Pure Biotin UK: Pure Encapsulations Biotin vs High-Strength Biotin Tablets

Reviewed and updated: 8 November 2026

Pure biotin, for most UK shoppers, means a supplement that gives you biotin on its own, in a good strength, without a long list of extras, and the product most people have in mind is Pure Encapsulations Biotin. I'm Dr. Miron, founder of Pure Vitamins UK, and in this guide I put Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg side by side with igennus Pure Biotin, Healthspan Biotin, Pure Encapsulations Hair Skin Nails Ultra and our own two biotin products, on facts you can check yourself: how much biotin is in each daily serving, the form, what else is inside, pack size, price per day and delivery. I'll also be honest about where each one fits, including where ours is not the cheapest option.

Pure biotin in the UK: the quick answer

• Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg: 8 mg (8,000 mcg) of biotin in one vegetarian capsule a day, with plant fibre (cellulose) as the only filler. 60 capsules for £9.49 at Healf today (£8.54 on subscription), about 16p a day. RRP £16.00.
• igennus Pure Biotin: 10,000 mcg of biotin as D-biotin in one HPMC capsule a day, with rice flour. 180 capsules for £15.99, about 9p a day.
• Healthspan Biotin: a lower 1,000 mcg tablet, one a day. 180 tablets for £13.99 (£11.99 on subscription), about 8p a day.
• Pure Encapsulations Hair Skin Nails Ultra: a multi-ingredient formula with 6 mg of biotin per two-capsule serving, plus collagen, vitamin C, zinc, copper and more. 60 capsules for £56.16, about £1.87 a day.
• Pure Vitamins Biotin Tablets 10,000mcg: 10,000 mcg of biotin in one small vegan tablet a day. 30 tablets for £9.95, about 33p a day.
• Pure Vitamins Biotin Zinc Selenium Tablets: 10,000 mcg of biotin, 10 mg of zinc and 55 mcg of selenium per two-tablet daily serving. 60 tablets for £9.50, about 32p a day.
• High-strength biotin can interfere with some blood tests. If you have a test booked, tell the person taking your blood that you take biotin.
• If a doctor, nutritionist or practitioner recommended a specific biotin product to you, check with them before switching.

Our pick for this guide

Looking for a simple one-a-day biotin tablet?

Each small tablet gives 10,000 mcg of biotin, with no sugar coating, and a pouch of 30 tablets lasts a month. Vegan and gluten-free. A food supplement, not a replacement for medical advice.

From £9.95 · 30 tablets

Shop Biotin Tablets →

What do people mean by "pure biotin"?

When I look at what people actually type into Google, "pure biotin" covers three slightly different wishes, and it helps to separate them before comparing products.

• Biotin on its own. No collagen, no herbal extracts, no long list of other vitamins. Just biotin, so you know exactly what you are taking.
• A short ingredient list. As few fillers and processing aids as possible. Some people avoid coatings, sugars or colours.
• A brand name. Many searches are simply people looking for Pure Encapsulations Biotin, because a practitioner or friend mentioned it.

"Pure" is not a regulated term on a supplement label, so the useful thing to do is read the ingredient list. Here is what each label in this comparison actually says. Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg lists biotin and cellulose plant fibre in a vegetarian capsule. igennus Pure Biotin lists D-biotin with rice flour in an HPMC capsule. Healthspan Biotin lists biotin with dicalcium phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate and a hypromellose and glycerin coating. Our Biotin Tablets 10,000mcg are a single-nutrient biotin tablet with no sugar coating and no artificial colours, and every ingredient, including the tablet-making ingredients, is listed on the label. Our Biotin Zinc Selenium Tablets are a deliberate three-nutrient blend, so they are not a biotin-only product, and I would not describe them as one.

One honest point about capsules and tablets: every capsule needs a filler to bulk out a few milligrams of biotin, and every tablet needs a few tablet-making ingredients to hold together. Neither is a sign of a lesser product. What matters is that you can see them all on the label.

Breakfast is where my one-a-day habits live, next to the coffee. Illustrative image.

The products side by side

Here is everything in one place. Competitor details were read today from the brand's own UK website or, where the brand's own UK site does not list the product, a UK retailer listing. Ours come from our product pages. Price per day is the pack price divided by the number of days the pack lasts at the label's daily serving.

Delivery, checked 8 November 2026: Pure Encapsulations UK charges £4.49 standard delivery, free on orders over £50. Healf charges £3.99 under £50 and is free over £50. igennus charges £2.99 for Royal Mail Tracked 48 on orders under £20 and is free from £20. Healthspan's standard UK delivery is £2.45 and free over £30. Our own delivery options are shown at checkout.

Pure Encapsulations Biotin: what you get

Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg is about as simple as a biotin capsule gets. UK retailer listings give the ingredients as biotin and hypoallergenic plant fibre (cellulose) in a vegetarian capsule, one capsule a day with a meal. Two UK retailers list the capsule as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and both list it as suitable for vegans. Each capsule provides 8 mg of biotin, which those listings give as 16,000% of the NRV.

One thing surprised me while checking: on 8 November 2026 I could not find Biotin 8 mg on the Pure Encapsulations UK website itself. Their biotin web address led to the general product listing. The capsules are widely sold by UK health retailers, so I have used Healf's listing for price, and noted the £16.00 RRP that other UK retailers show. Prices at independent retailers move around, so check on the day you buy.

Pure Encapsulations also sells Hair Skin Nails Ultra, which many people find when searching for biotin. It is a different kind of product: a two-capsule blend with collagen, vitamin C, zinc, copper, grape seed extract and other ingredients, and 6 mg of biotin per serving. It costs a lot more per day than any single-nutrient biotin, and the brand's product sheet says it is not suitable for vegetarians or vegans. If you specifically want that whole formula, a biotin-only product is not a like-for-like swap.

8 mg, 10,000 mcg or 1,000 mcg: how much biotin do you need?

First, the units, because they trip people up. 1 mg is 1,000 mcg (micrograms, sometimes written µg). So 8 mg is 8,000 mcg, and our 10,000 mcg tablet is 10 mg. The NRV (the reference amount used on UK labels) for biotin is 50 mcg a day, which shows how small the body's daily need is.

The NHS says biotin is needed in very small amounts to help the body make fatty acids, that it is found in a wide range of foods at low levels, and that you should be able to get all the biotin you need from a varied and balanced diet. It also says there is not enough evidence to know the effects of taking high daily doses of biotin supplements, and that taking 0.9 mg or less a day of biotin in supplements is unlikely to cause any harm (NHS).

I want to be straight with you about what that means for this comparison. Every high-strength product here, ours included, is well above the NHS 0.9 mg figure: 6 mg, 8 mg and 10 mg a day. Healthspan's 1,000 mcg tablet is the closest to it. High-strength biotin is a popular choice and is sold widely in the UK, but if you would rather keep your daily amount low, a 1,000 mcg product, or simply a varied diet, is the more cautious route. If you are unsure which strength suits you, a pharmacist is a good person to ask. My guide on how much biotin you actually need goes into this in more detail.

Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair and normal skin, to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the normal functioning of the nervous system. Those are the roles of biotin itself, and they apply to any product that provides it in a meaningful amount, whichever brand you choose.

A working lunch at the kitchen table, with the tablet taken alongside the meal. Illustrative image.

Capsule or tablet, and what is inside each

The format is mostly a practical choice:

• Capsules (Pure Encapsulations, igennus): a plant-based shell with a powder inside. Both use plant-derived fillers, cellulose fibre or rice flour, to make up the capsule. Some people prefer capsules because there is no tablet coating.
• Uncoated small tablet (our Biotin Tablets): one small tablet a day, with no sugar coating and no artificial colours. Easy to swallow for most people.
• Coated tablet (Healthspan): a hypromellose and glycerin coating, blister-packed.
• Two tablets a day (our Biotin Zinc Selenium): the extra tablet makes room for zinc and selenium alongside the biotin.

If you are vegan, check the specific product: the single-nutrient biotin products here are all described as suitable for vegans, while Pure Encapsulations Hair Skin Nails Ultra is listed as not suitable for vegetarians or vegans on its product sheet.

Biotin on its own, or with zinc and selenium?

This is the main choice within our own range, so it deserves a short section. Our Biotin Tablets 10,000mcg are biotin only. Our Biotin Zinc Selenium Tablets add two minerals in well-known forms: zinc bisglycinate, a chelated form, and selenium as selenomethionine, an organic form.

Why pair them? Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair and normal skin. Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal hair, normal nails and normal skin. Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal hair and normal nails. So if your interest is the whole hair, skin and nails picture, the three together cover more of it than biotin alone. If you already take a multivitamin or a separate zinc supplement, add up your zinc so you do not double up; the NHS suggests not taking more than 25 mg of zinc a day from supplements. My article on taking selenium and biotin together explains how they fit.

If you want biotin and nothing else, the single-nutrient products (ours, Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg, igennus or Healthspan) are the closer match.

The cost per day, worked out

Pack prices can mislead, because packs last different lengths of time. Dividing by the days each pack lasts gives a fairer picture:

• Healthspan Biotin 1000µg: £13.99 ÷ 180 days = about 8p a day (1 mg a day).
• igennus Pure Biotin: £15.99 ÷ 180 days = about 9p a day (10 mg a day).
• Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg at Healf: £9.49 ÷ 60 days = about 16p a day (8 mg a day), or about 27p a day at the £16.00 RRP.
• Pure Vitamins Biotin Zinc Selenium Tablets: £9.50 ÷ 30 days = about 32p a day (10 mg biotin plus zinc and selenium).
• Pure Vitamins Biotin Tablets 10,000mcg: £9.95 ÷ 30 days = about 33p a day (10 mg a day).
• Pure Encapsulations Hair Skin Nails Ultra: £56.16 ÷ 30 days = about £1.87 a day (6 mg biotin plus the full formula).

So on today's prices, our single biotin tablet is not the cheapest per day. igennus and Healthspan sell large 180-count packs that work out at under 10p a day, and Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg at Healf's current price is about half of ours per day. Our pack is a one-month pouch, which costs less up front but means reordering monthly. Delivery also changes the sum: a single pot from Healf or Pure Encapsulations UK adds a delivery charge under £50, while igennus is free from £20.

Food first: eggs, nuts, seeds, sweet potato, mushrooms and salmon all bring a little biotin. Illustrative image.

Food sources of biotin

Biotin is spread across many everyday foods in small amounts, which is why the NHS says a varied diet should cover most people's needs. Cooked eggs, nuts such as almonds, seeds such as sunflower seeds, sweet potato, mushrooms, salmon, bananas and leafy greens all contribute. One small kitchen tip: raw egg white contains a protein called avidin that binds biotin, so cooked eggs are the better choice if biotin is on your mind.

True biotin deficiency is uncommon in the UK. If you are worried about your hair, skin or nails, it is worth speaking to your GP, because there are many possible reasons and a supplement is not the answer to all of them. If you are weighing biotin against other options for hair and skin, my comparison of biotin and collagen and my article on B12 or biotin may help.

Biotin and blood tests: the one thing everyone should know

This is the most important practical point in the whole guide, and it applies to every high-strength product above. Many laboratory blood tests use a biotin-based method, and high levels of biotin in the blood can push some results falsely up or falsely down. Guidance from the AACC Academy, a professional body for laboratory medicine, describes how high-dose biotin supplements can cause clinically significant errors in some immunoassays, including thyroid and cardiac tests, and notes that because biotin is cleared fairly quickly, a repeat sample can help (Li and colleagues, 2020).

• Always tell your GP, nurse or the phlebotomist that you take biotin before a blood test.
• Pure Encapsulations' own Hair Skin Nails Ultra page advises waiting at least 8 hours between biotin and blood testing; igennus advises asking your doctor whether to stop biotin before a test. Our product pages carry the same blood-test note. Follow the advice of whoever ordered your test, because the gap needed varies by test.
• If a test result does not fit how you feel, mention your biotin so the result can be checked.

A note in the diary before a GP appointment: mention the biotin. Illustrative image.

What customers say about ours

Which one suits you

I want this section to be useful even if you end up buying from someone else.

Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg may suit you better if:

• You prefer a capsule with only biotin and cellulose plant fibre inside.
• You want a two-month pack, and at Healf's current price it costs less per day than ours.
• A doctor, nutritionist or practitioner recommended it. In that case, speak to them before changing anything.

igennus Pure Biotin may suit you better if:

• You want 10,000 mcg in a capsule at the lowest cost per day of the high-strength options, and you are happy buying a six-month pack.

Healthspan Biotin may suit you better if:

• You want a much lower daily amount, closer to the NHS 0.9 mg supplement figure, at a low cost per day.

Pure Encapsulations Hair Skin Nails Ultra may suit you better if:

• You specifically want its full multi-ingredient formula, including collagen, rather than biotin alone.

Our Biotin Tablets 10,000mcg may suit you better if:

• You want a small, uncoated vegan tablet rather than a capsule, one a day.
• You prefer a monthly pouch with a lower up-front price, from a brand that publishes a Certificate of Analysis for each batch.

Our Biotin Zinc Selenium Tablets may suit you better if:

• You want biotin, zinc and selenium in one product for the hair, skin and nails picture, at about 32p a day.

For more on how our range lines up with other Pure Encapsulations categories, see our page on a UK alternative to Pure Encapsulations, and for the wider picture, my guide to the best vitamins for hair, skin and nails in the UK.

A few cautions worth knowing

• Tell your doctor or the person taking your blood that you take biotin before any blood test.
• The NHS says 0.9 mg or less of biotin a day from supplements is unlikely to cause harm, and that there is not enough evidence on high daily doses. Do not exceed the dose on the label, and count biotin in any multivitamin or hair, skin and nails product you already take.
• If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medication or have a medical condition, speak to your GP or pharmacist before taking a high-strength supplement.
• If you take zinc from more than one product, keep your total from supplements within the NHS 25 mg a day figure.
• Keep supplements out of reach of children.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pure Vitamins the same company as Pure Encapsulations?

No. Pure Vitamins UK is an independent British brand. We are not connected to, endorsed by or affiliated with Pure Encapsulations or its owner.

How much biotin is in Pure Encapsulations Biotin?

UK retailer listings checked on 8 November 2026 show 8 mg (8,000 mcg) of biotin per capsule, taken as one capsule a day with a meal, in packs of 60 capsules.

How many mg is 10,000 mcg of biotin?

10,000 mcg is 10 mg, because 1 mg is 1,000 mcg. In the same way, 8 mg is 8,000 mcg.

Which biotin is cheapest per day?

On 8 November 2026, Healthspan Biotin 1000µg was about 8p a day and igennus Pure Biotin 10,000mcg about 9p a day, both in 180-count packs. Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg was about 16p a day at Healf, and our Biotin Tablets 10,000mcg about 33p a day.

Can biotin affect blood test results?

Yes. High levels of biotin can interfere with some laboratory tests, including some thyroid and heart tests. Tell your doctor or the person taking your blood that you take biotin before a test.

Our pick for this guide

Want 10,000 mcg of biotin in one small tablet a day?

One uncoated vegan tablet gives 10,000 mcg of biotin, and each pouch of 30 tablets lasts a month. Prefer biotin with zinc and selenium? See our Biotin Zinc Selenium Tablets. A food supplement, not a replacement for medical advice.

From £9.95 · 30 tablets

Shop Biotin Tablets →

Where these facts come from

• Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg, £9.49 (subscribe £8.54), 60 capsules, 8 mg biotin per capsule, Healf delivery £3.99 under £50 and free over £50, checked 8 November 2026: healf.com and Healf delivery FAQ
• Pure Encapsulations Biotin 8 mg, RRP £16.00, HPMC capsule, vegan and gluten free listing, checked 8 November 2026: naturaldispensary.co.uk and supplementhub.co.uk
• Pure Encapsulations Hair Skin Nails Ultra, £56.16 (subscribe £50.54), 60 capsules, 2 a day, blood-test advice, checked 8 November 2026: pure-encapsulations.co.uk; 6 mg biotin per serving and suitability: product information sheet (PDF)
• Pure Encapsulations UK delivery (£4.49, free over £50), checked 8 November 2026: delivery and returns
• igennus Pure Biotin 10,000mcg, £15.99, 180 capsules, 1 a day, checked 8 November 2026: igennus.com; delivery: igennus delivery and returns
• Healthspan Biotin 1000µg, £13.99 (subscribe £11.99), 180 tablets, 1 a day, free UK standard delivery over £30, checked 8 November 2026: healthspan.co.uk
• Pure Vitamins Biotin Tablets 10,000mcg, £9.95, 30 tablets, and Biotin Zinc Selenium Tablets, £9.50, 60 tablets: our biotin product page and our biotin, zinc and selenium product page

Sources

• NHS. Vitamins and minerals: B vitamins and folic acid (biotin). nhs.uk
• Li D, Ferguson A, Cervinski MA, Lynch KL, Kyle PB. AACC Guidance Document on Biotin Interference in Laboratory Tests. The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, 2020. PubMed 32445355

More reading: our supplement guides hub and the Pure Vitamins UK home page.

Dr. Miron, Founder of Pure Vitamins UK

Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Always speak to your GP or pharmacist if you have a medical condition, take medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.