Can Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Hair Loss?

Vitamin D is crucial for the proper functioning of the human body. Vitamin D deficiency may negatively affect your body and is a major hair fall reason. Vitamin D deficiency causes hindrances to your hair's health and growth and results in an increasing rate of loss of strands of hair. 

So, yes, Vitamin D deficiency can cause hair fall. This article will enlighten you about how vitamin D deficiency can cause hair fall and how you can prevent it. So, stay with us!

What is Vitamin D? What Role Does it Have in Our Hair Growth? 

Vitamin D is a nutrient that our bodies synthesise from sunlight and natural fatty foods with animal origins such as egg yolks, beef liver, fatty fish, fish liver oil and certain dairy products and plant-based food like mushrooms. Our liver and kidneys play a vital role in converting the synthesised Vitamin D into a form which may be used by our body. 

Vitamin D is vital in maintaining the levels of calcium in our bodies, which is required for the growth of our bones. It also plays vital roles in the growth of our cells, maintaining the balance of our hormones and supporting the functioning of our body’s immunity.

Which vitamin deficiency causes hair loss? The answer is vitamin D. While vitamin D is an essential nutrient for healthy hair growth, aiding in the growth and functioning of our hair follicles, the growth of healthy hair depends on the combination of several factors such as our genetic composition, hormones, the nutrients in our diet and our overall health and medical condition. So while vitamin D deficiency does lead to hair loss, we cannot blame this condition solely on the deficiency of this nutrient in our body.

What are the Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency?

There are a number of vitamin D deficiency symptoms, the main ones being as follows:

1. Your hair starts thinning or your hair loss increases
2. You feel low in energy and fatigued easily
3. Your muscles feel weak and you suffer from muscle spasms and pain in the bones
4. You fall ill frequently and contract infections easily
5. Wounds heal slower
6. You suffer from bone loss and fractures
7. You are affected by depression, feel sad easily and experience mood swings
8. You suffer from loss in concentration levels and from impairment in your memory functions

These symptoms reflect the effect that low vitamin D levels have on the functioning of your brain, your immunity and the production of hormones. Low vitamin D levels in your body are one of the main causes of hair fall.

Risk Factors for Deficiency of Vitamin D

The following are the risk factors for vitamin D deficiency:

1. Limited exposure to the sun caused by spending less time outdoors in the sun
2. Darker skin with increased levels of melanin reduces the production of vitamin D
3. Obesity or the state of being overweight is the excess levels of fat in the body that isolates vitamin D, keeping it less available for use by the body
4. Age is a factor as once you cross the age of 50 your skin reduces in its ability to synthesise vitamin D along with reduced synthesis capacity of your liver and kidney
5. Conditions and diseases of your gastrointestinal system like celiac, gastric bypass and IBD reduce the capacity to absorb vitamin D
6. Diseases of your kidney or liver disrupt the process of activation of vitamin D in your body
7. Certain disorders in your autoimmune system like thyroiditis, lupus and arthritis result in low levels of vitamin D in your body

How is Hair Loss Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency?

Vitamin D influences your hair growth by affecting your hair follicles. Hair follicles are found under your scalp and regulate the growth of your hair. Hair follicles go through the following 3 stages:

1. The anagen phase or the cycle of growth determines the thickness of your hair. Your hair growth occurs in this phase.
2. The catagen phase is a short stage of transition.
3. The telogen phase is a stage of rest.

Deficiency of vitamin D will shorten the growth stage of your hair follicle and will bring the rest stage earlier. As a result, you shed more hair and your hair becomes thinner.

Stages of Hair Fall

The hair loss stages are different for males and females. Let us discuss the stages of balding and hair loss in both genders separately:

Hair Loss in Males

Male baldness, also referred to as androgenic alopecia, is when you lose hair from your scalp, and the skin on your head, and the lost hair does not grow back. Male hair loss also includes thinning hair and a receding hairline.

The 7 stages of hair loss in males or male baldness as per the Hamilton-Norwood scale are as:

Stage 1: In this stage, often referred to as the control stage, you have a full head of hair and there are hardly any or no signs of receding in your hairline or of baldness.

Stage 2: This stage is characterised by a slight loss of hair near the skin located in the area around your ears and the temple area of your forehead. This may start when you are around 21 years old.

Stage 3: Stage 3 is when your hair loss reaches a situation where it starts getting noticeable. The hair around your temples recedes deeply and when viewed from above, your hairline resembles a ‘M’ or ‘U’ shape.

Stage 4: In this stage, your hairline will have receded deeply and there will be a loss of hair in your crown region at the top of your head. However, there will be a strip of hair between your hairline and the bald spot in your crown.

Stage 5: Stage 5 is when the receding hairline joins the bald spot on your crown and the thin strip of hair between them disappears.

Stage 6: In this stage, you will find that the hair between the regions of your temples and crown is thinned out or has gone away in totality.

Stage 7: This is the stage where you lose all the hair on top of your head. Only a thin band of hair remains around the sides of your head.

Hair Loss in Females

Female baldness is often referred to as female pattern hair loss and has 5 stages as per the Sinclair scale:

Stage 1: There is hardly any loss of hair in this stage. It may be so that you are not suffering from any hair loss at all at this stage.

Stage 2: There is a slight gap that starts to appear in the centre part of your hair parting.

Stage 3: The gap in the centre of your hair parting becomes wider. The hair loss now occurs on both sides of your hair parting.

Stage 4: There are bald spots which will now start appearing towards the front part of your hairline.

Stage 5: This stage is characterised by an advanced level of loss of hair.

How to Control Hair Fall?

A common question in your mind would be – how to control hair fall? While it is not possible to stop hair fall totally, we need to know how to prevent hair fall, especially in the context of vitamin D deficiency. 

You may adopt the following steps to improve your hair health and reduce hair fall:

1. You need to eat a healthy diet rich in nutrients including those that are rich in vitamin D, iron and proteins and also contain adequate calories.
2. Find ways to reduce stress in your life.
3. Keep medical conditions that cause hair fall under control including thyroid imbalances.
4. You need to keep away from hairstyles or hot treatments that may damage your hair. 

Treatment of Hair Fall

The commonly used hair fall treatment processes are as follows:

Medication: You may apply over-the-counter medication on your scalp to counter the thinning of your hair. Oral medicines may be prescribed by your physician.

Hair Transplant: The process for hair transplant is removing some strands of hair from your scalp where the growth is the thickest and transplanting them in the area of your scalp where the growth is the thinnest. These strands will grow and cover the area with the thinning hair.

Injection of Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP): The plasma is separated from blood drawn out from you. This is rich in platelets and is injected into your scalp to reduce the rate of hair loss and increase the growth of new hair.

Home Remedies to Prevent Hair Loss

You may try the following hair fall treatment at home:

• Massaging your scalp with warm extra virgin coconut oil
• Use a homemade egg mask to strengthen your hair
• Rinse your hair with green tea to stimulate hair growth
• Massaging your hair with a mixture of Indian Gooseberry (amla) in coconut or almond oil
• Moisturising your hair with a hair mask made with fenugreek seed
• Using onion juice for hair growth
• Using aloe vera gel to massage your scalp
• Using a yoghurt mask for conditioning your hair
• Rinsing your hair with hibiscus flowers boiled in water for hair growth
• Using warm coconut oil with curry leaves to prevent hair fall

In Conclusion

Vitamin D deficiency can cause hair loss, but such hair fall does not pose any risk to you medically. However, other health complications caused by vitamin D deficiency can be severe and sometimes may need immediate medical attention. In this situation, having a comprehensive health insurance will not only help you covering the treatment expenses but also in accessing the nearby hospital without wasting a minute. Get your hands on Care Health Insurance and explore our different health insurance plans to find the right cover for yourself and your family.  

>> Also Read: Vitamin D Deficiency Causes and How to Cure It

Disclaimers: The above information is for reference purposes only. Kindly consult your general physician for verified medical advice. The health insurance benefits are subject to policy terms and conditions. Refer to your policy documents for more information.