Can Smoking Lead To Hair Loss?

It is already common knowledge, thanks to decades of research and study on the topic, that cigarette smoking has countless negative effects on our health, ranging in severity from mild annoyances like smoker’s cough and a sore throat to life-threatening conditions such as lung cancer and COPD.

But there are still a few things which remain unclear, particularly in some areas which may not have been as well researched, or perhaps in which the general public may not be as aware of this research as it is of the other research on more serious aspects of smoking cigarettes and its effects.

In this article, we will answer the question posed by many people over the past few years: Can smoking lead to hair loss?

First, let’s look at what is needed for having healthy hair, before we move on to answering that question.

Healthy Hair: What It Needs To Exist And Grow

First and foremost, our hair requires us to have a constantly good blood flow to the scalp and other areas of the head where it grows. This is because the hair, like any other part of our body, needs to be supplied with both oxygen and nutrients in order to remain healthy and not die, and regenerate or regrow.

A good hormonal balance is also required in order to ensure proper, good hair health. Certain hormones, when out of control, can lead to hair loss. One example of such a hormone is DHT.

DHT is a derivative of testosterone, which can shorten hair follicles, as well as also shortening the cycle of hair growth, resulting in hair loss over time, with the potential of this hair loss being permanent the longer the hormonal imbalance goes on. This issue occurs when DHT is present in high concentrations in our bodies over a long period of time.

Not unlike any other part of our bodies, our hair also requires us to enjoy a good diet, with proper nutrition, in order to ensure its good health.

Proteins are the base nutritional need of our hair, as hair itself is mainly constructed out of a protein called keratin. It is indicated to eat lean meats, fish, nuts, eggs and beans, as these are the richest protein sources out there.

Secondly, but almost as vital to our hair’s health as protein, come the vitamins. Promoting the production of sebum, which keeps our hair moisturized, is Vitamin A. Good sources for this vitamin are spinach, carrots and sweet potatoes.

B Vitamins, especially B7, or biotin, support general hair health and hair growth, and can be obtained from almonds, meat, fish, leafy greens and whole grains.

Vitamin C is also necessary for hair, particularly for hair strength, and good sources for it include strawberries, bell peppers and citrus fruits.

Vitamin D, mainly obtained through sunlight exposure, as well as eating fortified foods and fatty fish, helps with new hair follicle growth and is absolutely necessary in growing hair back after cutting or otherwise losing it.

Found in nuts, leafy greens and seeds, Vitamin E has excellent antioxidant properties, which help protect the hair from damage, resulting in much lower chances of suffering from hair loss.

Minerals, particularly magnesium, zinc and iron, are also very important for the good health of our hair. Iron aids red blood cells, which deliver oxygen to our hair. Zinc helps with repair and growth, and magnesium prevents calcium from building up on the scalp, which prevents flakiness and dryness from taking over the scalp and inducing hair loss.

In addition to these nutrition factors, keeping yourself hydrated is also very important for the health of your hair, as being dehydrated or not optimally hydrated can lead to the hair being more prone to breakage as a result of reduced moisture and flexibility.

Now that we’ve gone over what our hair needs, let’s find out the answer to the question: can smoking lead to hair loss?

Can Smoking Lead To Hair Loss?

The answer to the question posed in the title of this article is that yes, smoking can indeed lead to loss of hair, due to a multitude of factors.

Chemicals found in tobacco smoke, particularly nicotine, are known vasoconstrictors, along with having other negative effects on cardiovascular health. This can lead to severe issues such as heart attacks and strokes, but can also lead to less immediately serious issues, including hair loss.

The reason that hair loss occurs because of this, is due to the fact that blood flow to the hair becomes reduced, and this results in less nutrients and oxygen making it to the hair, causing hair follicles to starve and die, falling off.

The carbon monoxide introduced into the blood by smoking cigarettes can, and does, further increase the issue mentioned above, particularly in terms of the oxygen supply to the hair being diminished. This is because carbon monoxide binds itself to the blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body, and this means the blood cells have a diminished oxygen transportation capacity.

The number of toxic chemicals present in tobacco smoke can directly cause damage to the hair follicles themselves. This damage weakens the hair follicles, which results in hair shedding and permanent hair loss over time, especially when combined with the reduced nutrient flow to the hair follicles.

Smoking cigarettes can also result in hormonal imbalances, and these hormonal imbalances can also contribute to hair loss, especially when DHT levels increase past normal ranges.

Smoking may also lead to deficiencies in nutrition, particularly in the area of nutritional absorption. This means that the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from the ingested foods is diminished as a direct result of smoking, further exacerbating the problem of the hair follicles not receiving adequate nutrition to maintain their good health.

Conclusion

Smoking has many negative consequences on our bodies, some more well-known and researched than others. In this article, we uncovered how smoking can lead to loss of hair, which can be a very stressful and saddening thing to go through.

It is important to take care of our bodies in all ways, and avoid things which may hurt them, including smoking.

I wish you the best of health, for your hair and otherwise. Take care.