Nature's Bounty Hair, Skin and Nails Vitamins and the Collagen Supplements Beside Them

Nature's Bounty Hair, Skin and Nails Vitamins and the Collagen Supplements Beside Them

Nature's Bounty is the name most people reach for when they think of hair, skin and nails vitamins. Here is the brand's beauty lineup, the collagen powders that sit next to it and the hair supplements made for thinner-looking hair.

Nature's Bounty is older than most people assume. One company history says it began in 1971 as Nature's Bounty, Inc., a subsidiary of Arco Pharmaceuticals, a company Arthur Rudolph founded in 1960. It bought its previously leased building in Bohemia, New York in 1977. In 1995 the company renamed itself NBTY, after its stock symbol, so the corporate name and the product line would stop sharing one name.

What I like about nature's bounty is how plain the idea is: a small daily habit, not a ritual.

Biotin is the ingredient at the center of this row. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements describes it as a B vitamin found in many foods that helps turn carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy. It also says supplements are often promoted for hair, skin and nails, but there is little scientific evidence for those claims. So I read the label claims here as what the brand says, not as promises.

Hair, Skin & Nails Gummies are the classic, and Nature's Bounty says they contain biotin and vitamin E. The Advanced version with 2X Biotin has over double the biotin of the original, plus added vitamin A for skin. Hair, Skin & Nails Collagen Gummies use a fruit pectin base. Age-Defying Skin Renewal is a capsule with ceramides and green tea extract. Ultra Collagen Booster has resveratrol and grape seed extract. Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid is a capsule for skin, and the two Hair Growth products, capsules and peach mango gummies, are built around biotin, silicon and arginine.

My test: pick one product and stay with it for a few months before you judge it.

Big numbers collage titled NATURE'S BOUNTY, six products numbered one to six with each product set beside its number: Nature's Bounty, goop Beauty and OMI
Nature's Bounty

Nature's Bounty hair, skin and nail vitamins

Collagen powders and beauty supplements

This row moves from gummies and capsules to powders you stir into a drink, which suits anyone who would rather not swallow another pill.

goop Beauty Morning Skin Superpowder comes in single-dose packets, with vitamins C and E, grape-seed proanthocyanidins and CoQ10, and it tastes like oranges and lemon verbena. Par Olive Marine Collagen SuperPowder is unflavored and was created by an Australian dermatologist and dietitian. It uses Norwegian marine collagen peptides, pearl powder and Kakadu plum, and the brand tracks each jar to the boat and catch area. Shore Magic Collagen Powder is hydrolyzed marine collagen that the brand calls odorless and tasteless, and Shore Magic Beauty Sleep is an orange cream flavored powder with magnesium and L-theanine for bedtime. Agent Nateur holi (mane) pairs marine collagen with pearl powder.

Dr. Nigma Super Vitamin C Cocktail is a naturopathic doctor-designed powder with liposomal vitamin C, zinc and a blend of berries. GrandeGUMMIES are vegan gummies with biotin, folic acid and zinc, and the brand says initial results show in 45 days. Wellbel Women+ was created by physician Dan Yadegar for women 45 and older.

Pairing tip: stir an unflavored collagen into coffee or smoothies so it disappears, and keep the flavored powders for their own glass.

What I would skip: stacking three collagen products at once. You will not be able to tell which one you like.

Collagen powders and beauty supplements

Supplements made for thinner-looking hair

These are the supplements that say hair on the front, and the wording matters. Every brand here uses phrases like made for, formulated to or designed to support, and I would read them the same way.

OMI Hair Growth Peptide Capsules and Gummies are drug- and hormone-free, formulated with the brand's patented IFP-131 Hair Growth Peptides. The OMI Men's capsules use the same peptides. Vegamour GRO Biotin Gummies are vegan, strawberry flavored and meant as one gummy a day, with the brand saying visible results can show in as little as three months. Vegamour GRO+ is an MD-formulated dual-pill supplement in a 90 capsule month.

Augustinus Bader Hair Revitalizing Complex is a daily capsule the brand made to support the hair follicle environment. Act+Acre Thick + Full Hair Capsules are vegan, mint flavored and made with bamboo and horsetail extracts, taken two daily for up to 90 days. Wellbel Women is a physician-created blend with biotin, selenium and vitamins A and D.

My one plain line: supplements are best run past your doctor or pharmacist before you start, especially if you take any medication.

What I would skip: starting a hair supplement and a new serum in the same week. Change one thing at a time and you will know what you are looking at.

Hair growth supplements

Reading the label before you start

Start with the label. Check the serving size, what is in it, and whether the brand says capsule, gummy or powder, because that changes how easy it is to keep up with.

Take it at the same time every day, with food if the label says so. Keep a note on your phone of when you started. If you use a biotin product, tell your doctor and pharmacist, as the NIH suggests for any supplement you take, and read what the brand says it is made for.

Finally, be honest about what a supplement can be. The brands here describe support for hair, skin and nails. They do not replace sleep, sunscreen or a good conditioner. If a gummy makes the routine feel nicer, that is a fine reason to keep it.

Hand, nail and hair care to go with your daily vitamins

If you take Nature's Bounty hair, skin and nails vitamins every morning, I like to give the outside of the routine some attention too. Start with nails. L'Occitane's Strengthening Shea Nail and Cuticle Oil is made with 30 percent shea oil plus apricot and almond oil. CHANEL L'Huile Camelia uses camellia oil, and Le Gel Coat adds a glossy layer with camellia eco-ceramides. Manucurist Active Plump and Active Smooth both carry plant-derived collagen and peach extract, and Nailberry's Bare Essentials base and top coat is oxygen and water permeable.

Hands come next. Prada's Hydrating Hand Cream has niacinamide, biotin and shea butter in a non-greasy texture. Caudalie's Hand and Nail Cream uses grape polyphenols and fair trade shea butter. Nécessaire The Hand Cream is vegan with squalane, shea butter and marula oil, and Soft Services Theraplush is a fragrance-free overnight cream with 0.05% retinol.

For hair, Gisou Honey Gloss comes as a mask with ceramides and as a collagen oil for fine to medium hair, while Moroccanoil Treatment is made with argan oil. Dr. Groot is a roll-on scalp serum with biotin and rosemary oil.

What I would skip: layering a retinol hand cream and a nail polish treatment on the same night. Pick one and keep the other for morning.

Hand, nail and hair care to pair with the vitamins