Do biotin supplements really do anything for hair loss?

Welcome to Ask a Derm, a SELF series where board-certified dermatologists answer your important questions about skin, hair and nail health. We hit for the first installment Susan C. Taylor, MDBrent L. Johnson Jr. Professor of Dermatology and Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His specialties include hair loss, cosmetic skin, hyperpigmentation and pigmented skin.

If you’ve ever heard a friend, co-worker, podcast host, or Bachelor Nation member swear that a certain supplement helped their hair grow, chances are it contains the vitamin biotin, which plays a key role in the production of keratin, the protein that makes your hair grow. makes, performs. and nails, but is swallowing it in the form of capsules, powder or gum really the secret of longer and thicker hair? We are from Suzanne C. We asked Taylor, MD, professor of dermatology and vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

About 50 million men and 30 million women in the U.S. have androgenetic alopecia, which is the scientific term for male or female pattern hair loss, Dr. Taylor tells SELF, so it’s no wonder everyone’s looking for a solution as simple as popping a pill. be . Google hair growth supplements and you’ll get over half a billion (yes, with ab) results, many of which include recommendations for products that list biotin as a main ingredient. And it makes sense that your body uses it to help form and grow healthy strands, the more, the merrier, right? But here’s the thing: you probably enjoy it enough.

According to Dr. Taylor, humans get most of their biotin from common foods such as nuts, egg yolks, meat, fish and sweet potatoes, which is why deficiencies are rare. He says the recommended daily amount for adults is 30 micrograms, but a typical Western diet contains more than enough biotin, with a total of 3,570 micrograms per day. If you don’t get enough from your diet or are born with biotinidase deficiency (BIOT), the condition that prevents the body from using biotinidase doesn’t go away, he adds.