What You Should Know Before You Take Biotin For Hair Loss
If you’re experiencing hair loss, whether that be diffused hair loss, thinning, receding hairline or hair loss around the crown of the head, a simple Google search will tell you to get on biotin supplements or similar products. Unfortunately, the link between hair loss and nutrition is not that simple, and it’s not always just about biotin. Hair loss can be a result of many factors from genetics to stress management.
A lot of patients will mark off hair loss as one of their nutrition impact symptoms, so I am constantly worried about why. What is happening in their bodies to cause hair loss, and how can I help them address it?
Over the years, I’ve seen a two common threads that may lead to hair loss, so I ask every patient:
Do you have a low calorie/nutrient diet?
Are there underlying issues such as PCOS, thyroid issues, perimenopause, poor stress management, sleep issues, a recent stressful event, complications due to COVID, etc.?
But I want to get to the bottom of this symptom, and the best way to do this is to take blood work. The labs I test for include HgbA1c, TSH, vitamin D, ferritin. I test for more, but these could point you in a better direction in regards to hair loss.
I’d also test B12. I see that B12 often low in patients with hair loss and it can be added to supplement along with the others if needed. I don’t really test for zinc on a lab, but use my clinical judgement based on the patient’s overall diet, health conditions and symptoms to see if they are in need of more zinc as well.
So you see that you might not want to jump straight to taking biotin for hair loss. For one, if you are taking biotin, it can interfere with thyroid and heart (heart attack) related lab works, so you would need to stop taking it a few days before getting that lab work done. On the other hand, if those lab results are normal, biotin may not even help the problem at all. Before jumping to biotin, it’s best to see if you have:
Iron deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency
Zinc deficiency
Frankly, I’d rather my patients take a multivitamin rather than just biotin. Nutrients work together. And you want to fill in any other gaps you may not be aware of that could be causing the hair loss. And of course, try to get more omega-3s if intake is low and it’s appropriate for you.
And finally, iIf you have PCOS, diabetes, pre-diabetes, managing blood glucose is key along with dealing with any deficiencies that can not only affect hair loss but your overall health as well.
If you want to know more, reach out to me! I’d love to work with you and I have free 15-minute consultations.