Bareilly-based Manu Bansal has been dealing with frizzy and hard-to-tame hair in extreme weather conditions for months. She tried natural remedies, shampoos and hair creams, but with zero results. At long last, a friend advised her to consult a scalp expert or a dermatologist.
While the treatment was taking its own course, an inherent reason indicating the cause was found to be a deficiency of biotin (vitamin H or B7), a water-soluble vitamin that helps the body metabolise fats, carbohydrates, and protein.
Biotin is an essential vitamin that plays an important role in the health of hair, nails, and skin. It promotes the production of keratin, a key protein to strengthen all the three tissues. A biotin deficiency can lead to issues like brittle nails, thinning hair, and dry, scaly skin. All in all, biotin is the champion ingredient essential to incorporate in diet or through supplements for overall beauty and wellness.
“Biotin deficiency can be detected through specific symptoms in nails, skin, and hair. In nails, deficiency usually manifests as brittle nails that grow poorly and lack thickness and shine. In skin, although no very specific signs are visible, a deficiency can result in dry, dull skin with less hydration and glow. For hair, biotin deficiency leads to increased brittleness, more frequent hair breakage or shedding, split ends, thinning hair, and overall poor hair quality with frizziness and reduced growth,” shares Dr Raina Nahar, senior consultant, dermatology, Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai.
Biotin has many benefits for the body. The primary role is to help turn the food we eat into energy, while our body needs it to produce keratin — the type of protein that makes up hair, skin, and nails. “Biotin has an ability to enhance keratin production. It becomes the building block for
fundamental protein supporting the growth and maintaining the health of skin, hair and nails,” says Shahnaz Husain, CMD of Shahnaz Husain Group, a herbal beauty brand.
Husain essentially focuses on the root cause of the issue by suggesting people to check vitamin B7 levels. “It is in the absence of this vitamin that many problems erupt. Biotin promotes healthy brain function, helps control inflammation and allergies, stimulates production of keratin, provides strength to hair follicles, essential for scalp rejuvenation, and boosts nail growth and strengthens it,” she adds.
Keratin is a protein that not only strengthens the hair but also helps with unnecessary breakage. “Stronger hair means less breakage and split ends,” says Anshita Mehrotra, founder of hair care brand Fix My Curls. “The reason some people seem to have faster hair growth is because biotin helps your body produce more keratin, which in turn promotes healthier and potentially faster growth. From improving texture and shine to reducing dryness and brittleness, biotin contributes to the overall appearance and feel by keeping follicles healthy and preventing unnecessary hair loss. It also supports the health of hair follicles, which are responsible for holding hair in place,” she adds.
Diet done right
Delhi-based dermatologist Dr Deepali Bhardwaj recommends the use of supplements for dull, dry and itchy skin, hair fall, or brittle nails. She also advises a blood test to detect the levels of biotin. But a good diet can also help in bringing back biotin levels to normal, she says.
“An easier way is to have a good diet like a boiled egg, avocado, legumes, lentils, green vegetables, fruits, dry fruits — all very rich in biotin. Being rich and anti-inflammatory, vitamin B7 is very helpful for hydration of the skin, for improving the appearance so that the skin looks younger, for the nails to be brighter and less brittle, and for the hair to be shinier and thicker,” says Bhardwaj.
Biotin is an essential nutrient that is naturally present in some foods and available as a dietary supplement. However, if supplements are found to be in excess in the body, it will get extracted in urine, says Bhardwaj, who is the founder and chairman of Skin & Hair Clinic in New Delhi. “There are no side effects, unlike a lot of vitamins, which can be fat-soluble or make one gain weight. Biotin is consumed as a supplement and taken alone or with other B-complex vitamins in multivitamin form,” says Bhardwaj.
Troubled skin or skin eruptions, hair fall, lacking volume or lustre, brittle nails are common problems, but owing to different hair and skin problems with a changing lifestyle, biotin has become crucial. One can naturally boost biotin through a well-balanced diet. Foods rich in biotin include nuts (such as walnuts and hazelnuts), seeds, egg yolks, whole grains (like oats), organ meats, and colourful vegetables and fruits, especially those high in antioxidants like carrots.
Consuming a wholesome diet can typically provide enough biotin for the body’s needs. “We need to include biotin in our daily intake as it is even essential for eyes, liver function and brain,” says Gurugram-based Dr Geeta Grewal, founder and CMD, 9 Muses Wellness Clinic. She recommends including biotin-rich food such as sweet potato, seeds, meat, and broccoli in everyday diet as these are natural sources of biotin.
Husain recommends choosing specific food sources that are rich in biotin. “Ayurveda and natural ingredients are the best ways to boost biotin. Choose food sources over synthetic biotin. Specific foods that supply biotin are eggs, especially the yolks, which comprise rich amounts of biotin. One whole cooked egg contains 10 mg (micrograms) of biotin; a serving of banana has 0.2 mg; a quarter cup of roasted almonds has
1.5 mg. Instead, one should disregard the synthetic supplement and opt for natural sources of obtaining and supplementing the body with biotin,” she adds.
Plant-based biotin supplements such as those derived from extracts of Sesbania grandiflora, commonly known as agati or vegetable hummingbird, can be effective for a broader range of benefits. As per Mihir Gadani, biotechnologist and co-founder of clean nutrition brand Oziva, standardised agati leaf extracts have been clinically proven to improve hair density, and support healthy hair growth. “Supplements are beneficial for maintaining healthy skin and nails. But a balanced diet rich in plant-based biotin sources can promote stronger hair, healthier skin, and resilient nails,” says Gadani.
So is there a particular age when one should start taking supplements? Not really, say experts, but it all depends on individual symptoms and nutritional needs. Dr Nahar says, “If a person has healthy hair, skin, and nails, there is generally no need for supplementation. However, when symptoms of deficiency are visible—such as thinning hair, brittle nails, or poor skin health—then it is a good time to start a supplement. Common triggers for starting supplements include periods of high nutritional demand, such as after surgery, illness (like Covid-19), massive weight loss, or post-pregnancy. In later stages of life, particularly post-menopause or during perimenopause, long-term biotin supplementation may be needed as deficiencies become harder to address through diet alone,” adds Nahar, who often deals with patients visiting her for biotin-related problems.
There are certain common and typical problems like hair thinning, hair loss, brittle nails, or dull, lustreless skin, but experts say that most patients are not just deficient in biotin alone, and often have deficiencies in proteins, minerals, and other nutrients as well. “The treatment involves improving the patient’s diet to include biotin-rich foods and, when necessary, providing supplements that combine biotin with proteins, multi-minerals, and other nutrients like pumpkin seed oils or calcium pantothenate to offer complete nutritional support for hair, skin, and nails,” adds Nahar.