Biotin for hair, skin and nails: what it does, and what it does in Core^™

Does biotin work for hair?

Biotin has an authorised claim for hair, and the wording the law allows is precise. The EU list of permitted health claims authorises this sentence: biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.¹ A food may carry it when it is at least a source of biotin.¹

Behind that sentence is a scientific opinion on biotin, which the NDA Panel of EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, adopted on 2 July 2009. The Panel concluded that a cause and effect relationship has been established between the dietary intake of biotin and the maintenance of normal hair.² The basis is biotin's established role as a nutrient.²

The same opinion covers your skin. EFSA reached the identical conclusion for the maintenance of normal skin and mucous membranes,² and the EU list carries a second beauty sentence to match: biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin.¹

Biotin's two beauty claims are both about maintenance, of normal hair and of normal skin, each backed by an EFSA conclusion and each written into EU law.

What is biotin?

Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin and an essential nutrient, which you will also see called vitamin B7.³

Its job is to work alongside enzymes. Biotin is a cofactor for five carboxylase enzymes, and those enzymes catalyse critical steps in the metabolism of fatty acids, glucose and amino acids.³ That makes biotin part of the machinery that handles the fats, sugars and protein building blocks in your food.

Biotin's authorised claims reach well past the bathroom mirror. Two are about beauty, and the other five are about how your body runs day to day.

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What does biotin do in the body?

On the EU list, biotin holds seven authorised claims, covering hair, skin, mucous membranes, energy-yielding metabolism, macronutrient metabolism, the nervous system and psychological function. The table gives them in the list's own words, with nothing added.

Macronutrients are the fats, carbohydrates and proteins you eat. Hair and skin sit at the top of the table because they are biotin's two beauty lines.

Biotin shares the energy line with four other vitamins in Core^™. That side of the recipe has its own article: the B vitamins and metabolism.

Is there a biotin claim for nails?

No: the authorised nail claim belongs to selenium, even though hair, skin and nails are sold as a trio. On the EU list, biotin's beauty claims are the two you have just read: hair and skin.¹

Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.¹ Selenium also doubles up on hair: selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.¹ Each portion of Core^™ has 27.5 µg of selenium, which is 50% NRV.⁴

The trio is therefore covered by the authorised claims of two nutrients. In Core^™ they are shared out like this:

• Hair. Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair, and so does selenium.
• Skin. Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin.
• Nails. Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.

Nails have research of their own on the collagen side as well. You will find it in our article on collagen for nails.

Biotin and collagen: why are they in one portion?

Biotin and collagen share a portion because they bring different things to the same daily habit. Biotin is a vitamin with authorised claims, while collagen is a protein, and what it does is a question for trials. Core's recipe puts the two in the same portion: 11,000 mg of hydrolysed marine collagen, types I and III, with biotin, selenium and vitamin C in the same pour.⁴

Collagen has hair research of its own. In a randomised, placebo-controlled trial of 44 healthy women aged 39 to 75, hair thickness rose by 1.93 micrometres on average over 16 weeks in the group taking 2.5 g of collagen peptides a day, against a slight dip of 0.99 micrometres with placebo.⁵ The rest of that evidence lives in our article on collagen for hair.

Having both in one portion keeps it to a single habit. You shake the pack, pour into the cap and drink it straight, or stir it into water or a smoothie.⁴

How much biotin is in Core^™?

Each portion of Core^™ has 5,000 µg of biotin.⁴ You take one portion a day.⁴

When you read labels, it helps to know that the adult daily reference intake for biotin in EU food labelling rules is 50 µg.⁶ That figure is a labelling reference.

The portion is sugar free and fat free, with a natural berry flavour.⁴ You can see the full recipe on the Core^™ product page.

What did women report on our liquid marine collagen?

In a user trial, 86% of 106 women reported healthier hair after taking our liquid marine collagen every day for 8 weeks, 95% felt the appearance of their skin improved and 76% reported stronger nails.⁴ These are results for the complete formula, taken as one daily portion.

The women in that trial reported visible results in as little as 4 weeks, with further improvement by week 8.⁴ In the same trial, 99% found the drink easy to include in their daily routine,⁴ which matters for anything you take every day.

What do women say about marine collagen?

A buyer of our liquid marine collagen loves what it does to her hair, nails and skin, and a writer who kept a six-month diary of her marine collagen routine found her skin more hydrated and her hair thicker and fuller. Both accounts are in the women's own words.

Questions about biotin