“Both vitamin D deficiency, as well as vitamin D excess, may cause hair loss,” Chacon explains. A 2020 study in the International Journal of Dermatology found that vitamin D deficiency may also play a role in the development and severity of androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness.
Vitamin D supplements are an excellent way to improve your Vitamin D blood levels. Unfortunately, not many foods naturally contain an adequate amount of Vitamin D. If you are consistent with taking your Vitamin D supplements, there is a likelihood that you will see hair regrowth results within six to eight weeks.
“There is a link between vitamin D deficiency and alopecia, and it is often one of the common causes of thinning hair or hair loss in men or women,” Arielle Levitan, MD, an internal medicine physician in Chicago, tells WebMD Connect to Care.
Biotin. Biotin (vitamin B7) is important for cells inside your body. Low levels of it can cause hair loss, skin rashes, and brittle nails.
Damage from Vitamin D deficiency is often proportional to the deprived deficiency. Make sure your Vitamin D is normal, not too high or not too low. Keep it within normal limits (30-100). Potentially your hair should grow back within 6-8 months, all other factors being normal.
But scientific research is scarce on how long it will take for hair to grow back — and if there is a significant amount of hair regrowth — after upping your vitamin D intake and improving your levels. Anecdotal evidence, though, suggests hair may stop shedding and regenerate in as little as two months after treatment.
New follicles may help hair maintain thickness and prevent existing hair from falling out prematurely. Because of this link, getting adequate amounts of vitamin D can support hair growth and regrowth.
Possible causes of hair loss include stress, poor diet, and underlying medical conditions. Everyone experiences hair shedding, and it happens to each of us every day. Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day as part of this natural cycle, more on days you wash your hair.
The three most common triggers for hair loss in young women are stress, dieting, and hormonal changes. Less commonly, hair loss can be caused by certain autoimmune diseases. Here's more on these four triggers for hair loss in young women.
Vitamin D3 supplements are thought to raise vitamin D levels in the bloodstream in around 24 hours. However, it takes up to 7 days for this to be converted into the active form of vitamin D – which is what a blood test will pick up.
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density, which can contribute to osteoporosis and fractures (broken bones). Severe vitamin D deficiency can also lead to other diseases. In children, it can cause rickets. Rickets is a rare disease that causes the bones to become soft and bend.
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.
As with male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness comes from hormone imbalances, specifically dihydrotestosterone imbalances, or DHT. This hormone is similar in structure to testosterone, but it is significantly more potent [3]. DHT can attach to receptors on the hair follicles, causing the follicles to shrink.
Lifestyle factors could include using certain hair products, wearing your hair up too tightly, experiencing high stress levels, or not getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals in your diet. People who have immune system deficiencies could also have thinning hair.
Physical or emotional stress may cause one half to three quarters of scalp hair to shed. This kind of hair loss is called telogen effluvium. Hair tends to come out in handfuls when you shampoo, comb, or run your hands through your hair. You may not notice this for weeks to months after the episode of stress.
Biotin. Biotin, also known as vitamin B7, stimulates the production of keratin to increase follicle growth. Biotin deficiencies tend to be rare, with those diagnosed with Biotinidase Deficiency being the most common.
This article explains that vitamin D is metabolized in the skin by keratinocytes, the cells that produce keratin, the protein found in hair, nails and skin. Without enough vitamin D, the keratinocytes in hair follicles may not properly function, resulting in disruption in the hair growth to hair shedding cycle.
Sufficient vitamin D levels can help create new hair follicles to support healthy hair growth, while inversely its deficiency can disrupt the hair follicle cycling and lead to sparse hair growth. They're also thought to have a connection with keratin in the hair.
The role of vitamin D in hair growth and hair follicle cycling: The role of supplements in this phase is that they can bind with the vitamin D receptors to activate the production of new hair follicles. It helps regulate cell turnover to ensure continuous hair growth cycling.
That is why we recommend supplementing with between 5,000-10,000 IU per day in order to achieve healthy vitamin D levels (40-80 ng/ml).” The key to resilient, strong hair less prone to falling out lies in the follicles.