Never heard of biotin? It's probably the answer to your hair prayers. Part of the B vitamin family (although it sometimes masquerades as vitamin H), biotin is a precursor to keratin - the 'building block' the body makes to create hair and nails and in turn, optimise their growth to ensure that your mane and talons stay strong, glossy and resilient.
The perfect antidote to fine, fragile or thinning hair, biotin is a key ingredient in several hair care heroes - counteracting tell-tale signs of tress trauma to restore limp or lifeless locks to all their former (crowning) glory. Great for minimising moulting (it's definitely worth upping your intake if you're one of those susceptible to excess shedding), {Briogeo} have harnessed biotin throughout their expert range of gentle cleansers, conditioners, masks and styling products, to fortify both follicle and shaft *shudder* from root to tip.
In a 2015 study, women who complained of thinning hair were given either supplements containing biotin or a placebo, twice a day for 90 days. At the beginning and end of the study, digital imaging of the scalp (and a post-wash 'shed count') revealed that those who'd had the biotin experienced a significant amount of growth, and also lost less hair throughout the wash and brushing process.
Always one to seize an opportunity to innovate, Jen Atkin recently released a range of supplements. OUAI Haircare's Thin Hair pills are perfectly prescriptive and they're brimming with biotin to encourage growth and boost the 'oomph' of sparse, depleted strands.
And from Fountain - part of the DECIEM group which has brought us the likes of {NIOD} and {The Ordinary} - we bring you The Hair Molecule. Recommended to us by Cult Beauty Expert and nutritional specialist Karen Cummings-Palmer, this syrup-y supplement delivers a 'hit' of strand-strengthening silicon, hyaluronic acid and, you guessed it, biotin - to promote hair health from the inside, out.
“Easy on the taste buds, I take this undiluted by the spoon. It requires some dedication but I had sufficient motivation - my wedding! I took this every day for three months and noticed a tangible boost to the growth rate and thickness of my fine hair.” reported Karen (who has tried and tested more than her fair share of ingestibles).
So there you have it! The secret to the tumbling, Rapunzel-esque tresses you've always dreamed of could be just a few spoonfuls away! We'll race you to the checkout...
