I have been taking G.N.C.'s hair vitamin, Ultra Nourishair, for about 3 months.  It includes biotin, MSM, silica, etc...  I think my hair has been growing faster, about 1/2 inch a month faster.  I have always been highly cynical about vitamins, and I've never taken them very consistently in the past.  I have to say, though, that since I've been taking Nourishair, my nails have gotten really hard.     :D   Yaaaay!   I've always had problems with weak, flaky nails, but now they're so hard that it's like I've put nail hardener on them.  I assume that the vitamins have to be doing SOMETHING good to my hair!  Anyway, for a two months supply it's $16.99 so it's something I can actually afford.  Oh, I also take some flax seed oil with my vitamins, too.  Has anybody else out there in Long Hair Land tried Ultra Nourishair?

No, I haven't tried it, but thank you for sharing the good news! I've been wondering what I can do to make my hair grow faster than the damage that accumulates at the ends of it

Of course, eating right and getting enough sleep might help that too.  :D Naaahhhh...

Christine

Glad to hear you're getting good results.  Out of curiousity, what are the amounts of MSM, biotin and silica for a daily dose?

A daily dose of Nourishair (2 tablets) has 1200 mcg of Biotin, 500 mg of MSM and 1 mg of silica.  It also has other vitamins in it and amino acids...   :)  

I was taking the Ultra Nourishair, but they were really
upsetting my stomach :(, so I  started cutting down on
the dosage and my upset stomach went away and
my breakouts,too.  (that may be due to the drier winter
weather)Now I cut them in half and sometimes take
them every other day.   I don't know if that's enough
to make any difference but I figure that some is better
than nothing at all.  I take a good multi every day and
eat a good diet (lots of fruits, vegetables and protein)
so I think I'm pretty well covered in that dept. (except
I'm a caffeine junkie, trying to quit.)

I'm not into taking a lot of supplements, but this Ultra Nourishair sounds promising.  My fingernails are like yours, Eowyn, or like yours used to be.  And if it helps the hair to grow faster, that's a bonus! I take a multi and try to get a good diet.  I'll have to go looking for it after Christmas.  I am NOT going to a store before Christmas - BEDLAM!!

I just bought a bottle at GNC.  They expire in February so the price was only $4.24.  Even with only taking them for 30 days, they will be very affordable.  

I didn't like how big they were though, so I don't know that I'll be able to keep up on them.  I'm not great at taking pills, and these definetly have that vitaminy smell/taste.  

Bikerbraid--I think I've seen you post that you take MSM and silica, what amounts are you taking or where I should I look for recommended doses?  

I'm taking 1500mg of MSM and1000mg of Silica (Horsetail extract) each day.  I am also taking a good multi-vitamin and 10 mg Biotin.

After looking around a bit I finally decided to try the "One Source Complete Hair, Skin, & Nails" .  It is at Wal-Mart and was $5 for 75 caplets (2/day).  
That gives me Biotin 2500 mcg (I'm trying to dredge up my metric here so I think that would be 25 mg), MSM 100mg, and Horsetail extract 2 mg.  Lots of other stuff in there too.  
Since I am also taking a multi the only thing I'm concerned about is the amount of the fat-soluble vitamins since taking both will give me well over the 100% "daily value".  Maybe I'll check with one of the dieticians at work to see if I'll grow an extra arm or ear or something if I take too much of those :-/
Hummmm...silicon dioxide.....remembering my chemistry....isn't that sand?   ;)  And horsetail extract -- is that the animal or some marsh plant? Maybe going to the saltmarsh with a horse would be the best place to grow long hair ;D.   My iconoclastic tendencies are getting the better of me tonight!

I am giving up on GNC's ultra nourishair.  The pills are too big and too way too vitaminy smelling.  I'll have to try to find something else.  

wrote on Jan 8^th, 2005 at 10:32pm:

After looking around a bit I finally decided to try the "One Source Complete Hair, Skin, & Nails" .  It is at Wal-Mart and was $5 for 75 caplets (2/day).   That gives me Biotin 2500 mcg (I'm trying to dredge up my metric here so I think that would be 25 mg), MSM 100mg, and Horsetail extract 2 mg.  Lots of other stuff in there too.   Since I am also taking a multi the only thing I'm concerned about is the amount of the fat-soluble vitamins since taking both will give me well over the 100% "daily value".  Maybe I'll check with one of the dieticians at work to see if I'll grow an extra arm or ear or something if I take too much of those :-/ Hummmm...silicon dioxide.....remembering my chemistry....isn't that sand?   ;)  And horsetail extract -- is that the animal or some marsh plant? Maybe going to the saltmarsh with a horse would be the best place to grow long hair ;D.   My iconoclastic tendencies are getting the better of me tonight!

Was it cheap? It doesn't look like a balanced formula. Yes, 2500 mcg (which is 2.5 mg) is a huge amount of biotin, probably lots more than you need, even if you had a severe deficiency. The MSM is really low, though. A study I saw online that supposedly tested MSM and found it to help fingernail strength used 3 grams per day. They saw results within a month.

I didn't see results at all, so after a couple of months I stopped completely.

2 mgs of horsetail extract is almost nothing.

What fat-soluble vitamins are you referring to? You didn't list any that are contained in the hair vitamin ingredients list. A, D, & E are fat-soluble, biotin is a B vitamin, water-soluble, and MSM is not a vitamin.

Silicon dioxide is sand, yes, but in this case it's probably serving as an inert filler. The active ingredients don't add up to the size of a pill, so they need to extend it. Standard procedure.

I recommend that you find a natural foods store that has MSM in bulk in jars, so you can get enough to have the possibility of making a difference.

You're right eKatherine, I noticed those things too.  The fat soluble vitamins I am referring to are A, D and E.  It was relatively cheap, and I could easily add a regular MSM to supplement that.  3 gm a day- hmmm.  
I'll have to see, I hate taking pills so this may not last unless I see some spectacular results.
Thanks for your thoughts.

wrote on Jan 8^th, 2005 at 11:17pm:

Was it cheap? It doesn't look like a balanced formula. Yes, 2500 mcg (which is 2.5 mg) is a huge amount of biotin, probably lots more than you need, even if you had a severe deficiency.

indeed. i bought myself 2.5 mg biotin tablets (cuze they had nothing else). but i cut them cuze i figured around 1.25 mg is more than enough. i saw the effects immediately (i think i would have even stopped taking them cif not cuze i just don't belief in effect for which you have to wait six months). i shed indeed a lot less. i tried to take 2.5 mg daily as well to see the difference (and i wanted the extra boost cuze i was going to dye my roots). all i got was a major breakout and no extra reduction in shedding so i am back to cutting my tablets in half  :)

wrote on Jan 8^th, 2005 at 11:30pm:

You're right eKatherine, I noticed those things too.  The fat soluble vitamins I am referring to are A, D and E.

personally i'd never take ADEK vitamines (unless your diet is really poor). you can overdose on them (especially dangerous when pregnant!).

Actually, it's a good idea to take vitamin D in the winter if you live in a northern climate (which most of us do). The dosage you find in over-the-counter vitamins is in no way dangerous.

I take vitamin E for leg cramps at night. If I stop, they come back.

I don't take vitamin A.

i think vitamine D is already put in most milk (and certain yoghurts) around here and since i roughly consume 1/2 liter a day ...

but even then, to get a real deficiency one would have to live in one of those scandinavian countries where you only get two hours of faint sunlight at some months in winter.

I've been really happy taking GNC Ultranourishair for about 4 months along with GNC Women's UltraMega Vitamins.  I know my shedding is reduced and I have a noticeable little crop of new growth all over my head about 2" or more, long.

Maybe everybody just responds differently to different amounts of supplements.

This topic has a lot of good posts with lots of good info.

Okay, having done some online research I've decided using both multi vitamin and a hair supplement with all those fat-soluble vitamins (especially A) is not going to work.  Cuz a side-effect of too much A is....hair loss :o
So I will use one or the other, maybe alternate them.  I haven't been able to find any good studies on MSM or Horsetail extract - has anyone else got some references?  I find info on Biotin, mostly related to  deficiencies, which are very rare since it is so prevalent in our diets.

wow...vitamins/supplements/typing systems? I'm so confused...and I have BioChem homework tonight...
I'm in college now, so this shouldn't be too hard to become accustomed too lol
~ Lyn

wrote on Jan 20^th, 2005 at 9:11pm:

wow...vitamins/supplements/typing systems? I'm so confused...and I have BioChem homework tonight... I'm in college now, so this shouldn't be too hard to become accustomed too lol ~ Lyn

awww ... do you used the big red Stryer biochemistry bible as well as a starter?