Can smoking cause hair loss

Smoking is bad for your entire body and hair condition. It can increase the chances of developing lung cancer and respiratory illness, but it is also associated with hair loss. In this blog you will read about how smoking causes hair loss and the affects on the health of your hair. Furthermore, we discuss the best treatments against hair loss.

 

How smoking causes hair loss

Tobacco can potentially damage your hair follicles and increase the risk of developing hair loss. A study out of 2020 compared the prevalence of androgenetic alopecia in male smokers and non-smokers between 20 and 35 years old.

The research found out that 425 of 500 smokers had some degree of hair loss while only 200 of 500 non-smokers suffered from hair loss. In the same study it became also clear that smokers have way more hair loss than non-smokers. So this study shows that smokers suffer more hair loss than non-smokers.

Oxidative stress

Nicotine and related chemicals might be responsible for accelerating hair loss, but more research is needed to back this theory. Smoking may also cause oxidative stress, because of the increased production of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that easily react to other molecules in your body and can potentially cause damage to the DNA of your cells.

A study of 2003 shows that toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke may lead to damage in the DNA of cells in your hair follicles. These damage can lead to a reducing hair growth.

Furthermore, chemicals in tobacco can negatively impact your circulation and cardiovascular health. Blood vessels nourish your hair follicles and allow the delivery of nutrients and elimination of waste. Impaired blood flow to your scalp can potentially lead to hair loss or hair damage.

Smoking and other hair conditions

When you smoke it may lead to other changes in your body that contribute to hair loss and bad scalp conditions.

It can promote the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, signalling proteins that promote inflammation.

·     Scarring of your hair follicles can take place due to increasing levels of cytokines.

·    Changing enzyme levels can control tissue remodelling in your hair growth cycle.

·     Smoking can according to a study earlier lead to grey hair even before turning 30 years old.

·    Your blood flow can decrease due to the hair follicles, this can potentially disrupt collagen production and lead to brittle hair.

Treatment against hair loss due to smoking

Our first advice would be that you need to try and stop smoking. Otherwise your hair condition might improve on the short-term but not there is no guarantee on the long-term. Furthermore, smoking is bad for different other reasons as well, that’s why we give you this advice.

We would also like to discuss ways of reducing and possibly even stopping your hair loss. That is possible if you use products that work effectively on to your hair follicles and use it in the right way.

Products that work effectively against hair loss are the hair growth products from Neofollics. These products are specially developed to combat hair loss without using minoxidil. 

Hair growth treatments

There are different hair growth treatments regarding on what kind of hair loss you are suffering from. If you suffer from bald spots on the scalp we can advice you to use the treatment for alopecia areata. Because bald spots are often due to this condition.

When you suffer from hereditary hair loss, because hair loss is something that passes through generations of your family. The best treatment is a treatment against androgenetic alopecia.

Hair loss after a stressful period such as a trauma or illness is possible to treat with the treatment against telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium is often caused by a stressor.

There are also treatments against grey hair. Namely, the anti-grey hair treatment, whereby the focus is on beautiful and healthy hair. The caring ingredients in the shampoo improve the overall condition of the scalp and form the basis for a healthy hair growth and inhibiting hair loss.

The last treatment we want to focus on is a treatment for the scalp and against scalp conditions such as inflammatory, redness, itching, burning and flaking. This treatment helps against seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff and is the best treatment for a healthy scalp. 

Conclusion
Smoking can cause hair loss due to blood circulation, hair follicle damage and oxidative stress. You can treat hair loss due to smoking, by quitting smoking and using products that help to get your hair and scalp condition healthy again.