Hair, skin and nails vitamins: biotin, silica, collagen and hyaluronic acid

If your nails peel or your hair feels dry and dull by the end of an Atlantic winter, a hair, skin and nails supplement is often the first thing people reach for. Most are built from the same short list: biotin, silica, collagen, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, and knowing what each one does makes the beauty supplement shelf much easier to read.

This guide walks through each ingredient, the formats we carry, and how to choose. For collagen powders in depth, our guide to collagen peptides covers bovine and marine collagen and how to read the tub, so we keep collagen short here.

What's in hair, skin and nails vitamins?

These are a dietary supplement built around a few essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that play a part in skin health, nail health and healthy hair. Think of them as support for hair, skin, nails and the connective tissue underneath. Some formulas carry one ingredient; others combine five or six in a capsule, gummy or powder, usually for adults.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) helps the body form collagen and helps maintain healthy skin, hair and nails, which is why it turns up in so many collagen and beauty blends. Zinc also helps maintain healthy skin and helps in connective tissue formation. Silicon and zinc are both minerals, and the rest are vitamins or proteins.

Hair and nails are made mostly of keratin, a protein, and collagen peptides supply amino acids like glycine and proline, so getting enough protein matters as much as any single vitamin. Hair also grows roughly a centimetre a month and fingernails about 3 mm, so new growth takes a while to show.

What does biotin do?

Biotin is a B vitamin that helps maintain healthy hair, skin and nails, and it plays a part in energy metabolism, helping the body use carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It's also a factor in the maintenance of good health. It's one of the water-soluble B vitamins, so the body doesn't store much of it. Biotin isn't vitamin B12; it's sometimes called vitamin B7 or vitamin H.

Single-ingredient biotin comes in a wide range of doses per serving. Natural Factors Biotin 1000 mcg is a simple vegetarian capsule, one a day, and Natural Factors is a British Columbia supplement maker with its own organic farms. Naka Pro Biotin gives 10,000 mcg in a 1 mL serving of berry-flavoured liquid sweetened with stevia, and Naka is a Canadian supplement maker based in Ontario, founded in 1991. Preferred Nutrition Biotin is a vegan cherry-pomegranate gummy with 10,000 mcg in one chew. Herbaland Biotin Beauty Gummies pair 2,500 mcg of biotin with zinc, B12 and methylated folate, and they're sugar-free.

Dietary sources: what foods are high in biotin?

Many foods carry some biotin. Good sources include eggs (the yolk especially), liver, salmon, nuts and seeds like almonds and sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Eat a few of these each week as part of a balanced diet for a good base, and let a supplement top it up.

What does taking silica do?

Silica is a compound of silicon and oxygen, and silicon is one of the most common elements in the earth's crust. In supplements, silica is the source of silicon that hair and nail formulas are built around, often alongside biotin. You'll also see silicon dioxide in the non-medicinal ingredients of many capsules; there it's a small amount added to help powders flow, which is different from a silicon supplement.

CanPrev Silicon + Biotin uses LIVING SILICA, a fully soluble form of silicon from quartz, with 2.5 mg of biotin, and it's made to help maintain beautiful hair, skin and nails. CanPrev is a Canadian company. Naka Platinum Beauty Biotin + Silica pairs 10,000 mcg of biotin with 82 mg of silicon from silica in one veggie capsule taken with a meal, and it's free of added gluten, dairy, soy and animal products.

What foods are high in silica?

Whole grains are the richest dietary sources, especially oats, barley and brown rice. Green beans, bananas, leafy greens and other vegetables add more, and so does mineral water from some springs. If your diet leans on refined grains, a silica supplement is one way to add more.

Hair and nail supplements that combine it all

If you'd rather take one thing than three, a combination gummy is the easy route. Suku Luscious Hair combines seven nutrients, including silicon, biotin and hydrolyzed marine collagen, to help you maintain healthy hair, skin and nails, and it's a source of vitamins and minerals that are factors in the maintenance of good health. The blueberry gummies are sugar-free and sugar-alcohol free, set with pectin, and free of gluten, dairy, soy, nuts and eggs. SUKU is a Toronto company, and its gummies are formulated by naturopaths.

Suku VitaminsLuscious HairSilicon, biotin and marine collagen in a sugar-free blueberry gummy. 60 gummies.Shop →

Herbaland Glowing Beauty Gummies take a vegan route for skin, with L-lysine and vitamin C, which help in collagen formation, plus vitamin A to help maintain healthy skin.

HerbalandGlowing Beauty GummiesVegan and sugar-free, with lysine, vitamin C and vitamin A.Shop →

Where do vitamin C, collagen and hyaluronic acid fit?

Collagen is the main structural protein in skin, and the body makes less of it with aging, which is one reason collagen powders are popular. Collagen supplements are hydrolyzed peptides you stir into a drink. Our collagen guide covers the tubs in detail. For a hair, skin and nails routine, two kinds of blend are worth knowing: Bend Beauty Marine Collagen adds vitamin C, silicon from bamboo and L-lysine to its fish collagen, and Natural Factors Total Body Marine Collagen adds hyaluronic acid and biotin to a neutral-tasting scoop.

Hyaluronic acid is a natural lubricant found in large amounts in skin and cartilage, where it holds water. As a capsule, Natural Factors Vegan Hyaluronic Acid gives 120 mg of HyaBest hyaluronic acid made by fermentation, so it suits vegans. NOW Hyaluronic Acid pairs 100 mg with L-proline, alpha lipoic acid and grape seed extract.

Pick the format you'll actually take every day; with hair and nails, consistency matters more than the strongest bottle.

How do I choose a beauty supplement?

1. Start with the format. Capsules are simplest, gummies suit people who dislike pills, liquids are easy to measure, and powders fold into your morning coffee or smoothie.
2. Read the amount per serving. Biotin doses run from 1,000 to 10,000 mcg in the products above, and gummies often list the amount for two pieces.
3. Check what you already take. Many multivitamins and B-complex formulas include biotin, so your biotin supplementation may already be under way. Add up the amounts before you add a separate beauty supplement.
4. Look for the NPN. An eight-digit NPN on the label shows the product is licensed for sale in Canada.
5. Give it time. Hair growth and nail growth are slow, so take your supplement consistently and pair it with good food, water, sleep and a gentle skin care routine.

Questions we get a lot

Do hair, skin and nails vitamins really work?

They supply nutrients that play a part in keeping hair, skin and nails healthy, like biotin, silicon, vitamin C and zinc. Many women and men find they work best alongside a balanced diet with enough protein, iron and vitamin D, since running low on any of those can show up in hair and nails too; our iron guide covers why a blood test comes first with iron. If you're noticing hair loss or changes in your nails, a healthcare professional such as our naturopathic doctors in Bedford can help you look at the bigger picture.

Is biotin the same as vitamin B12?

No. Biotin is vitamin B7, a separate B vitamin. Some beauty gummies, like Herbaland Biotin Beauty, include both.

Can I take biotin and collagen together?

Yes, and many formulas already combine them, like Suku Luscious Hair and Natural Factors Total Body Marine Collagen. Count the biotin in each product if you take more than one.

Should I take silica with food?

Follow your product's directions. Naka Beauty Biotin + Silica is taken with a meal, and Suku gummies are taken with food.

Which brand is best?

The one with the ingredients you want, in a format you'll take daily, whether that's for women, men or the whole household. Many of ours come from Canadian makers: CanPrev, Naka in Ontario, Suku in Toronto and Natural Factors in British Columbia.

You'll find biotin, silica and beauty blends in the supplement aisle at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. Collagen powders sit nearby in our collagen section. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: product labels and listings for the items shown. This article is general information, not medical advice.