Skin, hair and nails, explained without the hype.

Gelagen is a berry-flavored gummy dietary supplement made to support healthy-looking skin, hair and nails as part of a balanced diet. You chew it rather than apply it, so it works through ordinary nutrition. It is not a cosmetic and it is not a medicine. This page explains what each serving contains, how to take it, and where the science is solid or still thin.

The label at a glance

What each ingredient does

Every nutrient in Gelagen has a known job in the body. The descriptions below follow the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). They describe normal body functions, not results you should expect from a supplement.

What Gelagen can and can’t do

• It fills gaps. A supplement helps most when your diet falls short. If you already get enough of these nutrients from food, extra amounts are not proven to make skin, hair or nails look better. The NIH notes there is little scientific evidence that biotin supplements improve hair, skin or nails.
• It isn’t a treatment. Gelagen does not treat acne, eczema, hair loss or any other condition. Sudden hair loss, a new rash or changes in your nails can point to a medical problem. See a doctor or a board-certified dermatologist.
• The basics matter more. Daily sunscreen, enough sleep, not smoking and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables do more for how skin ages than any single supplement. We explain these habits in Healthy skin aging: the daily habits that matter most.

How to take it

Take 2 gummies once a day, or as directed on the label. Chew them completely. Taking more will not speed anything up, and stacking several supplements can push vitamins A and D, zinc or iodine above their safe upper limits. If you take a multivitamin too, compare the two labels or ask a pharmacist.

Keep the bottle closed in a cool, dry place. Keep it out of reach of children, because gummies look like candy.

Check with a doctor first if you

• are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy
• take prescription medicine or other supplements
• have a medical condition, including a thyroid condition
• have blood work or other lab tests coming up
• are under 18

Common questions

Is Gelagen approved by the FDA?

No. The FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are sold. The company that makes a supplement is responsible for its safety and for making sure its label is truthful.

How long until I notice a difference?

We don’t promise a timeline. Hair and nails grow slowly, so any change linked to nutrition takes weeks to months to show. Some people notice no difference, especially if their diet already covers these nutrients.

Does Gelagen contain collagen?

This formula does not list collagen. It provides vitamin C, which your body needs to make its own collagen. See Vitamin C and collagen.

Can I take it with my multivitamin?

Possibly, but many multivitamins contain the same nutrients. Add up the amounts on both labels and ask your pharmacist or doctor before combining them.

Where should I buy it?

Buy only from the official Gelagen store at [official store URL] or from retailers listed there. Products sold elsewhere may be old, stored badly or counterfeit.

Walk down any vitamin aisle and you’ll see biotin on the front of nearly every hair, skin and nail product. Gelagen contains it too. Because we sell it, we think you deserve a clear account of what biotin does and what the research can and cannot tell you.

What biotin is

Biotin, also called vitamin B7, is a water-soluble B vitamin. Your body uses it to help break down the carbohydrates, fats and proteins in food and turn them into energy. It also plays a part in how cells use genetic information.

Many foods contain some biotin. Good sources include eggs, salmon, meat, organ meats such as liver, sunflower seeds, almonds and sweet potatoes. One detail surprises people: raw egg whites contain a protein called avidin that blocks biotin absorption. Cooking the egg solves this.

How much you need

The adequate intake for adults is 30 micrograms (mcg) a day, or 35 mcg while breastfeeding. Most people in the United States get enough from a normal diet.

Why biotin became the “beauty vitamin”

True biotin deficiency is rare. When it happens, symptoms can include thinning hair, a scaly red rash around the eyes, nose and mouth, and brittle nails. People at higher risk include those with an inherited condition called biotinidase deficiency, people with alcohol use disorder, and some people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Because a lack of biotin shows up in hair, skin and nails, biotin became popular in products for them. Correcting a deficiency is a different thing from adding more biotin to a body that already has enough.

What the research says

According to the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, there is little scientific evidence that biotin supplements improve the health of hair, skin or nails, and more research is needed before they can be recommended for these uses. A few small, older studies looked at biotin for brittle nails, but large, well-controlled trials in healthy adults are missing.

Is high-dose biotin safe?

No upper limit has been set for biotin, because high intakes have not been shown to cause harm on their own. The well-documented risk is different: biotin in your blood can cause wrong results on certain lab tests. That is serious enough that we wrote a separate guide, Taking biotin? Tell your doctor before any blood test.

When to see a doctor instead

Hair and nail changes often have causes a supplement can’t address. Talk to a doctor or a board-certified dermatologist if you notice:

• sudden, patchy or rapid hair loss
• hair loss together with tiredness, weight change or feeling cold
• nails that change color, thicken, pit or separate from the nail bed
• a rash that doesn’t clear up

These can be signs of thyroid problems, low iron, alopecia areata, a fungal infection or other conditions that need a diagnosis.

Gelagen contains 5,000 mcg of biotin per serving. Many hair, skin and nail supplements contain similar amounts. We think our customers should hear about this safety issue from us, clearly, before they hear it anywhere else.

What the FDA has said

In November 2017 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that biotin can significantly interfere with certain lab tests and cause incorrect results that may go unnoticed. In November 2019 the agency updated that warning after it kept receiving reports of problems.

Many lab tests use biotin as part of the chemistry that detects what is in your blood. When there is a lot of biotin in your sample, those tests can show results that are falsely high or falsely low, depending on the test.

Which tests are affected

• Troponin tests. Doctors use troponin to help diagnose a heart attack. The FDA is especially concerned that biotin can make troponin look falsely low, which could lead to a missed diagnosis. The agency publishes a list of troponin tests that have not yet fixed the problem.
• Hormone tests, including some thyroid tests.
• Other tests that use the same technology. Some test makers have changed their tests to avoid the problem. Others have not.

How much biotin is “a lot”?

The adequate intake for adults is 30 mcg a day, an amount that normally does not cause trouble. The FDA notes that supplements sold for hair, skin and nails often contain much more, at levels that can interfere with tests. Gelagen’s 5,000 mcg per serving is in that range.

What to do before a blood test

1. Tell your doctor you take Gelagen, and that it contains 5,000 mcg of biotin per serving. Add it to the medication and supplement list in your health record.
2. Tell the lab or the person drawing your blood, even if your doctor already knows.
3. Ask whether to pause, and for how long. The FDA says there is not enough information to know how many hours of stopping biotin will prevent incorrect results. Follow your clinician’s instructions.
4. In an emergency, such as a visit for chest pain, tell the staff you take biotin.
5. If a result doesn’t match how you feel, ask whether biotin could be affecting it.

Reporting a problem

If you think a supplement caused a health problem or a wrong test result, stop using it, talk to your doctor and contact us using the details on our contact page. You can also report it to the FDA. The FDA’s instructions for non-emergency reports are listed in the sources below.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It forms much of the structure of skin, tendons, bones and connective tissue. Your body makes collagen from the protein you eat, and one vitamin is essential to that process.

Why vitamin C matters for collagen

According to the NIH, the body needs vitamin C to make collagen. Without enough of it, collagen can’t form properly. Severe, long-lasting deficiency causes scurvy, whose signs include slow wound healing, bleeding gums, easy bruising and tiny red or purple spots on the skin. Scurvy is rare in the United States today, but it shows how closely vitamin C and healthy connective tissue are linked.

Vitamin C is also an antioxidant. It helps protect cells from damage and helps regenerate other antioxidants in the body, including vitamin E.

What breaks collagen down

Collagen production slows naturally with age. Two everyday factors speed up its breakdown: ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun and tanning beds, and smoking. Protecting the collagen you already have is as important as giving your body what it needs to make more.

How much vitamin C you need

The upper limit for adults is 2,000 mg a day. Too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramps.

Food comes first

Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamin C. A few servings a day cover most adults’ needs.

Where a supplement fits

Gelagen includes vitamin C alongside other nutrients, which can help on days your diet falls short. It doesn’t replace fruits and vegetables, which also supply fiber and many other helpful compounds. Taking far more vitamin C than you need won’t make your body build more collagen, because the body tightly controls how much vitamin C it keeps in the blood and tissues.

Vitamin C serums you apply to your skin are a separate topic from the vitamin C you eat. If you’re interested in topical products, a board-certified dermatologist can help you choose.

With age, skin naturally becomes thinner and drier, and wrinkles appear. Dermatologists at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) say there is no way to stop skin from aging, but you can help prevent premature aging, meaning aging that shows sooner than it otherwise would. Most of that comes down to daily habits, and most of them cost little or nothing.

We make a supplement, so this may sound odd coming from us: these habits matter more than anything you can take in a gummy.

Protect your skin from the sun every day

Sun exposure plays a major role in premature skin aging. The AAD recommends seeking shade, covering up with clothing, and using a broad-spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, water-resistant sunscreen every day on skin that clothing doesn’t cover.

Skip tanning beds

Tanning beds give off the same harmful UV light as the sun. That light can lead to wrinkles, age spots and skin cancer.

Don’t smoke

Smoking speeds up skin aging. It contributes to wrinkles and a dull, sallow complexion. If you smoke, quitting helps your skin along with the rest of your health.

Moisturize daily

Moisturizer traps water in the skin, which gives it a smoother, more youthful look.

Be gentle

Wash your face twice a day and after sweating, using a mild cleanser. Avoid scrubbing. Stop using products that sting or burn, unless a dermatologist prescribed them, because irritated skin can look older.

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables

A balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables may help prevent the damage that leads to premature aging. Many of these foods are also good sources of vitamin C, which your body needs to make collagen. See Vitamin C and collagen.

Drink less alcohol

Alcohol is rough on the skin. It dehydrates skin and, over time, can damage it.

Stay active and sleep well

Regular exercise improves circulation and supports the immune system, which may give skin a healthier look. Good sleep supports your overall health, skin included.

Ask a dermatologist about retinoids

The AAD notes that a retinol cream used daily can help prevent premature skin aging. Retinoids can irritate skin and aren’t right for everyone, including people who are pregnant, so ask a dermatologist before you start.

Where supplements fit

A supplement such as Gelagen can help fill nutrition gaps on top of these habits. It can’t replace sunscreen, and it won’t undo sun damage or the effects of smoking. If you’re worried about how your skin is aging, or you notice a spot that is new, changing or bleeding, see a board-certified dermatologist.