Biotin is a B vitamin that plays a critical role in a wide range of bodily functions. It’s sometimes also known as vitamin B7 or vitamin H, and it appears to impact your body’s ability to synthesize proteins for skin, hair, and metabolic functions involving fat or glucose.
The research on biotin is still in its early stages, but people are hopeful that it can be used to improve hair thickness, fight brittle nails, and even improve metabolic health and control blood sugar.
Our research team looked into the best biotin supplements out there; here’s what we came up with.
Research
Rankings
Last updated: December 23, 2022
Biotin supplements considered: 23
Hours of research: 38
Experts reviewed: 6
Scientific papers referenced: 10
1. Biotin Pure + by Nuzena
Click here for the lowest price
Nuzena is a new, premium supplement line famous for its potent concentrations.
Biotin Pure + by Nuzena is a beast of a biotin supplement. Nuzena offers a maximum strength biotin supplement packing in 10,000mcg of Biotin per capsule.
(+ 179 mg of calcium)
Where Nuzena really shines through is in the quality of their supplements. Their Biotin Pure + supplement is gluten-free, Non-GMO, sugar-free, sustainably sourced, and even vegan friendly.
There’s also plenty of good customer feedback on this product too — all with purchase verifications too, which is a great trust indicator.
All things considered, we give Biotin Pure + the well deserved #1 spot for the best biotin supplement.
Click here for the lowest price
2. Natrol Biotin Maximum Potency
Natrol makes a high-dosage biotin supplement with a little bit of calcium added (66 mg to be exact). It comes in a vegetable cellulose capsule and is free from most common allergens like dairy, soy, and nuts.
Its dosage is on the high end, at 10,000 micrograms. Natrol also makes lower dosage biotin supplements, but these aren’t as popular.
3. Sports Research High Potency Biotin
Sports Research is known for high-quality supplements, and their biotin offering fits the bill.
With 10,000 micrograms of biotin and the United States Pharmacopeia mark guaranteeing extremely high purity and dosage accuracy, it is a very solid go-to biotin supplement. The compound is dissolved in coconut oil and beeswax, and comes in a vegan-friendly softgel.
4. Solgar Super High Potency Biotin
Solgar makes a simple, straightforward, no-BS biotin supplement. It delivers 10,000 micrograms and nothing else, save for a vegetarian-friendly cellulose capsule and a few binders to hold the capsule together, making it an excellent pick.
Given Solgar’s good reputation for purity and supplement quality, it’s a good buy for anyone who wants a minimalist high-dose biotin supplement.
5. Zhou Hairfluence
Zhou Hairfluence is more of a total solution to hair thickness and fullness—yes, it’s got biotin, but it’s also got about a dozen other ingredients, including other B vitamins, pantothenic acid, MSM, collagen hydrolysate, and even pure keratin (the protein hair is made out of).
The theory here is to load up your body with all the ingredients it needs to pump out hair as fast and as thick as possible. As a biotin supplement, it functions pretty well, delivering 5,000 micrograms per dose (however, do note that a dose is two capsules, not one).
Zhou Hairfluence is well-reviewed, so if you want a multi-ingredient hair supplement, this is the one to go with. If all you want is biotin, there are better options.
6. NOW Biotin
NOW Biotin is a safe bet for a simple biotin supplement. NOW is a large and fairly well-regarded vitamin and supplement company, and their 10,000 microgram biotin supplement is pretty solid: no red-flag ingredients and no common allergens.
NOW also makes a 1,000 and 5,000 dose version of their biotin supplement, too, if you’d like a lower dosage biotin supplement with the same quality.
7. Webber Naturals Biotin
Webber Naturals Biotin provides a 5000 microgram biotin supplement. It’s pretty basic, but it does the job.
This non-GMO, vegan, dairy and sugar free product gives you the biotin you need while maintaining a clean product design.
8. VitaFusion Extra Strength Biotin
VitaFusion’s biotin is the only gummy-based supplement on the market, so it’s one of your only options if you don’t want or don’t like pill based supplements.
You do have to be okay with the fact that these gummies are gelatin-based and include some artificial flavoring and coloring, though. At 5,000 micrograms per dose, they are middle of the road when it comes to dosage.
9. Nature’s Bounty Biotin
Nature’s Bounty offers a few different dosages of biotin, but the 10,000 microgram version is the most popular. While it’s pretty simple to make a biotin supplement, Nature’s Bounty seems to have cut a few corners here.
The biotin is dissolved in soybean oil, which won’t sit well with the anti-soy crowd, and the capsules are colored with titanium dioxide (for aesthetic purposes).
10. SBR Nutrition Biotin
SBR Nutrition’s biotin supplement is unique in its form of delivery. It comes in a dropper bottle, which allows you to measure out arbitrary doses of biotin.
It is flavored with natural vanilla and stevia to make the taste palatable, but unless you really dislike pills or have a good reason for wanting a liquid source of biotin, you should probably just opt for a capsule-based supplement.
Category winners
Best biotin overall: Biotin Pure + by Nuzena
Nuzena is well-regarded for their extremely high quality supplements, and Biotin Pure + is an excellent example. With a high dosage and nothing in the way of extraneous ingredients, Biotin Pure + is the perfect all-around pick.
Best biotin for hair: Zhou Hairfluence
Zhou Hairfluence provides a strong dose of biotin alongside other hair-strengthening compounds like B vitamins, collagen, and keratin. This multi-ingredient blend is the best way to give your body the building blocks it needs for stronger and thicker hair.
Best biotin for nails: Natrol Biotin Maximum Potency
Natrol’s biotin supplement is high in dosage and low in extra additives. Since nails grow so slowly, you’ll want to deliver a high and consistent dose over the long term to strengthen your nails, and that’s exactly what Natrol Biotin is best-suited for.
Best biotin for skin: Biotin Pure + by Nuzena
Keeping skin strong with biotin is similar to keeping nails and hair strong: you want a strong, consistent dosage. Nuzena goes the extra mile by providing this in ultra-pure high dose capsules, plus a little calcium for collagen integrity.
Best biotin for men: Solgar Super High Potency Biotin
Men looking to use biotin for thicker and stronger hair can take advantage of the high dosage available in Solgar Super High Potency Biotin—since men’s focus is primarily on hair thickness and strength, and less so on shine and texture, they benefit more from a pure biotin supplement versus a general-purpose hair supplement with multiple active ingredients.
Best biotin for metabolic health: Sports Research High Potency Biotin
If you are looking to use biotin to improve your metabolic health and better-control your blood sugar, Sports Research High Potency Biotin is a great choice, especially in combination with a chromium supplement. Sports Research delivers their biotin in coconut oil, and does so at a dose that’s well-situated to help control blood sugar.
Who should buy biotin?
Biotin is a specialized supplement that can help improve the thickness and quality of your nails and hair, but it’s got a few other applications too.
People who want healthier hair, nails, and skin. If you have brittle nails or dry, thin, and brittle hair, biotin might be able to assist.
As a naturally-occuring B-vitamin, it plays an important role in the synthesis of the proteins that make up both hair and nails (believe it or not, they are nearly identical in their makeup).
People who want to improve blood sugar control. Beyond the hair and nail uses of biotin, there’s also some preliminary evidence that biotin, alongside chromium, may be able to improve your control over your blood sugar.
How we ranked
To make our rankings, we first took stock of the wide range of biotin-containing supplements on the market. Some of these were dedicated biotin supplements, while others used biotin alongside other supplemental ingredients.
Biotin-focused formulation. First, we excluded anything that wasn’t either a biotin-only formulation or a blend that specifically focused on hair and nail health.
While biotin plays a role in many other biological functions, if you are taking a biotin supplement, you are probably looking to leverage its nail and hair health benefits.
Powerful dosage. Next up, we took a look at the dosage. We made there was more than the recommended daily intake of biotin, but also ensured that the supplement dosage did not exceed 10 mg (or 10,000 micrograms), as the safety of biotin has not been studied at dosages beyond this level.
Clean, simple supplement design. We also closely examined the other ingredients in the supplement, and had strong preferences towards clean supplement design: no unnecessary fillers, binders, or coloring agents. With very few exceptions, liquid-based biotin supplements did not make it past the cut.
They typically did not have the right dosage level, and had too many solvents or flavoring agents to make it worth taking.
Liquid supplements also pose a dosage problem, where it is hard to get an accurate amount of liquid from just an eyedropper bottle. Capsule-based supplements have more precisely measured dosages, so it’s easier to know how much biotin you are getting.
Synergistic bonus ingredients. Finally, we took stock of any other active ingredients which could exert a synergistic or beneficial effect.
Zhou’s Hairfluence moved up in the standings at this point, thanks to its inclusion of MSM, folate, and other beneficial nutrients, as did Natrol Biotin, our top-ranked supplement, thanks to its extra calcium.
The final ten biotin supplements all deliver pure and effective dosages to strengthen hair, fight brittle nails, and improve blood sugar control.
FAQ
Q: What B-vitamin is biotin?
A: Biotin is designated as vitamin B7. It belongs to the category of B vitamins because it is a cofactor in cellular reactions that regulate the basic energetic functions of the cells in your body.
As with the other B vitamins, such as folate, niacin, cobalamin, and many others, biotin is water-soluble and, though only necessary in trace amounts, plays a key role in keeping your body’s internal mechanics functioning.
Q: What is biotin made of?
A: Unlike many supplements, biotin is not something only found in certain plants and herbs. It’s a critical micronutrient with a fairly simple chemical structure, and can be found in nuts, seeds, fish, dairy, and avocados, to name just a few foods.
Some strains of probiotic bacteria also produce biotin on their own, so you get some of it as a part of having a normal and healthy gut bacteria.
It’s similar to many of the other alphabet vitamins in that it is an individual, distinct molecule with a specific biological purpose (or several purposes, as is the case with biotin and many other B vitamins).
Q: What are the uses of biotin?
A: As a supplement, the primary uses of biotin are strengthening your hair and your nails. Some of the hallmark symptoms of biotin deficiency are brittle nails and thinning and fragile hair, which is caused by dysfunction in the biological reactions that synthesize both hair and nail cells (which happen to be made out of the same protein).
The thought, which is supported by some clinical evidence from scientific research, is that supplying additional biotin can help your body ensure that your hair and nails are as healthy as possible.
Some emerging scientific research also suggests that biotin, alongside chromium, may help improve blood sugar control in people who have metabolic syndrome or are prediabetic, though there’s more research that needs to be done on this topic.
Q: Does biotin help with weight loss?
A: So far, no solid scientific research has indicated that biotin would be a useful weight loss supplement. People on very restrictive diets, or who have had gastric bypass surgery as an obesity treatment, may be at risk for developing a biotin deficiency, though.
One case study describes a patient who had a gastric bypass surgery who subsequently developed a complete loss of taste.
Doctors were able to restore it with high-dose biotin supplementation (1). This report does suggest that biotin deficiency might be a side effect of aggressive weight loss or very restrictive diets, but more research is needed to confirm these results.
Q: Is 10,000 mcg the best dose of biotin?
A: 10,000 mcg is the highest dosage that’s been determined to be safe in nutritional studies. A few medical studies have reported using 40,000 mcg to treat deficiencies and have not had any adverse effects, but in terms of nutrition studies, 10,000 mcg (which is the same as 10 mg) is the upper limit.
This dosage is far above the recommended daily intake of 30 mcg, but this threshold was developed purely from population surveys of biotin intake—the theory being that the average biotin intake of a healthy person would have to be a sufficient amount.
Q: How much is too much biotin?
A: Right now, the nutritional recommendations are that you not exceed 10,000 mcg (or 10 mg) of supplemental biotin per day.
It’s not that doses beyond this have been proven harmful; rather, doses beyond this range have not been studied in detail, so their safety can’t be guaranteed.
A few case reports in the medical literature have used doses of up to 40 mg for a short period to treat severe biotin deficiencies, and did not have any negative side effects, though these were not systematic studies.
Since most people seem to only need around 30 mcg of biotin to stay healthy, super-high doses of biotin probably aren’t necessary, even if you think you have a deficiency.
Related articles
Recap
Biotin is a very safe B vitamin supplement that might help you grow thicker hair, repair brittle and thin nails, and even control your blood sugar.
It’s safe in doses at least up to 10 mg per day, and though the research on its uses is in its early stages, there are promising signs that it could be effective at improving the health of your skin, nails, hair, and blood sugar control.
For BodyNutrition‘s #1 biotin recommendation, click here.
