http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=497
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=109&at=1
http://allnutri.com/pid23415/biosil.aspx
http://www.herbmark.com/p1619/biosil.html
http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=19091&zoneid=28
Clinical Study Validates Jarrow Formulas® BioSil™ Improves Hair Quality
2007/07/26 - Jarrow Formulas
Los Angeles, California, July 27, 2007– The results of a clinical trial investigating the effects of Jarrow Formulas® silicon supplement BioSil™, which contains a choline-stabilized and concentrated form of orthosilicic acid, ch-OSA™, on hair thickness, strength and elasticity, was presented by University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy Professor R. Randall Wickett at the Fifth International Congress of Hair Research held in Vancouver Canada on June 13-16, 2007.
An international research team conducted a 9-month, randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study using 48 healthy Caucasian women with fine hair and an average age of 43.3 years. Half the women supplemented their regular diet with 10 mg of silicon in the form of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, while the other half received a placebo. The BioSil™ group experienced a significant improvement over the placebo group including:
- Increased cross sectional area of hair fibers: 7.8 percent increase average (twice the placebo group)
- Increased diameter of hair fibers: 3.8 percent increase average (1.7 percent for the placebo group).
- Hair tensile strength and elasticity decreased significantly in the placebo group (- 10.8 %) whereas in the BioSil™ group no significant change was observed.
“This is a rigorously controlled study demonstrating that the oral intake of a dietary supplement may improve hair quality,” says Randy Wickett, Ph.D, Professor and Director of the Cosmetic Science Program at the University of Cincinnati. “Hair tensile properties such as strength and elasticity may degrade over time because of exposure to sunlight or other factors. In this study the intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid increased the diameter of the hair and reduced the loss of elasticity and tensile strength compared to placebo.”
BioSil™ (US patent 5,922,360) contains a choline-stabilized and concentrated form of orthosilicic acid, ch-OSA™ and is manufactured by Bio Minerals n.v. in Destelbergen, Belgium. The observed improvement in hair expands upon prior clinical research showing beneficial effects on human hair from orally consuming BioSil. Previously, a significant reduction of hair brittleness was observed in a 20-week study titled “Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on skin, hair and nails in women with photodamaged skin” published in Archives of Dermatological Research (2005) 297: 147-153.
» http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=19091&zoneid=28
»
» Clinical Study Validates Jarrow Formulas® BioSil™ Improves Hair Quality
»
» 2007/07/26 - Jarrow Formulas
»
» --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
»
»
»
» Los Angeles, California, July 27, 2007– The results of a clinical trial
» investigating the effects of Jarrow Formulas® silicon supplement BioSil™,
» which contains a choline-stabilized and concentrated form of orthosilicic
» acid, ch-OSA™, on hair thickness, strength and elasticity, was presented
» by University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy Professor R. Randall
» Wickett at the Fifth International Congress of Hair Research held in
» Vancouver Canada on June 13-16, 2007.
» An international research team conducted a 9-month, randomized,
» double-blind placebo controlled study using 48 healthy Caucasian women
» with fine hair and an average age of 43.3 years. Half the women
» supplemented their regular diet with 10 mg of silicon in the form of
» choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, while the other half received a
» placebo. The BioSil™ group experienced a significant improvement over the
» placebo group including:
»
» - Increased cross sectional area of hair fibers: 7.8 percent increase
» average (twice the placebo group)
» - Increased diameter of hair fibers: 3.8 percent increase average (1.7
» percent for the placebo group).
» - Hair tensile strength and elasticity decreased significantly in the
» placebo group (- 10.8 %) whereas in the BioSil™ group no significant
» change was observed.
»
» “This is a rigorously controlled study demonstrating that the oral intake
» of a dietary supplement may improve hair quality,” says Randy Wickett,
» Ph.D, Professor and Director of the Cosmetic Science Program at the
» University of Cincinnati. “Hair tensile properties such as strength and
» elasticity may degrade over time because of exposure to sunlight or other
» factors. In this study the intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid
» increased the diameter of the hair and reduced the loss of elasticity and
» tensile strength compared to placebo.”
»
» BioSil™ (US patent 5,922,360) contains a choline-stabilized and
» concentrated form of orthosilicic acid, ch-OSA™ and is manufactured by Bio
» Minerals n.v. in Destelbergen, Belgium. The observed improvement in hair
» expands upon prior clinical research showing beneficial effects on human
» hair from orally consuming BioSil. Previously, a significant reduction of
» hair brittleness was observed in a 20-week study titled “Effect of oral
» intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on skin, hair and nails in
» women with photodamaged skin” published in Archives of Dermatological
» Research (2005) 297: 147-153.
I won’t buy Bio-Sil, and I have doubts about this study.
It’s not that I think it definitely won’t help, but there are a gazillion products that supposedly help and I’d go poor trying them all.
Here’s my test of when I think a study or product claims are legit:
If there are many manufacturers or suppliers of a particular product and studies are about the substance in general, not about a particular suppliers’ product.
In this case, Bio-Sil is made by one manufacturer, a Belgium manufacturer. It is marketed by the reputable company Jarrow under the name Bio-Sil.
I’ve looked at all these product reviews and generally the claims are way too miraculous especially given the modest claims of the study itself.
I think someone got paid to spread the word on blogs that Bio-Sil is great for hair. It may in fact be very good for hair, but so might a lot of other things.
I did notice at the bottom of a long list of some of these positive reviews some people were saying things like “I didn’t see any results.” Granted a lot more said they saw great results, but were they paid by the Belgium manufacturer to write this stuff? Or by Jarrows? Or by a distributor?
But I did post about another similar product with a study 
As for the testimonials…I’ve seen many more “miraculous” ones around here…ha. It’s not like they’re saying they regrew all their hair…
At most of those sites(if not all), btw, you have to had bought the stuff in order to write a review/testimonial. And I think if there were some company paying ppl to do that, you’d see more than you do…don’t you think?