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Introduction
Your body makes keratin, a protein in your nails, skin, and hair, and it also keeps it protected. However, when your hair becomes frizzy, dry, undefined, and unmanageable, one fix for that is going for keratin treatments. You can have them at the salon or at home. It is much cheaper to do keratin hair treatments at home because you do not have to pay the salon for a service charge. However, you have to know what you are doing so you do the treatments correctly.
Instead of doing keratin treatments at home or the salon, others take keratin vitamins or a supplement. Let’s talk about keratin supplements, and let’s talk further about whether or not you should take them for hair growth and hair management.
What Are Keratin Supplements, And Why Do Some People Take Them?
You can find keratin supplements at your local health food store, pharmacy, and online. Keratin from the hooves, wool, and feathers of animals is what goes into those supplements. They come in pills or powders, and those who take the supplements believe that they will strengthen their hair and nails and help give them a shiny appearance.
Keratin supplements are not the only supplements for hair and nails on the market, as biotin is another type. The purpose of biotin is to help your body produce more keratin which will help strengthen hair and nails and promote their growth. The difference between them is that biotin is a vitamin, and keratin is a protein. The term for biotin is B7, and that helps your body break keratin down so your skin, nails, and hair can benefit from it. Now, the next query is, how much keratin supplements should you take since you need that protein in your body?
Is There A Recommended Dose Of Keratin That You Should Take?
The answer to this may surprise you, but there is no recommended amount of keratin that you should take to strengthen your nails and hair and to improve your skin’s complexion. It may sound counterintuitive that there is no recommended dose of keratin supplements since it is the protein your body needs to keep your hair, skin, and nails healthy. Therefore, there is no evidence that keratin pills or powder even works.
However, there was a study conducted where dermatologists gave 500 mg of keratin supplements to 50 women. The findings were that some had slight improvements with their nails and hair over three months. But there need to be more studies conducted on this to come up with a more conclusive result.
The same goes for biotin, except for those who have biotin deficiencies caused by conditions that cause that. However, there is no evidence that healthy individuals need it. If you are healthy, you naturally make biotin and keratin. Keratin supplements will not improve the condition of your hair, as you are much better off having a keratin treatment at the salon or at home if you know how to give yourself one—the treatment which does not come in the form of pills or powder.
You also have to remember that you are making enough biotin to break down keratin if you are in good health. Biotin deficiencies rarely happen, and you can also find B7 in the most nutritious foods such as eggs, milk, and bananas. Those with the deficiency experience depression, tingling in the arms and legs, a rash around the mouth, nose, and eyes, and some may experience hallucinations. Those at the highest risk are malnourished, pregnant, tube-fed, and losing weight too quickly. Therefore, instead of going out and getting biotin supplements because you may think you have a deficiency, you need to speak to your doctor.
Therefore, you do not need to take keratin or biotin supplements. And now, let’s talk more about keratin supplements and the side effects you can experience from them.
What Side Effects Do You Expect To Have From Taking Keratin Supplements?
Keratin supplements are not helpful when it comes to strengthening your nails and hair, but at the same time, they are safe. If you end up taking too many supplements, however, you may end up with a condition known as keratosis pilaris, and the cause for that is the build-up of keratin. The characterization of this condition is that the individual has tiny bumps on your skin, specifically on the buttocks, thighs, upper arms, and cheeks. The lumps are painless, but they cause dry and rough skin, and they have the appearance of goose skin. If you suspect you have this condition, you can see your dermatologist, and the treatment involves prescription creams and moisturizers.
However, if you think you will receive minimal improvement over three months of taking 500 mg of keratin supplements, then you can do that safely. After that, you may or may not find any difference in your skin and hair.
Conclusion
Many people who struggle with undefined, frizzy, or dry hair‘ along with split ends feel that the only way to fix the issue is going for expensive keratin treatments – or they can do them at home if they don’t have the time to spend hours at the salon and if they want to save money. Therefore, they opt to take keratin supplements to help strengthen their nails and hair, which does not show any conclusive evidence supporting that. One very small study involved dermatologists giving 500 mg of keratin supplements to 50 women, and it indicated that there was marginal improvement in their nails and hair condition over three months.
That means that more conclusive studies need to happen to determine how helpful keratin supplements are when improving the condition of hair, nails, and skin. However, at the same time, keratin supplements are safe to take as long as you don’t take too much of them. Or else, you may end up with keratosis pilaris, which is a build-up of keratin. As a result, you will have rough, dry, and bumpy skin, and the treatments include prescription creams and moisturizers. Therefore, there is no set recommended amount of keratin to take daily.