Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBest Hair Product I've Tried So Far
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2015
Prepare for a long, thorough review!!! For the shortened version of this, might I suggest skipping to the bottom, labeled MY HAIR CALCULATIONS or PROS and CONS? Sorry if I seem like a tour guide, but some people may not want to read the entire process about transitioning hair (since not all people have transitioning hair). But if you're curious read on, I suppose... ;P
Let me start by clarifying that I'm an African American women, for those other women out there who need to get info on this product who aren't mixed and have two kinky haired black parents, like myself, because there is a difference in hair texture and growth (no disrespect to the lovely people who aren't--just stating that so other women with my "kinky" texture and can compare).
My permed hair was exactly 15" when straightened; it took forever to grow out. I'm talking years and years (I lost count because it was that long of a wait).
Now, I decided to try and go natural last year but I refused to get the "big chop" until I was absolutely sure that my hair could be long enough on days when I wanted to wear my hair in a pony tail, and I'd trim down the permed part by an inch every month. I decided this in January 2014, but my hair wasn't growing at all (my doctor said it was due to stress). By May, it had only grown very little (only about a few centimeters to be exact). Again I was constantly stressed, but I measured with a ruler, like I do every month anyway.
So, in July 2014, I was severely frustrated. I had only about an inch of new growth and most women kept telling me that perhaps it was just best to keep perming my hair. If you've ever put a perm in your hair, you know that it breaks down your natural hair strength. That's why I preferred the feel of my natural hair better than the permed, because it actually felt softer and more healthy, but I digress. I did my research on hair products and found that biotin doesn't work for everyone. Honestly, I didn't care about the "what if this doesn't work." I was tempted to give it a try anyway.
When I got my package in the mail, I was still a bit iffy... but the very next day of taking one pill, I woke up with the whitest teeth! I always get complemented on how white my teeth are anyway, but when I woke up that morning, they looked like they'd been covered with the whitest veneers imaginable. I kid you not. I told myself that "if my hair doesn't grow, I'll still take these pills for my teeth." They work wonders, still do actually.
By October 2014, I realized that between work and school that I wasn't measuring my hair, but I was still trimming off the permed ends every month. I had given up on checking for growth at that point, because the more you wait on something, the longer the process seems. So, I went to the mirror on about the 13th and noticed that my natural hair was getting extremely long (long enough that it looked peculiar to have two different hair textures in one pony tail). Transitioning hair does look funny if you don't style both hair textures the same, so I got my friend (who happens to be a hair dresser) to cut off EVERY strand of permed hair on my head the very next day. I cried for a few hours, but when I got a ruler out and measured the new growth, I actually smiled. Most of it could fit into a pony tail, except the short pieces in the front, and it was all about 4" when straightened.
It's now a new year and I just checked my hair growth again after some natural haired women at the grocery store complimented me on how good and healthy my natural hair looks. It's exactly 8 1/2" long now when straight!! I don't know how it went from 4" to 8 1/2" in that short amount of time but I'm not complaining! Mind you, I haven't applied heat to it except one time between July and now, and I've been keeping in a daily leave in conditioner to prevent breakage.
I can honestly say, my hair's not my full 15" again, but hell, it's a over half, so I'll take it. By the way, I'm still just as stressed as I was before I started taking these (old habits are hard to break), but it didn't effect the biotin growth.
MY HAIR CALCULATIONS: July-January 3rd= Over 7" of hair growth overall.
PROS:-Nails are stronger, rarely break (noticed this after about 2 weeks)
-Teeth are noticeably whiter (after first day of use)
-Hair is longer, stronger and healthier (I noticed this in October (started taking these at the end of July), but I noticed after neglecting to check prior to then, sorry :(
-My skin looks healthier and has a healthy glow to it when the sun hits it (been complimented several times on this by strangers) I
noticed this when I got my first skin compliment, in November.
-My eating habits aren't the healthiest, nor are they the unhealthiest (kind of in between), but I do drink a lot of water. I noticed that my
metabolism has increased, because when I forget to take one of these, food doesn't digest as well as it does on days where I do take one
of these.
CONS: Water soluble, so you MUST drink a lot of water to prevent breakouts, but I only had one major breakout throughout this entire process
(regular water drinker).
PRO/CON: Sometimes, very rarely now, I get a VERY strange itch on my head (even after re-washing my hair), and then by the next week when
I measure it, my hair will have grown tremendously. o__O I googled it and a lot of women call it "the itch." They say they look forward
to the itch because it alerts them that the biotin is growing out their hair. I guess it's a way of actually feeling your hair growing out
since the process is faster than what most are used to. (On a side note: In the certain places that itched, that's where the most hair
growth was. For me, it was the center of my head.)
Keep in mind that this is my experience. Biotin doesn't work on everyone, and if it does then you might not get the same results as other people. Also, don't think that it'll work on your hair the minute you try it. And really, don't sit there every day and try to measure it. You'll disappoint yourself--a watched pot never boils.
If you read through this review, cool. Hello and goodbye! :)
