Vitamin D for your hair- Love this vitamin!

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that we need in many areas of health, such as the normal development of bones and teeth and even the growth of hair. It also stimulates new cell growth in hair follicles. Its deficiency can lead to various health problems, including hair loss.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps us absorb calcium and phosphorus. There are three main versions of us. Ergocaliferol D2, Cholecaliferol D3, Alfacalcidol Vitamin D, which is known to help us in the normal development of bones and teeth, helps immunity and our body’s resistance to certain types of diseases. Lower levels of vitamin D:

• Calcification
• Low bone density and softening
• Heart disease
• Alopecia (hair loss)

it does.

Let’s take a look at sources of vitamin D, shall we?

Vitamin D can be made in the body and can also be taken from external sources:

• Production on the skin with a sufficient amount of sun.
• Production with food sources
• Production with nutritional supplements

 So vitamin D is found in fish, eggs and other food sources. It can be produced in our skin with sufficient sunlight.

Now let’s come to the relationship between Vitamin D and hair.

When vitamin D levels drop significantly, this can cause hair loss. I will now tell you about a few studies that have helped to demonstrate this relationship.

In one publication, researchers investigated how vitamin D affects the hair growth cycle. Researchers evaluated female hair loss alopecia patients between the ages of 18 and 45 and found that what most of them had in common was low levels of vitamin D in their blood. They conducted a MEDLINE search to compile the scientific literature on hair follicle cell receptors for vitamin D and hair loss. Based on their review, they found that the role of vitamin D in the hair growth cycle helps initiate the anagen growth phase. They also concluded that treatments aimed at regulating the body’s own production of vitamin D receptors on hair follicles can successfully treat hair problems.

In summary, low vitamin D can cause hair loss as it stimulates hair growth in both old and new hair follicles. And when levels are low, this can delay new hair growth.

Scientists have found that vitamin D receptors, rather than the nutrient itself, can produce new hair follicles and even stimulate growth. For example, researchers studied mice that were consciously bred without the vitamin D receptor in their hair follicles, and it was observed that hair growth occurred thanks to the vitamin D given to these animals.

In another study, scientists focused on patients with chronic telogen effluvium and examined the genetic basis of this problem. Telogen effluvium is a common hair loss condition caused by stress factors. In this study, they identified specific gene mutations that affect the normal development of the vitamin D receptor in groups of subjects. These changes prevented new hair growth in the anagen phase and stopped the proliferation of hair follicle cells. One study also evaluated women with female pattern hair loss, as well as women with telogen effluvium, and concluded that women should be given the appropriate dose of vitamin D.

In short, vitamin D is important for hair health. The sun that you will get from your arms up to the elbow for 15 minutes a day is extremely beneficial. Vitamin D can be obtained mainly from animal sources such as fish, egg yolk, cheese and milk. If you are a vegan, vegetarian or someone who follows a plant-based diet, you can consume foods such as mushrooms, almonds, milk, soy, and fortified grains.

Here are the studies I’m talking about:

[1] Amor, Karrie & Rashid, Rashid & Mirmirani, Paradi et. al, Does it matter? The role of Vitamin D in hair disorders and hair follicle cycling. Dermatol Online J, 2010 Feb 15;16(2):3.

[2] Banihashemi M, Nahidi Y, Meibodi NT, et. al Serum Vitamin D3 Level in Patients with Female Pattern Hair Loss. IntJ Trichology . 2016;8(3):116-120. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.188965

[3] Lisse, Thomas S et al. “The vitamin D receptor is required for activation of cWnt and hedgehog signaling in keratinocytes.” Molecular endocrinology (Baltimore, Md.)  vol. 28.10 (2014): 1698-706. doi:10.1210/me.2014-1043

[4] Seleit, Iman et al. “Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphism In Chronic Telogen Effluvium; A Case-Control Study.” Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology vol. 12 745-750. 8 Oct. 2019,