Kim Kardashian West's Hair Pills Are a Tangled Web of Lies, According to a Dermatologist
The Kardashian/Jenners are no strangers to the #Sp and #Spon hashtags that denote sponsored Instagram posts. Despite the millions of dollars that this family receives off of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and a multitude of other business endeavors, they are still accepting money from little-known brands in exchange for shilling said company's products on social media.
Take Scott Disick for example. Just a few weeks ago, he accidentally posted the instructions to his sponsored post about a protein shake as opposed to the caption he actually was paid to include. And it's hard to forget about Fit Tea. Kylie Jenner, along with half-sisters Kourtney and Khloé, have been known to advertise the scam in the form of a weight loss and detox drink.
Kim Kardashian West's most recent #Sp post featured her biting into SugarBearHair gummy vitamins. "New obsession @sugarbearhair," she wrote. "I have two of these a day as part of my hair care routine. They are delish! #SugarBearHair #Sp."
On its website, the brand explains that the vitamins are "vegetarian, cruelty-free and made in the U.S.A." Made with biotin, folic acid and Vitamin D, two bears a day are supposed to "[nourish] your hair from the roots to improve strength, elasticity, length and shine."
Although this post should've been approached with skepticism from the start, experts confirmed to Mic that these gummies aren't exactly the miracle product that produces Kardashian West's mermaid-like waves (that you can likely thank her talented hairstylists for).
"The ingredients of these gummies include vitamins and minerals that can be found in regular daily multivitamins, but with notably high levels of biotin," Dr. Christine Choi Kim said in an interview. "Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin which promotes strengthening of both hair and nails, especially if you are biotin-deficient."
Dr. Kim said she usually recommends 2,500 micrograms of biotin a day for patients who want to use the vitamin for hair and nail health. According to SugarBearHair's website, the bears contain a whopping 5,000 mcg.
But apparently, as she pointed out, more is not necessarily better. "Excess biotin will simply be excreted in your urine. Also, some people experience nausea from biotin supplement," Dr. Kim said.
She recommended consulting a dermatologist before taking any supplements, especially since SugarBearHair does not recommend eating the gummies if you have a "medical condition," despite not providing further details as to what falls into this category.
Still curious if the supplements work? Lauren Valenti over at Marie Claire tried them out for a month and explained: "During the first few weeks, I didn't really see a difference in my hair. ... But hand to heart, over the last week I've been struck by how much better my curls look. They're tighter, shinier, softer, and overall look less frizzy/damaged. My hair also seems longer, despite having more compact curls."
But, if you don't want to spend about $30-$160 for the bears — or risk potential side effects — biotin can also be found in an assortment of foods you're likely already eating, including eggs, bananas, leafy greens, cauliflower, nuts and whole grains, according to Dr. Kim.
According to CR Fashion Book, Kendall charges anywhere from $125,000 to $300,000 for a single sponsored post. And if people keep buying the products the girls advertise, the companies will continue to dish out the dollar bills.
So why not take a trip to your local Whole Foods — even a nearby bodega — rather than adding to an already rich family's heavy, heavy wallets?
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