Regular intake of excessive quantities of certain nutrients can cause hair loss in some cases due to a temporary condition known as
Increasing your intake of biotin may help make your hair stronger and more resistant to falling out. Biotin is a common over-the-counter supplement that is touted to promote healthy hair growth.
Mayo Clinic states that 10,000 mcg is a safe dose, as no adverse side effects have been noted to date. Reassuringly, even “mega doses” of 300,000 mcg found no side effects in neurological research.
In terms of your hair and scalp, taking too much biotin won't result in drastic damage. But while your magnificent mane might not be in danger, biotin could have adverse effects on your skin. “What I see most often is breakouts on the face, chest, and back,” Breana cautions.
It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging. Anyone can lose hair on their head, but it's more common in men. Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Hereditary hair loss with age is the most common cause of baldness.
While 5,000 mcg of biotin may work well for some people, for the most part, that may be too high for others who find that 200 mcg of biotin helps their hair grow. Look for a biotin vitamin that doesn't contain a ridiculously high dose amount like 10,000 mcg – this is usually excessive.
Can You Take Too Much Biotin? Not really! Even at higher dosages, excess biotin has not been shown to cause any harm. Biotin has been used in clinical studies and in the clinical setting in doses as high as 5 mg/day (5,000 mcg/day) for up to two years.
Takeaway. Your body makes enough biotin on its own through your dietary intake each day. Therefore, you shouldn't take biotin supplements unless directed by your doctor. There are some rare health conditions that can cause some people to need biotin supplements on a regular basis.
The normal recommended biotin dosage for adults is 30 to 100 micrograms (mcg) per day. But there's no evidence of high levels of biotin being harmful or causing toxicity, which is why you'll commonly see biotin supplements containing 5,000 to 10,000 mcg.
Can biotin be harmful? Biotin has not been shown to cause any harm. However, supplements that contain biotin above recommended amounts may cause false results in some lab tests, including those that measure levels of certain hormones, like thyroid hormone.
These women improved their hair growth by taking 5,000 mcg of biotin per day. This amount is much greater than the recommended daily value of 30 mcg per day. However, since biotin is a water soluble vitamin most of the excess is excreted in urine.
“In May 2017, in the Journal of Drugs and Dermatology, Dr. Jerry Shapiro and his team did a comprehensive meta‐analysis of the scientific literature and conclusively determined that there is absolutely no scientific evidence supporting the use of biotin for hair loss,” Peralta says.
If no home remedies work for your hair loss, use a daily biotin supplement for at least 6 months to start seeing results.
Most of the websites touting biotin for hair growth recommend taking 2-5 milligrams (2,000-5,000 mcg) of biotin in supplement form each day, and many supplements are sold under the name Biotin 5000, indicating a 5000 mcg (5 mg) size.
Most commonly, biotin use can result in falsely high levels of T4 and T3 and falsely low levels of TSH, leading to either a wrong diagnosis of hyperthyroidism or that the thyroid hormone dose is too high.
Biotin is generally safe even at high dosages. Side effects of biotin are minimal and easily reversed because excess biotin is easily passed by the body through urine. We recommend taking 500 mcg-5,000 mcg of biotin per day to support healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Foods that contain the most biotin include organ meats, eggs, fish, meat, seeds, nuts, and certain vegetables (such as sweet potatoes) [2,12].
The bottom line. There's no strong evidence to support using biotin for hair growth or to prevent hair loss in people without a deficiency. Because hair thinning and poor hair growth are sometimes associated with a biotin deficiency, correcting a deficiency can help restore hair growth in some people.
Only riboflavin, biotin, folate, and vitamin B12 deficiencies have been associated with hair loss.
Your sudden shedding could be caused by telogen effluvium, a form of hair loss that is typically temporary and happens after a stressful or traumatic event, physical or emotional stress, changes in weight, pregnancy, illness, medication, or dietary changes, explains New York City–based dermatologist Marisa Garshick, ...