🌿 How does Vitamin D deficiency affect your skin? Dealing with dryness, sensitivity, and how to balance it if you're prone to deficiency [Part 15]
"My skin feels dry lately."
"I feel like my skin has become more sensitive."
At times like these, you might be concerned not just about your skincare, but also about your body's internal state.
One of those factors is Vitamin D🫧
While Vitamin D is often associated with bone health, it is actually known to be involved in skin barrier function and inflammatory balance (Note 1).
☀️ How does skin change due to Vitamin D deficiency?
Vitamin D helps maintain the skin barrier and supports the production of components involved in protecting the skin (Note 1).
Therefore, if a deficiency persists, some people may notice increased dryness or skin instability.
Of course, skin dryness and sensitivity are not determined by Vitamin D alone.
However, when you feel that "external moisturizing alone isn't enough," it is worth looking at your internal nutritional status as well🌿
🍽 Who is prone to deficiency?
Vitamin D can be obtained not only through sun exposure but also through diet.
However, a lifestyle that strongly avoids UV rays, centers around indoor activities, or involves an unbalanced diet can lead to deficiencies (Note 2).
"I want to avoid UV rays, but I'm also worried about deficiency."
For those people, it is important to consider sun protection and nutritional balance together.
🧴 Does using sunscreen lead to Vitamin D deficiency?
This is a point that many people are very concerned about.
In conclusion,it is generally understood that daily sunscreen use itself does not necessarily strongly cause Vitamin D deficiency in healthy individuals(Note 2).
In real-life situations, sunscreen is not always applied perfectly and evenly every time, so it is believed that Vitamin D synthesis does not stop completely within normal usage ranges.
✨ What is a realistic way to balance it?
Rather than trying to force yourself to get sun exposure, the following three habits are easier to maintain.
Continue your UV protection properly
Be mindful of Vitamin D in your diet (representative foods: salmon, mushrooms, etc.)
Review your overall lifestyle when you feel concerned
Instead of choosing between "sun protection" or "Vitamin D," I think the best approach is to
protect your skin while balancing your internal health🌼
🫶 Summary
Vitamin D is not a component that will directly fix skin dryness or sensitivity on its own.
However, it is worth being mindful of as one of the foundations that supports your skin's barrier and condition.
When you feel that skincare alone isn't enough,
gently looking at internal deficiencies might change your perspective.
Notes and References
Note 1. Vitamin D, cutaneous barrier function, and allergic disease.
Source
Note 2. Sunscreen photoprotection and vitamin D status.
Source
#Beauty #VitaminD #DrySkin #SensitiveSkin #InnerCare #Skincare #20sBeauty #30sBeauty #InnerBeauty