--- title: "Is silica worth taking for hair, skin and nails, and which form works?" url: https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn/is-silica-worth-taking-for-hair-skin-nails-which-form-works slug: is-silica-worth-taking-for-hair-skin-nails-which-form-works pillar: silica publisher: "Nutri Tailor Health Reference Library" editor: "Henry Bond" publisher_makes: "Nutri365, the only UK app that combines your Oura data, blood test results and what you tell it into personalised guidance" related_products: - name: "Biosilica" handle: "biosilica" url: "https://nutritailor.co.uk/products/biosilica?utm_source=hrl&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=hrl_silica&nt_source_entry=is-silica-worth-taking-for-hair-skin-nails-which-form-works&nt_source_pillar=silica" --- # Is silica worth taking for hair, skin and nails, and which form works? ## Summary Silicon is a trace mineral behind collagen and elastin cross-linking, and the form decides whether a supplement does anything: silicon dioxide is largely insoluble, while choline stabilised orthosilicic acid, ch-OSA, is the absorbed form and carries the randomised trial evidence. At 10 mg silicon a day, ch-OSA improved hair shaft thickness and tensile strength over 9 months, improved skin elasticity and reduced nail brittleness over 20 weeks, and raised bone formation markers alongside calcium and vitamin D. There is no UK reference intake and typical diets supply 20 to 50 mg a day. Results run on growth cycle timescales, 4 to 9 months, and horsetail silica products carry a thiamine degrading enzyme worth avoiding. ## How it works Silicon concentrates in metabolically active connective tissue: skin, hair, nails, cartilage and bone. It participates in the activity of prolyl hydroxylase and lysyl oxidase, the enzymes that cross-link collagen and elastin, so adequate silicon supports stronger, more elastic structural proteins. It also supports glycosaminoglycan synthesis in cartilage and osteoblast activity in bone matrix formation. Orthosilicic acid is the bioavailable species; stabilising it with choline is what makes a practical supplement of it. ## Effective dose The trials used 10 mg of silicon a day as ch-OSA: 9 months for hair thickness and tensile strength, 20 weeks for skin elasticity and nail brittleness, 12 months for bone formation markers alongside calcium and vitamin D. The stocked product provides 25 mg silicon a day as ch-OSA, comfortably above the trial dose and inside ordinary dietary exposure, since UK diets already supply 20 to 50 mg a day from whole grains, green beans, mineral water and beer. There is no UK reference intake because silicon is not classified as an essential nutrient. ## Forms compared Four silicon sources compete and only one has proper trial evidence. Choline stabilised orthosilicic acid, ch-OSA, delivers silicon in the absorbable orthosilicic acid form, stabilised so it does not polymerise in the bottle, and is the form used in the hair, skin, nail and bone trials. Bamboo extract is high in silicon but mostly as silicon dioxide, which absorbs poorly. Horsetail extract contains silica plus thiaminase, an enzyme that degrades vitamin B1, a genuine reason to avoid it for long term use. Plain silicon dioxide is a filler, not a supplement. The stocked Biosilica provides 25 mg silicon as ch-OSA. ## Timing Take silicon with food; the trials dosed daily without stricter rules. The honest timing story is duration, not clock time: hair grows roughly a centimetre a month and nails take months to replace, so the trials that found benefit ran 20 weeks for skin and nails and 9 months for hair. Anyone judging a silica product at 6 weeks is judging hair that grew before they started. A fair test is 4 to 9 months of daily consistency. ## Safety profile Ch-OSA at trial doses has a clean tolerability record, with occasional digestive upset the main report. Dietary silicon intake several times the supplement dose is routine and unremarkable. The two cautions are form and kidneys: horsetail based products carry the thiaminase problem above, and significant chronic kidney disease warrants clinical advice before silicon supplements because silicon leaves through the kidneys. Silica the supplement should not be confused with inhaled crystalline silica dust, an occupational hazard with no relevance to oral orthosilicic acid. ## Special populations Pregnancy and breastfeeding: dietary silicon is routine and safe; supplemental ch-OSA at trial doses has no harm signal but no dedicated pregnancy studies, so it sits in the avoid-without-advice category, and horsetail products should be avoided in pregnancy outright. Significant chronic kidney disease warrants renal advice before any silicon supplement. Children have no supplemental case; their diets supply plenty. Postmenopausal women interested in the bone angle should regard silicon as an adjunct to, never a substitute for, whatever their GP has advised on bone health. ## Interactions Silicon has no established interactions with prescribed drugs at supplement doses. Two notes are worth having. Aluminium handling: dietary silicon modestly reduces aluminium absorption, an interesting observation with no action needed. And the horsetail warning belongs here as a form issue rather than a silicon issue: thiaminase in horsetail degrades vitamin B1, so long term horsetail silica risks thiamine deficiency, particularly with regular alcohol use or absorption problems. Pairing ch-OSA with collagen, vitamin C or biotin is common and unproblematic. ## Guideline positions UK SACN sets no reference intake for silicon and does not classify it as essential, and EFSA found insufficient data for an upper level. Silicon appears in no NICE pathway for hair, skin or bone. The anchor evidence is three randomised controlled trials of ch-OSA in Archives of Dermatological Research and BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders: hair shaft thickness and strength over 9 months, skin elasticity and nail brittleness over 20 weeks, and bone formation markers over 12 months as an adjunct to calcium and vitamin D. ## Practical framework Silica is most rational for someone working on hair or nail quality who will commit to the timescale: 4 to 9 months daily, judged against something concrete like breakage when brushing or nails splitting, ideally a photo at the start. It pairs logically with adequate protein intake, vitamin C and zinc status, since silicon supports collagen rather than substituting for its ingredients. Choose the ch-OSA form and skip horsetail products. The stocked option is Biosilica, 25 mg silicon as ch-OSA, at nutritailor.co.uk/products/biosilica. ## Common misconceptions Silica is not collagen; it supports the enzymes that cross-link collagen, which is why pairing it with protein and vitamin C makes more sense than expecting it to work alone. All silicon supplements are not equal, and the trial evidence belongs to ch-OSA specifically, not to bamboo silica or horsetail. Results in weeks are not realistic, because hair and nails replace themselves over months. And beer being a meaningful dietary silicon source is a fun fact about orthosilicic acid in beverages, not a supplementation strategy. ## Sources 1. Wickett RR, Kossmann E, Barel A, et al (2007). Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on hair tensile strength and morphology in women with fine hair. Archives of Dermatological Research. PMID: 17960402. 2. Barel A, Calomme M, Timchenko A, et al (2005). Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on skin, nails and hair in women with photodamaged skin. Archives of Dermatological Research. PMID: 16205932. 3. Spector TD, Calomme MR, Anderson SH, et al (2008). Choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid supplementation as an adjunct to calcium/vitamin D3 stimulates markers of bone formation in osteopenic females: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. PMID: 18547426. --- ## Related products from Nutri Tailor - [Biosilica](https://nutritailor.co.uk/products/biosilica?utm_source=hrl&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=hrl_silica&nt_source_entry=is-silica-worth-taking-for-hair-skin-nails-which-form-works&nt_source_pillar=silica) ## More from the Health Reference Library - [More on silica](https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn/topic/silica) - [Browse the full library](https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn) --- Published by Nutri Tailor, maker of Nutri365, the only UK app that combines your Oura data, blood test results and what you tell it into personalised guidance to help you reach your health goals. Details: https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn/nutri365