hip. It help's to wear it up a few days a week. It protect's the hair.