For so many of us – women and men alike – the idea of having fuller-looking hair is alluring. In numerous supplements for hair, skin and nails, you’ll find a B-vitamin complex called biotin. This vitamin is often romanticized as a savior for those looking to thicken hair. But if your desire is to minimize hair shedding, regrow and restore healthier hair, is biotin the best choice?

You may have also heard of keratin. So, what about keratin? Is keratin the better choice? This fibrous protein makes up about 90% of our hair and is formed inside a follicle’s hair root where the cells band together and rise toward the surface of the skin. Like skin, the state of our hair is an indication of how well the vitamins within our body are balanced. However, with age, the production of keratin inevitably slows down. By replenishing keratin, the systems that give support to healthy hair growth are also helping to maintain balance. Still, are keratin supplements alone enough to restore your hair?

Keratin vs Biotin

Let’s investigate keratin vs biotin, and review what science tells us.

Keratin: The keratin protein contains 18 amino acids, with its main player being cysteine – an amino acid high in sulfur. Scientific studies show that sulfur helps promote a longer growth cycle in hair, skin and nails. Not only is cysteine an important amino acid to produce keratin, it also functions as an antioxidant, fighting cell-damaging free radicals.

In fact, there’s a breakthrough ingredient called Cynatine HNS that’s rich in keratin and cysteine. In clinical studies, it has shown to boost hair strength at the root and help reduce excess shedding.

My friend, board-certified NYC dermatologist, Dr. Dendy Engelman, is a big advocate for keratin protein supplements that contain Cynatine HNS. Given that this nutritional keratin ingredient delivers a highly soluble, ready-to-use form of protein to support healthy hair growth, it is capable of supporting stronger hair and promoting its growth cycle.

Biotin: Also known as B7, biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that helps your body to metabolize protein, fat, and carbohydrates to create energy. It works by breaking down these macronutrients into amino acids – the necessary building blocks for creating the different kinds of proteins found throughout the body including collagen, elastin, and keratin.

This vitamin B7 also supports healthy hair by transporting oxygen to “hair cells” located in the scalp and hair follicles and removes waste like carbon dioxide.

Biotin and Keratin Supplements Combined

When it comes to choosing biotin and keratin supplements, I’m sure you’re wondering whether you should be focused on taking one or the other. As nutrients with very distinct compositions and roles within the body, keratin and biotin are not in competition with each other. Biotin helps create vital proteins that may be lacking in the longer term. And If your goal is to support hair growth and strengthen its health, then adding a keratin supplement benefits this objective for dull, weak hair in a shorter period of time.

Truly, the most effective hair-revitalizing formulas provide both biotin and keratin. The benefits of keratin supplements combined with the essential B-vitamin of biotin, allows for a healthy hair growth cycle, strength, and shine. To take it a step further, in my own formula which has both Biotin and Keratin, I also include a proprietary resveratrol blend to help further reduce hair shedding and give a boost to hair growth from the cellular level through autophagy and neutralizing the aging effects of free radical damage.

Check out my Keratin with Biotin & Resveratrol product for youthful skin, healthy hair, and strong nails, and read more on the truth about hair, skin & nails supplements. Using a combination supplement of biotin and keratin every day may truly lead you on the path to thicker, fuller-looking, healthier hair.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe to my newsletter, where you’ll receive emails with more information about health and wellness, links to videos, product offers, and more.