Biotin vs. Keratin: Which Is Right for Your Hair Type?

In recent years, biotin and keratin supplements have surged in popularity. Many experts and influencers credit smoother hair, stronger nails, and fuller-looking growth to keratin and biotin, but which one helps most? What will turn weak, thinning strands into a glossy, enviable mane?

If you want to start a healthy hair growth routine, you may be seeking options that are simple and reliable. We spoke with experts and reviewed the research to answer the question: keratin vs. biotin, what actually works? Plus, see what products truly support thicker looking hair.

Key Takeaways

• Biotin, a B vitamin, supports keratin production, and deficiency is rare but affects hair.

• Keratin is a protective structural protein, hair products supporting keratin promote strength and thickness.

• Combining biotin and keratin can reduce hair loss when no underlying cause exists.

What Is Biotin?

Biotin is a B vitamin (also called vitamin B7 or vitamin H). Your body uses this water-soluble vitamin to build keratin, the protein that makes up your hair, skin, and nails.

B7 also has antioxidant activity that helps maintain elasticity and strength in hair. The result is less breakage and damage, so your strands stay more resilient overall.

Vitamin B complex is important for healthy hair. The B vitamins — riboflavin (B2), biotin, folate, B6, and B12 — support cell growth, gene regulation, and hair growth.

Very low biotin levels can lead to thinning hair. If you are deficient, which is uncommon, you might notice:

• Hair fall

• Cuticle changes

• Skin rashes

• Frizzy hair

• Vision changes

The good news is that most people meet their biotin needs by eating a balanced diet.

Ways to Incorporate Biotin Into Your Hair Care Routine

1. Eat Biotin-Rich Foods

Adding biotin-rich foods to your meals can also encourage healthy hair growth. Examples include eggs, nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables.

2. Use Biotin-Infused Hair Products

You will find shampoos, conditioners, and hair masks made with biotin to help nourish and fortify hair strands.

3. Take a Biotin Supplement

Taking biotin supplements is a straightforward way to support healthy, glossy hair.

It is advised to consume 30 to 100 micrograms (mcg) of biotin in supplement form daily to prevent hair loss and ensure healthy hair growth.

What Is Keratin?

Keratin is a fibrous protein that, together with elastin and collagen, keeps your skin and hair intact.

While elastin and collagen maintain firmness and stretch, keratin acts like armor. It takes on sunlight and other external stress, protecting healthy cells. It also strengthens nails and is often lacking when nails feel brittle.

The same is true for hair. What you see is hardened keratin. Underneath, the hair shaft is constantly producing keratin.

Hair care products that improve overall hair health, thickness, and strength often do so by supporting keratin production and encouraging healthy growth.

Ways to Incorporate Keratin Into Your Hair Care Routine

1. Eat Foods Rich in Keratin

Including keratin-rich foods in your diet is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to use keratin for hair growth. Eating eggs, mangoes, onions, garlic, kale, sunflower seeds, and salmon can help you maintain a healthy mane, strengthen tissues and muscles, increase skin elasticity, and support good eye health.

2. Use Keratin-Based Hair Products

Keratin-based products may gradually increase your hair’s protein content. That can leave strands softer and smoother. Choose sulfate-free keratin shampoos, conditioners, and serums for fuller-looking results. I found lighter formulas reduced weight and kept curls bouncy on humid days.

3. Increase Your Vitamin C Intake

Vitamin C is a staple in many skin and hair routines for good reason. Your body needs vitamin C to make keratin. Good sources include citrus fruits like lemons and oranges, leafy greens like kale and spinach, and tropical fruits such as kiwis, mango, and pineapple.

Benefits of Using Biotin and Keratin Together

While each offers benefits on its own, is there an advantage to taking them together?

Yes. Both the vitamin and the protein help create strong hair and nails, so using them together can help hair and nails look and feel stronger.

Here are some potential benefits of combining both.

1. May Help With Hair Loss

Some data suggests that taking biotin and keratin, along with prescribed creams or natural hair oil like batana, may help limit hair loss or thinning. This applies when your clinician does not find another cause, such as illness or alopecia.

2. Biotin Can Improve Keratin

Yes, that is correct.

Biotin helps support the keratin infrastructure in your body, making it stronger and more durable. If your hair feels limp or hard to manage, using both supplements can help reinforce keratin so it is harder to penetrate the hair’s cells. That can make breakage less likely.

With stronger strands, hair is more likely to grow rather than snap off (for example, if you bleach often or lack certain nutrients). You may reach your hair goals faster than you would without the combination.

3. Helps Hair Stay on Your Scalp

Many of us see loose hairs on a comb or brush. That is normal, and most people notice a few strands after grooming. When hair is weaker, though, it can shed from the root more easily during brushing, which can contribute to thinning.

According to a 2014 study, women aged 40 to 70 who took keratin supplements with B-complex vitamins had hair that was 47% more likely to stay during brushing. Their hair was also less likely to come out when pulled.

4. Can Improve Nail Strength

Brittle nails can break easily and get in the way of daily tasks. You might see them split when you scratch yourself or when opening a bottle or can.

In the same 2014 study, participants reported a 50% improvement in nail hardness, which is significant.

Harder nails are also more likely to grow longer because they are less likely to break during everyday activities.

Build a Simple Biotin and Keratin Routine With Keyoma

When weighing biotin vs. keratin for hair health, both offer distinct benefits. Biotin can promote growth and strength, while keratin supports resilience and repair. Using both within a balanced hair care routine may help you achieve healthy, luscious hair.