Biotin, also known as vitamin H, can help strengthen the hair and prevent it from falling out. In fact, a person who does not have enough biotin in her body may experience hair loss. Biotin is classified as part of the vitamin B complex group. These vitamins are good for the health of the hair, skin, eyes, and liver.
Biotin is often recommended as a natural treatment for people who have weak and thinning hair, or baldness. Due to its natural ability to strengthen hair and nails, biotin is a common ingredient in many cosmetics, as well as skin, hair and nail treatments.
Biotin is naturally found in egg yolks, brewer’s yeast, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and pecans. Other foods that contain biotin include beans, black eye peas, sardines, bananas, whole grains, cauliflower, peanut butter, mushrooms, and soybeans. The biotin can be destroyed if these foods are processed. That’s why it’s best to look for foods that are not heavily processed.
Another way to get biotin is to take multivitamins or biotin supplements. The recommended dosage of the biotin supplements to treat hair loss is 30-600 mcg daily. Consult a physician to see what dose is necessary for your degree of hair loss. Biotin may be more effective when it is used with the topical form of clobetasol propionate and zinc.
Biotin is also available as topical treatments and shampoos. However, the oral forms are recommended rather than the topical solutions because the skin cannot easily absorb biotin due to its thickness. Also, it is unlikely that the skin can absorb enough biotin to cause the hair to grow.
Certain medicines such as antibiotics and anticonvulsants may cancel out the effects of biotin supplements because these medications eliminate biotin from the body. Raw egg whites can also counteract the benefits of biotin. A lack of biotin can cause the hair to become brittle, making it more susceptible to breakage.
For best results, eat a well balanced diet in addition to taking biotin supplements. Include biotin rich foods in your meals and snacks. The combination of the supplements along with the vitamins, minerals, protein, fats, and carbohydrates from food will help boost the benefits.
Some people take biotin in addition to medicated hair loss treatments such as Rogaine. Rogaine is an FDA approved hair growth treatment. It works by reducing the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) a hormone derived from testosterone. DHT causes baldness by destroying hair follicles.
Tags: biotin, DHT, hair growth treatment, hair loss treatments, Rogaine, vitamin B, vitamin H
This entry was postedon Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 3:29 amand is filed under Natural Treatments.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Leave a ReplyClick here to cancel reply.Name (required)
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