This randomized control study shows that vitamin D3 can safely be delivered through the dermal route.
At times when sun exposure is limited, such as in winter months, it's important to top up levels of vitamin D through your diet and supplements to still gain its health benefits. But applying vitamin D topically to the skin is also effective in maintaining good skin health and improving some skin conditions.
Vitamin D3's antioxidant properties combat free radicals that cause premature aging. It supports collagen and elastin production, improving skin elasticity and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Healthy vitamin D levels promote skin rejuvenation and a youthful glow.
Vitamin D also helps with skin protection and rejuvenation by promoting skin cell growth, repair, and metabolism as well as enhancing the skin's immune system and helping to neutralise free radicals that can cause premature ageing.
Calcium and vitamin D supplementation is associated with decreased abdominal visceral adipose tissue in overweight and obese adults.
To make sure you get the amount you need, let the sun shine on your face or arms for about 10 minutes between 11am and 3pm, but take care not to burn. Ultraviolet rays from the sun produce vitamin D on cloudy days but it can take a little longer.
By countering oxidative damage, vitamin D may help reduce aging signs, including sagging, loose skin.
Acne, psoriasis, and other skin disorders
Prescription creams and pills containing retinoids, a synthetic form of vitamin A, are used to help clear up severe acne and psoriasis. They have also shown promise for treating other skin disorders, warts, and premature aging from the sun.
Research has found that vitamin D interacts directly with hair follicles. When we have enough vitamin D, it helps hair follicles grow and function properly. This signals the anagen (growth) phase, where thick hair is produced. In essence, maintaining sufficient vitamin D is crucial for healthy hair growth.
The recommended daily amount of vitamin D is 400 international units (IU) for children up to age 12 months, 600 IU for people ages 1 to 70 years, and 800 IU for people over 70 years.
Calcitriol. Topical calcitriol ointment (3µg/g) is the only vitamin D3 analog available as an ointment in the United States. It has comparable efficacy and favorable tolerability when compared to other topical vitamin D3 analogs and is now widely used.
Vitamin D. Vitamin D stimulates hair follicles, which promotes beard growth and thickness and is essential for hair's overall health. Low vitamin D levels are often associated with hair loss2 or thinning hair. Maintain optimal vitamin D levels by ensuring sufficient exposure to natural sunlight.
Combat Skin Aging with Vitamin D
Aging is a natural process that affects everyone, but maintaining adequate vitamin D levels can help slow down the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots. Vitamin D supports collagen production, which contributes to firmer, more youthful-looking skin.
There are quite a few differences between vitamin D and vitamin D3, but the main difference between them is that vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that regulates calcium and phosphorous levels in the body, whereas the vitamin D3 is the natural form of vitamin D produced by the body from sunlight.
Vitamin D3 and its analogues and precursors play an important complex role in the regulation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems, including in the skin [8,184,185]. There is a clear connection between vitamin D deficiency and incidences of infections and immune-mediated skin diseases [31,186,187,188].
In summary, long-term supplementation with vitamin D3 in doses ranging from 5000 to 50,000 IUs/day appears to be safe.
Vitamin D protects skin from photo-damage by repairing cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, reversing oxidative stress, and reducing chronic inflammation. Moreover, various epidemiological studies have identified vitamin D deficiency as a marker for common dermatological disorders.
Vitamins such as B, C, D, and E have been scientifically proven to boost fat burning and promote weight loss. They work by enhancing metabolic rate, reducing inflammation, and aiding in the breakdown of fat cells.
The effect of equivalent oral doses of vitamin D3 600 IU/day, 4200 IU/week and 18,000 IU/month on vitamin D status was compared in a randomized clinical trial in nursing home residents. A daily dose was more effective than a weekly dose, and a monthly dose was the least effective.
A study has found that vitamin D supplements can effectively reduce the severity of generalized anxiety symptoms (18). Low vitamin D levels were linked to increased depression and anxiety symptoms in a study on the role of vitamin D in anxiety (19).