Viviscal Vs Biotin
Compare Viviscal and Biotin for the best hair growth treatment
Viviscal Vs Biotin Feature Comparison
If you’re battling hair loss or thinning you have likely found that two of the most recommended paths back to a full head of hair is through vitamins or drugs (not the addictive kind!). On the vitamin side you have essential food based vitamins and the manufactured multivitamin kind. There are converts and advocates on both side of the aisle. Lets see which one could help you reach your hair growth goals!
Viviscal and Biotin have both been in the news recently as possible solutions to hair loss and thinning. Both supplements have been the focus of several studies trying to determine their role in hair growth. This leads to the question of which supplement is better, Viviscal vs Biotin, or can they be taken at the same time?
Each product has been touted as a solution for hair loss and thinning. Viviscal tackles hair loss by providing vitamins and nutrients that promote hair growth. Biotin is a vitamin found in food and is essential for development of hair, nails and skin. What’s interesting in this comparison is that Viviscal contains Biotin. Since Viviscal and Biotin both play a role in hair growth we created the following chart to help you evaluate Viviscal vs Biotin and select the hair growth product that meets your needs.
| Viviscal | Biotin | |
|---|---|---|
| What is it | Over the Counter Supplement | Vitamin |
| What it Does | Supports and promotes existing hair growth with a blend of proprietary vitamins and minerals. | Supports and the development of skin, nails and hair in healthy adults. |
| What its for | Thinning hair | Part of a balanced diet |
| Application | Oral | Oral |
| Treatment Duration | Needs to be used indefinitely for continued results | Indefinitely |
| Time for Results | 3-6 Months | NA |
| Possible Side Effects | Viviscal is not suitable for people with an allergy to fish or shellfish, pregnant, breast feeding, or who are allergic to Millet Seed | Acne, skewed blood work results, increased blood sugar levels, upset stomach, skin rash, and interactions with other medications |
| Can it stop hair loss? | Viviscal has been proven to help reduce hair loss in several studies | There is little evidence biotin alone can reduce hair loss in healthy adults |
Viviscal
Viviscal is designed to support hair growth from within. The primary ingredient in Viviscal is called AminoMar® marine complex. Besides being based on AminoMar® Viviscal there is not much public information available about the company other than being based in Ireland and founded in 1990. Lets examine AminoMar®.
Whats in Viviscal
AminoMar is just what you think, a medley of ground up sea creatures, mostly fish and mollusk powder. This special ingredient is based on the research of a Scandinavian professor studying the Inuits. The professor believed their superb hair and skin could be attributed to their marine based diet. This belief lead to isolating the key protein molecules from the Inuits’ diet which in turn resulted in the creation of AminoMar. Viviscval also contains other vitamins known to promote hair health such as biotin, vitamin C, and iron. In addition Viviscal also contains biotin. This leads may people to decide Viviscal is a good choice as it provides biotin and AminoMar.
The Viviscal Effect
Viviscal has been on the market for over 25 years! In addition to it being one of the first supplements to support hair growth there are also several studies supporting the effectiveness of viviscal as a treatment for thinning hair. Based on the research viviscal does help some people with thinning and hair loss.
What is Biotin
Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin also called vitamin B7 and once known as vitamin H. Biotin plays an important role in the body. Its necessary for healthy skin, the nervous system development, the digestive tract, and helps metabolism. Biotin aids in repairing hair damaged from over-shampooing, sun exposure, and blow-drying. In addition it can aid hair growth by supporting the adrenal glands. Your Body requires biotin to function properly. If you have a biotin deficiency taking a biotin supplement would likely be effective and needed. However most people do not have a biotin deficiency.
Biotin Ingredients
Biotin is usually listed as an ingredient, but how are biotin supplements actually made? Thats a surprisingly difficult question to answer. This is mostly because there are several different ways of creating or extracting biotin. The short answer is it depends on the supplement in question. If the supplement is promoted as 'whole food' or 'food based' then biotin is typically extracted from plants. However if your supplement just says 'biotin' without much explanation about how its made, it likely comes from a chemical laden process resulting in a neat little pill. To keep this from becoming a chemistry lesson lets look at the Sola Garden Whole Food Biotin Supplement. This product lists the following ingredients: Biotin and Celouse. The biotin is derived from South Asian Sesbania Agati trees.
Biotin Results
Biotin and hair growth seems to be deeply rooted in most peoples minds. A web search for 'Biotin hair growth' results in over 7 million hits. However many of these are personal opinions or product promotions. Lets consider a few scientific studies. According to the National Institutes of Health there is insufficient evidence that biotin alone can increase hair growth in the average healthy adult. However other studies have produced what the authors did consider compelling evidence for biotins role in hair growth.
A 2015 study by the Ablon Skin Institute Research Center supplied women with thinning hair an oral marine protein supplement (MPS) containing biotin or a placebo pill twice a day for ninety days. Researchers concluded that the women who took MPS experienced an impressive amount of hair growth and had reduced shedding. A key takeaway from this study is that biotin was part of the hair growth solution. Biotin was paired with a marine protein supplement to achieve increased hair growth.
Biotin on its own does not promote hair growth in average healthy adults. However when combined with other supplements then there is evidence of increased hair growth.
Viviscal vs Biotin Results
After digging into Viviscal and Biotin its clear that they are two very different products. Biotin is considered a vitamin where as Visiscal is a product comprised of multiple ingredients. Although Biotin is needed for healthy hair and nail development, this does not mean taking more Biotin makes more hair grow. However when Biotin is added to other supplements such as Visiscal there is documented evidence of increased hair growth.
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