Many people in Hyderabad smoke, and you might note something common among them. Yes, they are either bald or have fewer hairs. Is there a link, then?
You may be aware that smoking causes premature ageing of the skin and vascular, lung, and cardiac diseases. However, do you know that smoking can also lead to hair loss?
Continue reading to learn how smoking causes hair loss and premature greying.
Is it true that smoking causes hair loss?
Hair loss is caused by various factors, including genetics, stress, hormones like DHT, and lifestyle behaviours, including smoking. All of them have the potential to harm your hair growth.
For healthy hair growth, blood flow is important to the hair follicle ( tiny holes on your skin that produce hair). Nicotine in tobacco has been shown to constrict blood vessels and decrease blood flow in the body.
Poor blood circulation in your scalp can negatively impact hair growth. It is because the follicles do not receive sufficient nutrients and oxygen to maintain a healthy growth cycle.
Now, let us discuss how smoking affects your hair.
Smoking’s effects on your hair
Here are a few examples of how smoking harms your hair:
- Smoking dehydrates hair by reducing collagen and eliminating natural oils.
- It causes premature greying of the hair.
- It wreaks havoc on the endocrine system. It also affects the capacity of the gland to produce healthy hormones.
- Smoking depletes the vitamins A and C in your body, which is essential for collagen development.
- Decreases immunity, making you more susceptible to illness
What causes hair loss when you smoke?
- Poor blood circulation
Your follicles need a lot of minerals, oxygen, and nutrients to grow healthy hair. Toxins in cigarettes impair blood supply, narrow blood vessels, and obstruct blood flow. Your hair does not receive these essential nutrients due to poor blood flow and therefore stops developing.
- Immune system dysfunction
Smoking weakens the immune system, making you more vulnerable to infections. As a result, if your immune system is weak, you are more likely to get fungal or bacterial infections on your scalp, which prevents your follicles from producing fresh, healthy hair.
- Stress
You may be aware that stress is linked to hair loss, and this is right. Smoking causes elevated heart rate, stressed muscles, and blood pressure, all of which increase stress.
When your body goes through withdrawal, nicotine cravings can cause stress.
- Endocrine system is disrupted
Smoking disrupts the endocrine system, resulting in elevated DHT levels, the hormone that triggers male pattern baldness.
DHT causes the follicles to shrink until they stop growing hair. It causes the follicles to produce fragile, brittle hair, making the hair look small.
Many people wonder if their hair will grow back when they stop smoking. Let us take a look at this next.
Is it true that if I quit smoking, my hair will regrow?
Your overall hair and skin will improve if you quit smoking. If it was the main cause of your hair loss, quitting smoking will prevent your scalp from drying out and ageing prematurely. It will lessen the likelihood of hair loss.
It is important to remember that you cannot undo the harm caused by smoking. Quitting smoking allows the body to recover to a point where you can regrow healthy hair.
Even so, it takes time for your hair to regrow and return to its previous state of health, especially if you were a long-time smoker.
If you begin to lose hair after stopping for a long period, there might be other problems that need to be discussed. A specialist will guide you in the right direction. A hair transplant is required in some cases where smoking has caused excessive baldness.
If you have visited a hair transplant clinic, you have probably wondered if you can smoke after your surgery. Let us look at this next.
Can I start smoking after my hair transplant?
If you want a 100% chance of success with a hair transplant, do not smoke for a week before the surgery. Also, stop smoking two weeks after the hair transplant.
Smoking leads to slow healing, which would keep your transplantation scars vulnerable to infections.
Infections can hinder the effectiveness of a hair transplant. Scabs and crusts can be left on the skin for a prolonged period, allowing scar tissue to form.
Hair loss may be caused by a variety of factors, some of which may be related. If you suffer from hair loss, thinning hair, or premature greying, you should integrate healthy lifestyles into your everyday routine. Try to incorporate regular exercise and a well-balanced diet into your daily routine. Also, it would only do you good if you completely quit smoking.