The Connection between Smoking and Hair Loss




Only a century ago smoking was in great favor. For many decades doctors used tobacco in treatment of numerous diseases, royal families believed that nothing could eliminate headaches as well as tobacco, noble people were gathering together to have talks and smoke cigars, and those who could not afford cigars used to chew tobacco which was cheaper. Time went by and now smoking is blamed for almost any trouble of the mankind. Many studies have proven negative aspects of tobacco use: it leads to various forms of cancer, heart and lung problems, coughing, bad breath and even hair loss.

The connection between hair and smoking is very clear: hair follicles depend on healthy blood flow which brings all necessary ingredients for growing new strands: vitamins, minerals and oxygen. At the same time smoking has a great influence on blood circulation:

•    Nicotine increases the level of adrenaline, which raises blood pressure and makes the heart beat faster;
•    It constricts blood vessels making it harder for the heart to pump the blood through the arteries;
•    Carbon monoxide which comes from cigarettes, replaces oxygen in the blood;
•    There are about 4000 other chemicals in cigarette smoke which are inhaled and drawn into blood by smokers;
•    Smoking accelerates aging process.

Considering the above mentioned factors, it is easy to conclude, smoking makes it harder for hair follicles to receive the proper amount of blood flow and causes deficiency in oxygen. It is understandable that people’s bodies might react differently to various factors (one smoker might die from lung cancer, the other one will suffer from heart problems), but the truth remains that smoking can have a negative impact on hair by slowing down its growth and provoking hair loss. Besides, accelerated aging process from smoking is not only shown in wrinkles, grey hair and age spots, it also results in hair loss.

An experiment on mice in Section of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy has shown a great connection between hair condition and cigarette smoke. Lab mice were exposed to the smoke for three months and most of them have developed bald patches and gray hair. The report says, “Smoke-exposed mice had extensive atrophy of the epidermis, reduced thickness of the subcutaneous tissue, and scarcity of hair follicles.”

An interesting study was held in the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and National Taiwan University. It is obvious that Asian men come across androgenic alopecia not as often as Caucasian men, but the scientists came to a conclusion that smoking might erase this difference. The survey was held in 2005 and included 740 participants from 45 to 91 who smoked 20 or more cigarettes daily for many years.

The men were asked about different habits and risk factors which might have influenced hair loss and the time when they started losing hair. The researchers also considered height and weight and took blood samples for analysis. It is obvious that men tend to lose hair with age and that heredity is one of the major factors, but the study proved that environmental factors like smoking can be the reasons for alopecia too.

The Asian scientists have concluded that smoking destroys follicles, damages papilla that circulates blood and hormones to stimulate hair growth and increases the production of estrogen which conflicts male hormone androgen.

Alex Tompson

Related Posts


Posted on September 24, 2009 
Filed Under Hair Loss, Hair Loss Conditions, Hair Loss News and Statistics, Hair Loss Reasons

Comments

Leave a Reply