Approximately one billion people worldwide have a vitamin-D deficiency. Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids that are responsible for several important biological processes, including our skin health. In fact, several causes of skin pigmentation can be traced back to vitamin-D deficiency.
What makes Vitamin D crucial for maintaining healthy skin?
Vitamin D is primarily synthesized in the sink when it is exposed to sunlight. It is crucial for your skinâs protection and repair. Healthy levels of vitamin D have been proven to prevent skin inflammation and ageing. It can help prevent conditions such as dryness, acne, psoriasis, eczema, and even vitiligo. It further helps prevent dead cell buildup by increasing cell turnover, which also helps your skin heal faster.But if youâre deficient in vitamin D, some of the common problems you might experience include dullness, sullen-looking skin, patchiness, increased fine lines and wrinkles as well as dryness and acne. Letâs look at these in detail.
Recognize the Indications of Vitamin D Deficiency in Your Skin
Dull skin:Â A lack of vitamin D can make your complexion appear duller and slightly grey in colour, leading to exacerbating any existing pigmentation and dark circles and preventing their healing. This is because Vitamin D is needed by skin cells to regenerate properly. This can be tackled by scheduled sun exposure as well as vitamin D supplements after consultation with your physician.
Melasma:Â Melasma is a condition that leads to hyperpigmentation of the skin or an increase in pigmentation in small spots or larger areas. While the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and melasma is still being studied, preliminary research done on patients with melasma indicates that people who have the condition are more likely to be vitamin D deficient than those who donât.
While treating the deficiency is definitely important in this scenario, hyperpigmentation also needs additional topical treatments that can aid the healing of the pigmented skin. HNR-3 technology, which is a unique blend of hexylresorcinol (HR) + niacinamide (VB3) + retinyl propionate (RPC) with a retinol booster, has been proven to reduce hyperpigmentation from week 4 and brighten the skin while strengthening the skin barrier.
Dry skin: Dry and itchy skin is a tell-tale sign of a vitamin D deficiency. In severe cases, those who are deficient may also develop eczema, although that is considered to be a result of an immune system dysfunction. However, studies have still shown that vitamin D can be effective in its treatment when administered through sunlight and topical skin applications.
Fine lines: Vitamin D not only helps with better skin cell turnover, but it also helps the body fight off free radicles, which are directly linked to ageing. A deficiency of this vitamin has been linked to the faster appearance of wrinkles and fine lines as well as making the appearance of existing ones more visible.
Nourish and protect your skin
A vitamin D deficiency can be detrimental to your health in more ways than one. While research in the field is still going on, it has been linked to several skin issues, treating which often require medical intervention. But when you are addressing these concerns, it is very important to rely only on expert advice and use products that have been clinically proven to address these issues.