Well-meaning friends and family members may advise you to get more sun when they hear you lamenting about your slow-growing or thinning hair. But does sun exposure really help? Or is it more about the vitamin D from the sun's rays?
Read on to find out whether the sun makes your hair grow.
The Sun and Hair Health
It's true that those summer days in the sun can stimulate hair growth. When your skin is exposed to sunlight, UVB rays of the sun convert inactive 7-dehydrocholesterol to cholecalciferol, which then is converted to dihydroxycholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) in the liver and kidneys. In this way, sunlight helps our bodies to produce critical vitamin D, often called the "sunshine vitamin," which can be beneficial to your body and mood — and promote hair growth.
Here are some facts about vitamin D:
- Your body produces its own vitamin D after sufficient sun exposure.
- Vitamin D helps your body to absorb the calcium it needs for strong bones.
- Vitamin D helps regulate the immune system.
- Vitamin D deficiency can cause disruptions in mood, increase the likelihood of certain diseases and also contribute to hair loss or thinning.
- Vitamin D3, particularly, plays a role in the healthy growth of hair follicles.
The Role of Vitamin D In Hair Growth
VEGAMOUR spoke with Erum N. Ilyas, MD and board-certified dermatologist with AmberNoon & Montgomery Dermatology, about the connection between vitamin D and hair growth.
Ilyas said, "Although there are not a lot of studies evaluating the ability of vitamin D supplementation to improve hair growth ... studies have demonstrated that those with stress-induced hair loss (Telogen effluvium), trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder), androgenetic alopecia (patterned baldness or hair loss) and alopecia areata have been noted to have lower vitamin D levels. This suggests a potential role for vitamin D ... in managing these types of hair loss."
While supplementation can help with a vitamin D deficiency, (which should be diagnosed by a medical doctor), there are many other reasons for hair loss, such as stress, lack of sleep, other vitamin deficiencies not limited to vitamin D, increased DHT and miRNA22 levels and poor circulation or scalp health. Although some sources suggest that vitamin D3 deficiency is the most frequent cause, hair loss is often attributed to a combination of these other factors.
If you're interested in supplementing vitamin D3, consider taking a daily multivitamin with biotin.
Sun Exposure vs. Risk
While spending the summer lounging in the sun sounds like great fun, those delicate hair follicles need a lot more than a day by the pool. Additionally, it's important to understand that exposure to the sun does create risk, especially to the skin and hair. UV radiation in sunlight can cause harm to your hair and health in several ways:
- Hair shafts can lighten in color and become brittle.
- Excessive sun exposure can burn the skin of the scalp.
- UV exposure is linked to skin cancer and other skin disorders.
- UV rays have mutating effects on cell DNA, which can cause oxidating sun damage, altering the amino acids on hair shaft proteins such as cysteine, tyrosine, histidine and tryptophan.
- UV rays can degrade moisture lipids in the hair shaft.
- UV rays can also break down the melanin pigments in hair, which help to protect the skin of the scalp from excessive sunlight exposure.
- Sunlight can exacerbate some skin conditions such as acne and fungal infections of the scalp.
Celebrity stylist Ashley Streicher states: "I would say be aware of the sun and your scalp and hair, be sure to cover your head with a hat and not overexpose to sun and salt as this could dry and damage your hair without you even knowing it. Also if youre wearing your hair up a lot, be aware of tight pony tails that can pull and kink your hair, go for looser braids and soft scrunchies."
Take a Holistic Approach to Your Hair
When you do spend time outdoors, remember to protect your hair to prevent hair damage from the sun's UV rays. You can wear a hat or scarf to protect the hair and apply sunscreen to your skin for protection from sun damage.
But a healthy head of hair is far better supported by a whole-body approach that puts your health and wellness at the center — rather than risk exposing your skin to too much UV from the sun. Eat a nutritious diet, get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, exercise, reduce stress and switch out your hair care products for healthier, natural alternatives that are designed to promote and stabilize a healthy scalp ecosystem.
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Photo credit: Adrià García Sarceda/Unsplash
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