Do Biotin Pills Make You Gain Weight?

Oct 18, 2013

Ashley B.

I have always had a high metabolism and I'm very active, so I don't really worry about weight gain. I eat very healthy and work out regularly. I'm 5'5 and normally weight anywhere from 116-118. I've been taking biotin 5,000mcg twice a day for the past 7 months and have gained weight!! I have gained about 12 pounds. I couldn't figure out why I had gained the weight. So I started exercising even more and couldn't lose the weight. Even though I love what biotin has done for my hair and skin, it's just not worth the weight gain. This makes so much sense. I am going to stop taking it from now on. Thanks for sharing your experiences, ladies! This has really helped me.

Jan 28, 2013

Erica L.

Oh my, Amber!! I've been taking my biotin for about a month now and have noticed my appetite has been through the roof. I had no idea to think of my biotin being the reason.... Very interesting.

Mar 15, 2015

Annette G.

THANK YOU for your comments. I am in a weight loss challenge and have been baffled why I just began to gain instead of lose weight. The only significant change were my vitamins. I began losing my hair (some speculate due to losing 59 pounds, hormones, who knows) so Dr recommended Hair Skin and Nails vitamins. I began taking 3000 mcg, 3 pills/day. After 5 weeks my hair stopped falling out and began to grow. Yay! My weight loss slowed significantly, and I was busting my butt to eek out a pound or two a week. I ran out of vitamins and found they were cheaper at local bulk store, but they were 5,000 mcg ( 3 pills/day). I thought, "Great! That'll help my hair grow faster!" Then the weight loss STOPPED and I began to GAIN weight! Unacceptable since I'm in a weight loss competition with friends. I'm so relieved to find this conversation thread to validate my concerns. I stopped taking the pills today. Told my hubby, " You can either have a bald thin wife or a hairy plump one!" LOL I'm choosing health over hair. ( By the way - I even bought Rogaine, but then read the side affects are acne and weight gain, so I'm taking it back, too!)

Jan 28, 2013

Amber D.

I'm curious if its true or not. ive been taking them for a while and ive noticed ive been gaining weight. I'm curious to know if its true or not.

Jan 28, 2013

Alyaa R.

it will increase ur appetite.

Jan 28, 2013

Caitlin M.

I was literally just reading through reviews of biotin on Amazon today and some did say they thought it was making them gain weight. Some also said it gave them acne as well as made the hair on their faces grow longer too. So I'd keep an eye out for these while on it. The acne thing made me change my mind about trying it. I decided it wasn't worth risking the clarity I've just started to achieve.

Jan 28, 2013

Ashley C.

It didnt for me. But it also didnt help my hair grow. Haha :// 

Jan 28, 2013

Megan G.

not at all, it made my hair nicer and nails grow fast

Jan 29, 2013

Bianca O.

Omg that's y I haven't been losing weight. So it's either nice hair and nails or nice body. Well that's great lol

Jan 29, 2013

Andrea B.

I've noticed since taking it I'm STARVING ALL THE TIME! 

Jan 29, 2013

Erin L.

Holy crap. This explains so much. 

Jan 29, 2013

Katie P.

It made my acne worse than it already was at the time. It was bad!

Apr 16, 2014

Lin P.

Just wanted to do a quick follow up to my above report in hopes that it helps others. Immediately after I noticed the EXTREME bloating and read NUMEROUS reports from others how the biotin affected them I was dumbfounded. Although I was taking it for weeks, it seemed like I became symptomatic almost overnight. Now after not taking ANY vitamins for just 4 days or so (I just wanted to get off ANY additional B intake so I even ditched my multivitamin since even that has some) but after the 4th day of being off, the bloating has gone down significantly. I am left with some residual weight gain, but now that I've pinpointed the problem I'm confident I can lose it fairly quickly through regular diet and exercise. I'm pretty active so hopefully that weight won't stick like glue! OK all that said the weird thing was that as soon as I went OFF the biotin, THEN I DID experience an increase in actual appetite, which I did NOT have when I was ON it. I attribute this to my body just saying wtf and trying to RE-regulate itself. I'm just making sure to respond by eating healthy foods that won't add extra lbs. So far so good being off it but wow, what a lesson. One last thing, I'm no doctor but when I was discussing this whole thing with someone, they suggested that it seemed as if the biotin almost acted like a steroid-bc steroids give you almost those same exact symptoms! Think about it - the increased appetite, weight gain, acne breakouts, bloating - all symptoms like steroids! Again, I'm no doctor but just something to think about! If you are considering taking biotin, think twice! Unless your doctor or nutritionist REALLY recommend it I would steer clear. Make sure the benefits are going to outweigh these extreme side affects, and pay attention to your body if you go ahead with it. Some of these vitamins can almost be like taking medications so proceed with caution. If I remember I will try to post an additional update in maybe a few weeks about the weight gain. Meanwhile, peace, health and love to all!

May 15, 2015

Vicky W.

I've been taking 5,000 Biotin for 2 1/2 months now and WOW!! I can't believe how I've blown up! I just googled this morning whether Biotin caused weight gain because it's the only thing that I've changed in my diet lately. This is how I found all of your ladies comments and I'm sooo thankful that I did! I bet I've gained at least 12 lbs in this short amount of time and always feel bloated.
I seen where one lady said in 4 days she felt a lot better w/ the bloating , I'm hoping I can tell the difference this soon.
DO ANY OF YOU LADIES HAVE AND COMMENTS ON HOW SOON YOU NOTICED RESULTS OF LOSING WEIGHT OR BLOATING AFTER STOPPING THIS VITAMIN?? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR SOME RESULTS OF YOUR STORIES SO THAT I KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TOO. :) tHANKS

Aug 1, 2015

Jaihe L.

@Vicky,

I've been off of Biotin for about a week now and I lost 2 lbs without much effort. So I'd say the results are pretty fast.

Aug 12, 2015

Tay S.

I'm so glad I read these comments. I just had a series of blood panels and a CT scan because I had painful bloating and extreme weight gain.. I was in a major car accident in June so I just figured that's why I gained so much weight (3broken ribs and a fractured sternum) can really immobilize you. I've gained almost 30 pounds in 2 months which is crazy for me since I'm also diabetic type 1 so for the last 4 years I've had no luck in gaining and keeping weight now I feel as though I'm 7months pregnant.. I'm definitely done with biotin...

Oct 19, 2015

Karen M.

Biotin is great and really has helped me! 10 000mcg was too much for me tho.
My energy levels are high. I remember that at the beginning I did cardio and interval training which helped me lose weight but I did not realize how biotin played a part in my weight loss until AFTER I stopped working out. I continue to take biotin 5,000 mcg every day and now that I am no longer on my diet I eat whatever I want and I don't gain weight. It appears the biotin may be keeping my metabolism to the level it was at during my training.
Also my hair and nails grow SO much quicker. Hair has increased in the rate and are so long now. Dreams come true :)
I've been taking 5,000mcg of Biotin every day for years. I’ve tried like 4 different brands until I found that the best one for me.
So I highly recommend it to you. For me the best is certifiedbiotin.com my friends also use this one.

Feb 24, 2016

Natasha P.

I've been taking Hairfinity for a few weeks and I feel like I gained weight, definitely a lot of bloating as well. I stopped taking them and you can definitely notice a difference in the bloating.

Jun 6, 2016

Jenny D.

Omg I had to goggle this because I've been sooo bloated to the point where my kids have told me to go to the hospital n get checked and I've gained 10 pounds and I've only been on it for 3 weeks...I'm constantly in my kitchen in the middle of the night...so I came to the conclusion that maybe it was this pills...my hairs been growing beautiful n my nails also skin but I shave my eyebrows n legs n the next day I have to do it again...forget this I'm done...thanx for all you ladys for coming out with out ya we would never known....every thing that's good for you ends up messing something else....so not all things our good for us

Jan 28, 2013

Amber D.

thanks for the help girlss :)

Jan 28, 2013

Anna I.

it made ny face break out bad 

Oct 20, 2013

Alexis S.

Completely agree with Ashley! I am very active as well and eat healthy like 95% of the time and I have definitely noticed weight gain. IT MAKES YOU CONSTANTLY HUNGRY! It's uncontrollable! Also I use an acne treatment that is VERY effective and since I started taking Biotin my face has gotten considerably worse. So yep. You either get good hair and nails or you get acne and weight gain. Your choice.

Feb 17, 2014

Jewyll W.

For me yes biotin makes you gain weight. I started taking biotin my hair did get longer quickly my nails also but I was gaining weight extremely fas?t. 15 pounDS in one week of taking biotin.I I also felt bloated constantly.I stopped taking biotin for a month. ose the weight immediately and no bloating.I started back taking biotin again just a week I gained 10 pounds again.

Feb 17, 2014

Jewyll W.

I'm no longer taking biotin. I'll try other methods for healthy hair and nails
I also excercise regulary..biotin really did not help weight issue s for me.

Feb 25, 2014

Candy P.

I thought it was helping my hair but I've started to notice my appetite has been through the roof I'm starving even after I eat, it's also causing unwanted breakouts (not that they are ever wanted) I'm definitely quitting them ASAP.