So apparently vitamin d helps promote normal hair growth (preventing ingrowns?)

[herman_gill]

So I was bored and browsing pubmed a couple of days ago (I'm a nerd, sue me); and I recently came across a few discoveries. Well there's been this huge vitamin d craze going on among doctors and stuff, and apparently a lot of the stuff is substantiated.
One such thing is that high vitamin d levels are required for promoting normal hair growth, and preventing ingrowns. One clear sign of this I myself have observed is that black people often have a large amount of ingrowns, south asians (that's me) also have a moderate amount of ingrowns, and whites tend not to suffer from ingrowns nearly as often. The inverse is true of vitamin d levels in those populations (Whites have the highest numbers, blacks have the lowest). Vitamin d is also associated with a number of other good things, right now the daily suggested amount is 400IU, the max is 2000IU. They are thinking of changing the numbers to a daily recommended of 2000IU and a max of 10,000IU. I'd definitely talk about it with my doctor first though, as there has been evidence that black people have evolved a mechanism to counteract the low vitamin d levels in their blood circulation (which is why on average they have the highest level of bone density of all genetically isolated population, despite having the lowest levels of vitamin d.
While supplementing vitamin d into your diet won't get rid of your ingrowns overnight, I think there might be a definite beneficial. Maybe I'm just drawing conclusions here, but vitamin d has also been associated with promoting good skin health, so I think it makes sense to me. I myself have added 30,000 IU of liquid vitamin d to my preshave oil (half of the bottle has gotten used over the past 2 weeks, so I figure about ~1000 IU a day from topical application isn't bad)... and yes, vitamin d does absorb topically.
Here's a breakdown of my preshave oil if anyone's interested:
75 ml safflower oil, 15 ml almond oil, 5 ml sea buckthorn oil, a couple of drops of vanilla essence, and aslo a few drops of liquid vitamin c, d, and e. I apply it right when I wake up to my face (about 5 ml), and then shave about half an hour later, after my shower, giving ample time for the oil to absorb into the skin and not clog my razor.

Here's a couple of links: (you can use scholar.google.com too, to find science articles, great resource):
http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v118/n1/abs/5601354a.html
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/56/19/4438.abstract
http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v118/n4/abs/5601449a.html
http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/10/4391

[Luc]

I don't know if Vitamin D does all of that but I do take a walk for 1/2 hour everyday at lunch time... I don't see a difference between week days and week-end...

[roboboticus]

I haven't yet read the linked articles, but I saw some mention of the many benefits of vitamin D a few years ago and have been taking supplements since. I live in un-sunny Seattle...

[Drubbing]

Adequate Vit D levels are important for overall health. As are any vitamins. Trouble is, less people are getting adequate levels, Supplementing Vit D to go well above those accepted levels, is probably overdoing it.

Here in in Aus an incessant anti-skin cancer campaign of 30 years, has seen many older people avoiding sun at all costs. UV's are where much Vit D is synthesised from.

I think inferring a link to beard growth and positive affect on ingrowns is drawing too much of an assumption - even more so when used topically. You realise dark people have curly hair, right?

[sanuginz]

I watched a documentary about vitamin D and after boosting my levels I now take 2,000 IU daily. Never thought about topical application but the body should absorb it and distribute evenly. It's not like the beard will specifically grow faster and prevent ingrowns by applying it there.

[sparkypants]

Adequate Vit D levels are important for overall health. As are any vitamins. Trouble is, less people are getting adequate levels, Supplementing Vit D to go well above those accepted levels, is probably overdoing it.

Here in in Aus an incessant anti-skin cancer campaign of 30 years, has seen many older people avoiding sun at all costs. UV's are where much Vit D is synthesised from.

I think inferring a link to beard growth and positive affect on ingrowns is drawing too much of an assumption - even more so when used topically. You realise dark people have curly hair, right?

It doesn't take a scientist to tell you that us curly-haired folk are more prone to ingrowns...

[herman_gill]

that wasn't what I was getting at, when applied topically it still absorbs and is processed the same way, I'm just saying it is readily applied topically and absorbed.

Also, what's considered adequate right now in terms of daily dosage is going to be ramped up quite heavily soon if things go according to plan (as all research suggests the body naturally caps Vitamin D production from UV exposure to ~10,000 IU after prolonged exposure, which is in stark contrast to the 400IU daily recommended dosage here in Canada... Toronto only gets sufficient sunlight to induce Vitamin D production between the months of May-September, so we're kinda screwed here most of the year)

Ingrowns tend to grow more for people with curly hair because the hair folds back on itself. Also occasionally the site gets infected because of it's 'at risk' status as a result of all the weird stuff going on there. Vitamin D comes in because it not only promotes proper hair and skin growth, but also because it's involved in auto-immune processes and down regulating them, such as those that sometimes happen when you have an ingrown, and it turns into a razor bump when you shave over it. Pseudofolliculitis Barbae is the medical name for ingrown hairs, and it is thought to be caused by the bodies autoimmune responses reacting to hair and dirt and grime and stuff on the face. There's also some research suggesting a commensal bacteria commonly found in the nose 'infects' (habituates) hair follicle sites on the body and causes PFB; but the bacteria itself isn't harmful, the body's immune response is.

Luc, your levels of Vitamin D remain pretty static in your body, so you wouldn't notice a difference from day to day, but more from season to season. Of course there a bunch of confounds to that, such as difference in temperature, air moisture, and exposure to wind (so obviously your face is gonna be a lot drier in the winter as it is).

There's also a bunch of stuff concerning adequate levels of iron, copper, and zinc, and vitamin b, which help to promote normal hair growth as well, (especially copper) but those are already pretty well established, the vitamin d one is new.

[Luc]

that wasn't what I was getting at, when applied topically it still absorbs and is processed the same way, I'm just saying it is readily applied topically and absorbed.

Also, what's considered adequate right now in terms of daily dosage is going to be ramped up quite heavily soon if things go according to plan (as all research suggests the body naturally caps Vitamin D production from UV exposure to ~10,000 IU after prolonged exposure, which is in stark contrast to the 400IU daily recommended dosage here in Canada... Toronto only gets sufficient sunlight to induce Vitamin D production between the months of May-September, so we're kinda screwed here most of the year)

Ingrowns tend to grow more for people with curly hair because the hair folds back on itself. Also occasionally the site gets infected because of it's 'at risk' status as a result of all the weird stuff going on there. Vitamin D comes in because it not only promotes proper hair and skin growth, but also because it's involved in auto-immune processes and down regulating them, such as those that sometimes happen when you have an ingrown, and it turns into a razor bump when you shave over it. Pseudofolliculitis Barbae is the medical name for ingrown hairs, and it is thought to be caused by the bodies autoimmune responses reacting to hair and dirt and grime and stuff on the face. There's also some research suggesting a commensal bacteria commonly found in the nose 'infects' (habituates) hair follicle sites on the body and causes PFB; but the bacteria itself isn't harmful, the body's immune response is.

Luc, your levels of Vitamin D remain pretty static in your body, so you wouldn't notice a difference from day to day, but more from season to season. Of course there a bunch of confounds to that, such as difference in temperature, air moisture, and exposure to wind (so obviously your face is gonna be a lot drier in the winter as it is).

There's also a bunch of stuff concerning adequate levels of iron, copper, and zinc, and vitamin b, which help to promote normal hair growth as well, (especially copper) but those are already pretty well established, the vitamin d one is new.

Well, not saying it is or not but I didn't see a difference either between living in Oz or in Canada...