Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Our stylist told my boyfriend to start taking biotin because his hair looks thinner recently. Nothing has really changed, he wears a hat (a thin lil cap) most days, washes every other day...He has fine hair but lots of it, he is 24 if that helps.

What can he do? What should he take/eat?

I used to take biotin ages ago, but forgot to keep doing it. Anyway, biotin is easy to find at health food/vitamin stores, and each bottle should have a recommended dosage on it. Don't take more than this amount, because most types have added calcium and taking too much can cause kidney stones.

His situation sounds a lot like my boyfriend's. He's 26 and has had thinning hair for a while. He wears hats pretty much every day. For some reason I hadn't thought of getting him on biotin, but it makes sense. I've been meaning to get more for myself, I might just have to share it.

Perhaps it's normal that his hair is thinning?

Is he eating a lot of raw eggs? Judging from this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotin - that is one of the few causes of a biotin deficiency along with pregnancy.

Also:

"Some shampoos are available that contain biotin, but it is doubtful whether they would have any useful effect, as biotin is not absorbed well through the skin."

Biotin will make stronger hair grow, but not more of it. He's probably thinning since 24 is a common age for that to start. There's not really anything you can do.

I would also guess that it's normal. That seems like the right age for that sort of thing to start happening if it's going to, sometimes even earlier. He could always see a doctor if he wanted to, but I don't think there's anything you can do to stop normal hair loss.

When he was taking the biotin last year (part of a iron supplement) the hair dresser said his hair was thicker. I wonder if it could be stress - he finished training and there is no job right now...His diet is the same (he does not eat eggs) so I don't think it is a deficiency...

Rogaine.

Apparently eating Brussels Sprouts and ginger promotes the growth of healthy thick hair due to there high concentration of organic sulphur.

My bag of raw maca powder says it is good for that, because it's all about regulating hormones or something. I forget why I use it.

Well technically you can stop male pattern baldness with testosterone blockers. But you can't just block testosterone without replacing it with estrogen which obviously is only something a trans woman should be doing. But I just find it interesting, I never knew about how many things were linked to testosterone or estrogen alone until I started on testosterone. (So basically I'm signing up for male pattern baldness unlike trans women who sign up to stop it). Fun stuff.

Oh I did however read the higher levels of testosterone you have the more likely you are to bald and the faster it will happen, so if that really is a concern to anyone they could talk to their doctors about checking their hormone levels, if it is high I don't see why you couldn't see an endocrinologist and have them lowered slightly.