You have probably heard of biotin before, particularly if you are a health conscious person. The question is though, what is biotin good for? The answer is, quite a number of things; and don’t worry this isn’t another one of those articles without any evidence to back up the facts (just click on the little hyperlinked numbers to take you through to the study).
What is biotin and what is biotin good for?
Biotin, or vitamin B7, is a water-soluble vitamin that’s a part of the vitamin B complex — a group of key nutrients needed for healthy metabolic, nerve, digestive and cardiovascular functions. Biotin acts as a co-enzyme in the body that’s needed for the metabolism of fatty acids, amino acids and glucose. This means that when we eat foods that are sources of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, vitamin B7 — biotin — must be present in order to convert and use these macro nutrients for bodily energy to carry out physical activities and for proper psychological functioning.
Biotin benefits include helping to give us a young, attractive appearance since it plays a major part in maintaining the health of our hair, nails and skin. In fact, biotin sometimes gets the nickname the “H” vitamin, which stems from the German words Haar and Haut, which mean “hair and skin.” Vitamin B7/biotin is commonly added to hair and skin beauty products, although it’s believed to not be absorbed very well through the skin and actually must be ingested to be fully beneficial.
Biotin can be found in foods like organ meats, eggs, avocado, cauliflower, berries, fish, and mushrooms. If like most people however, you struggle to get your daily dose of biotin through food – there is another way…
Benefits for your hair, skin and nails
Vitamin B7 is needed to maintain healthy skin, hair and nails, so when someone experiences a vitamin B7 deficiency, symptoms may manifest in the form of thinning, splitting and brittle hair, or dermatitis that results in dry, irritated skin. You may notice that biotin is included in many cosmetic face creams, hair masques and other over-the-counter beauty products for this reason, but it’s much more effective when it’s eaten, rather than applied topically.
According to studies, taking high doses of biotin can help treat weak hair and nails. In fact, this benefit of vitamin B7 was first discovered when horses were effectively treated with biotin to correct problems with the horses’ hoofs becoming brittle and cracked. (12)
Other biotin benefits include helping to protect skin from acne, fungal infections, rashes and severe dryness and cracking. (13, 14) Although biotin has been found to have the most prominent effect on the hair skin and nails, it has also been proven to support a healthy metabolism, supports thyroid and adrenal function and a key product in the rebuild and repair of muscles and tissue (17).
One of the best parts about biotin is that you can seemingly never have too much, the body will always flush out excess biotin. This is why the Bear Grooming biotin supplements are some of the strongest on the market with 10,000 micro-grams of biotin in each capsule.
Barber shops, hairdressers and salons are increasingly becoming aware of the benefits of providing everything grooming related. Historically you would find barbers would stock many of the products required for taking care of yourself on the outside but not necessarily grooming from within – this is exactly where supplements such as our biotin and hair, skin and nails come in.
