Sunlight and hair growth

[Guest]

I was wondering what part sunlight plays towards hair growth?

I have read on this forum and other websites that hair grows faster in the Summer than in the Winter months. I'm guessing this is due to increased sunlight?

I also read that not getting enough Vitamin D (which is what our body makes when we are exposed to sunlight) will go against hair growth. I for example don't go out much and if I do, the weather in the UK at the moment is very gloomy. Perhaps lack of sunlight is accelerating my hair thinning?

If you look at countries in Asia for example, I think they get a lot more sunlight than here in the UK and in the USA. Is this right? There also appears to be less Male Pattern Baldness in these countries too from what I read.

Although sunlight is not the answer to curing Male Pattern Baldness, perhaps it is more important to hair growth than I first thought. What do you people think?

 

[decro435]

I've thought about this before and realise that it has nothing to do with our hair. Genetics is the reason our hair falls out. I live in Ireland so I'm in the same position as you. Poland has a high rate of male pattern baldness and has a high rate of sunshine throughout the summer months. Take Hair/Nail/Skin vitamins and you will have all the vitamins/nutrients you need.

I've actually read that Sun can be bad for your hair. People see a shed during the winter months for some reason , noticeably in November.

 

[Guest]

But having a lot of sunshine in Poland in the Summer doesn't change the fact that in Winter, Poland gets little sunshine.

What vitamins/nutrients would one take to ensure hair is kept the best it can be? In my opinion, it's several of the B Vitamins (B5, B6, B7 and B12 including Biotin and Folic Acid). Perhaps Vitamin D too...

 

[Guest]

"It seems that the vitamin for hair loss is vitamin D. Research on mice shows that vitamin D, namely 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D regulates the expression of genes of the skin. When scientists knocked out those genes, the mice displayed vitamin D deficient symptoms of rickets and hair loss. They had total hair loss at 8 months old with the formation of dermal cysts starting at the age of 3 weeks.

This is a strong indication that hair loss in young men could be a result of a lack of vitamin D. It isn't conclusive since scientists deliberately knocked out the genes responsible rather than depriving the mice of vitamin D"

- http://searchwarp.com/swa74115.htm

Decro, you mention Poland has a high rate of sun in the summer months, but what about the winter months? Even if someone is living in an area with much sunlight, doesn't mean they are getting that sunlight if they spend large amounts of time indoors.

I have read many sources saying a lack of Vitamin D over long periods of time will cause hair loss. Take a look at this:

http://earth.rice.edu/MTPE/geo/geospher ... light.html

Can someone here help me find a world map that shows the percentage of hair loss for each country, similar to the sunlight map I posted?

I am not at all saying the reason for male pattern baldness is lack of vitamin D, I am just thinking it could accelerate it.

 

[decro435]

Look , we all search for answers to our hair loss. Yes , lack of vitamin D and countless over vitamins and minerals will result in hair loss. The fact remains that most accounts of hair loss are Androgenic Alopecia.

If Lack of vitamin D was a problem , then why do none of my friends suffer hair loss? We all live in the same place , eat the same etc. It is because I inherited extra-sensitive hairs to the androgen DHT and not because I don't get enough sunlight. Those Fritzel kids who were locked up all those years away from any source of light have perfect hair. If you really feel that you are low on vitamin D , get your bloods tested.

Different countries have different rates of hair loss due to their genes. The same way my country (Ireland) has a high rate of ginger people :whistle: or that Sweden has a high rate of Blonde people. :gay:.

Look man , stick to your Finasteride and Nizoral if you are not getting side effects. You can supplement all you want too , but in all fairness you are probably getting all your that your body will take in anyways.

 

[Guest]

Look , we all search for answers to our hair loss. Yes , lack of vitamin D and countless over vitamins and minerals will result in hair loss. The fact remains that most accounts of hair loss are Androgenic Alopecia.

If Lack of vitamin D was a problem , then why do none of my friends suffer hair loss? We all live in the same place , eat the same etc. It is because I inherited extra-sensitive hairs to the androgen DHT and not because I don't get enough sunlight. Those Fritzel kids who were locked up all those years away from any source of light have perfect hair. If you really feel that you are low on vitamin D , get your bloods tested.

Different countries have different rates of hair loss due to their genes. The same way my country (Ireland) has a high rate of ginger people :whistle: or that Sweden has a high rate of Blonde people. :gay:.

Look man , stick to your Finasteride and Nizoral if you are not getting side effects. You can supplement all you want too , but in all fairness you are probably getting all your that your body will take in anyways.

Then we are in agreement then, since we both state that Vitamin D causes hair loss to some degree, perhaps it is contributing to Androgenic Alopecia. I know for a fact I don't get the necessary sunlight I need so I will be getting more sun from now on. The Fritzel kids locked up all those years are kids, and kids don't suffer from Alopecia (except in rare, extreme cases) so you can't use them as examples. Also the daughter who gave birth is a female and you know it's uncommon for females to suffer baldness like us men.

Here is another quote from the mice research I quoted above

"Alopecia is a feature of vitamin D receptor (VDR) mutations in humans and in VDR null mice. This alopecia results from an inability to initiate the anagen phase of the hair cycle after follicle morphogenesis is complete. Thus, once the initial hair is shed it does not regrow. VDR expression in the epidermal component of the hair follicle, the keratinocyte, is critical for maintenance of the hair cycle. To determine which functional domains of the VDR are required for hair cycling, mutant VDR transgenes were targeted to the keratinocytes of VDR null mice. Keratinocyte-specific expression of a VDR transgene with a mutation in the hormone-binding domain that abolishes ligand binding restores normal hair cycling in VDR null mice, whereas a VDR transgene with a mutation in the activation function 2 domain that impairs nuclear receptor coactivator recruitment results in a partial rescue. Mutations in the nuclear receptor corepressor Hairless are also associated with alopecia in humans and mice. Hairless binds the VDR, resulting in transcriptional repression. Neither VDR mutation affects Hairless interactions or its ability to repress transcription. These studies demonstrate that the effects of the VDR on the hair follicle are ligand independent and point to novel molecular and cellular actions of this nuclear receptor."

I don't use finasteride or nizoral so I cannot stick to these.

 

[JLL]

Wasn't there a study recently saying vitamin D is not linked to hair growth? Can't seem to find it, though.

I don't think you'll find much correlation between the amount of sunlight one geographical area gets and how much baldness the people living their have. I think Greeks are #1 when it comes to balding, and they get more than their share of sunlight.

 

[LeesHair]

Sunlight does increase Vitamin D, whilst there are differing conclusions on studies about how much of an effect VitD does have on hair, the fact is that being in the sun makes you happy, and hair loss is often stress related, so you have some incidence of it being good there.

Sunlight also causes free radical damage to skin, which has been proven to have a negative effect on hair growth. This is espeically relevant for us thinning people!

So, like everything else in life a moderate amount can be good for you, too much will be harmful, all things in balance right?

 

[GreekGod_of_Aesthetics]

I'm experiencing fast diffused thinning these past few months.
Been taking Vitamin D3 5000 IU (high dose) for a while now, confirmed blood levels are high.

I think moderate sun exposure is needed. There are major health risks with not getting enough sunlight

 

[mannyFJ]

sun burn and damage can invoke hair growth

 

[xaragedom]

This study on identical twins https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23629119 might give you an answer > "Daily hat use (p = 0.050)... were associated with decreased temporal hair loss". But I thinkg vitamin D might help you since another study says "Serum and tissue VDR levels were lower in AA as well as Androgenetic Alopecia patients when compared to controls " (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27151518) VDR is a receptor for vitamin D. I thinking about adding vitamin d3 in drops to my topical.