Progressive hair loss has a cosmetic and social impact. Hair undergoes three stages of hair cycle: the anagen, catagen, and telogen phases. Through cyclical loss and new-hair growth, the number of hairs remains relatively constant. A variety of factors, such as hormones, nutritional status, and exposure to radiations, environmental toxicants, and medications, may affect hair growth. According to numerous studies, using either silicon or biotin supplements have shown impressive results in helping to combat hair loss and thus increase hair growth.
“Hair strands with higher silicon content tend to have lower falling rate and higher brightness.
“A randomized study with 48 volunteers investigated the effect of ch-OSA on hair.
“The volunteers had thin hairs and were divided into two groups: ch-OSA and placebo and the first group received daily doses of 10 mg of silicon, for a period of nine months.
“In general, positive results were obtained in the evaluated hair properties, such as strand resistance to breaking, for example.
“Furthermore, the area of the strand front section increased significantly after nine months of supplementation containing ch-OSA, whereas the placebo group exhibited no significant difference.”
Biotin
Biotin is very safe to consume, as any excess amounts – from food or supplements – will be excreted from the body.
The Ablon Skin Institute Research Center, in California, looked into the effects of biotin on hair growth.
Sixty participants took part in the experiment who reported “self-perceived thinning hair”.
The participants were randomly assigned to receive an oral marine protein supplement, containing biotin, or a placebo pill twice a day.
The trial went on for 90 days, with digital images of people’s hair taken at the beginning and end of the study.
In addition, each participant’s hair was washed, and any shed hairs were counted at the start and end of the 90-day trial.
There were 30 individuals randomly assigned to each group, and all filled out another questionnaire at the end of the experiment.
The data revealed that those who had taken biotin “achieved a significant increase in the number of hairs”.