Can Smoking Cause Hair Loss? The Truth from Our Experts

We all know smoking is bad for your health. It can cause many types of cancers, breathing problems, dental problems, and vision loss, among a host of other issues. But can smoking influence your hair growth? The health of your hair is very much linked to your general health, so smoking can majorly impact both your hair follicles and the cycle of hair growth.

And it’s not just cigarettes. Your hair can also be affected by electronic cigarettes, including vapes, and hookah or pipe smoking. Being in the know about how smoking impacts your hair can allow you to take precautionary steps against shedding if you are predisposed to it.

In this article, we’ll look at the effects of smoking on hair, how it can impact hair loss conditions, and provide advice for improving your hair health. We’ll also tell you how Hairy Hair can help if you suffer from hair loss.

What is the Connection Between Smoking and Hair Loss?

Smoking can cause hair loss. This is because tobacco smoke contains a whole host of toxic compounds, including well-known carcinogens (cancer-causing substances). These include:

• Carbon monoxide
• Carbon dioxide
• Acetone
• Ammonium
• Pyridine
• Hydrogen sulfide

Continued exposure to these harmful chemicals can cause long-term damage to your body. Inhaling these toxins can damage your hair through internal changes and as an external pollutant.

Smoking can cause an imbalance in nutrient levels, with drops in copper and minerals like iron and zinc being reported in smokers. Free radicals are created by cigarette smoke as a type of pollution, which can have a negative impact on your hair growth cycle. These unstable particles cause oxidative stress, which can contribute to hair loss and stop follicles from producing hair for as long as they should.

Smoking has also been proven to speed up male pattern baldness since it can increase androgens in the body. These hormones are involved in the most common pattern of hair loss, including early-onset androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Most smokers have some form of hereditary hair loss, as reported by the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.

Does Nicotine Lead to Hair Loss?

Nicotine is the addictive compound found in tobacco and other smoking products. It can accelerate the progression of hair loss as a vasoconstrictor. This means it restricts blood flow to the scalp, preventing your hair follicle cells from receiving sufficient oxygen and nutrients for healthy growth. 

Nicotine also causes microinflammation of the hair follicles, which can cause cells to die, leading to permanent destruction and preventing new hair from growing. 

Does Vaping Cause Hair Loss?

Vapes and e-cigarettes generally contain nicotine, which causes hair loss. When a vape doesn’t contain nicotine, it usually still has nicotine salts. This provides a lot of nicotine with less throat irritation. 

Although the way you consume vapes is not the same as traditional cigarettes and might be less harmful to your respiratory system, it still has a similar impact on your hair and causes similar diseases as well. 

There are some vapes which are manufactured with marijuana, and they also contain their own share of toxic substances that can poison your body. All this damage happens because of the burning process that happens through lighting a cigarette or puffing on a vape, so if the form is different, it might not be as toxic.

Cannabidiol (CBD), which is derived from marijuana, can be incorporated into gummies or topical applications and has been researched for its potential to promote hair growth. In another study from the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 93.5% of patients with AGA in a trial saw an increase in hair count.

Can Smoking Affect Overall Hair Health?

Alongside hair loss, smoking can impact your hair in a number of different ways:

• It can cause early onset greying before 30
• It can increase the risk of complications during hair transplantation
• It can cause hair to become more brittle by disrupting collagen production
• It can make hair drier through decreased hair oil production

Can You Treat Smoking-Related Hair Loss?

If you quit smoking, it’s possible to reverse some of the damage done to your body. After just 6 hours of quitting smoking, your blood pressure stabilises, and within 3 months, your circulation will improve. This can provide your hair with the oxygen and nutrients it needs, but it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically start producing healthy hair.

If you have an underlying medical condition, then smoking will accelerate the progression of your hair loss. And while stopping smoking can help reduce the extent of shedding, if you don’t treat the root cause, your hair will continue to fall out.

Quitting smoking is the first and most important step in treating smoking-related hair loss and increasing hair restoration. It will prevent further smoke damage to your hair externally and give your body a chance to restore your natural hair growth cycle. 

Healthy lifestyle changes, like a balanced diet and regular exercise, will also help give your body a better chance at regaining hair growth. 

Top Tips for Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking can be difficult, but it can improve many aspects of your health, including your hair. Here are some of our top tips for quitting smoking:

• Nicotine replacements like patches or gums can help slowly reduce the amount of nicotine you rely on and decrease withdrawal symptoms
• Prescription drugs are available to help ease cravings and withdrawals as well.
• Alternative therapies like hypnosis and acupuncture have helped people break habits like smoking
• Support groups are available to help make quitting easier
• Using an app can help track your progress and celebrate milestones.

Can Hairy Hair Help with my Hair Loss?

Smoking can lead to hair loss alongside the use of any other tobacco or nicotine products. The toxic compounds found in them can cause harm to your circulation, damage hair follicles from oxidative stress, and increase androgen activity. The combustion process from smoking a cigarette or using a vape can cause external damage to your strands while also impacting your internal health.  

Smoking can also cause other issues with your hair, including creating a dry and brittle texture or increasing the number of grey hairs you find. If you’re predisposed to hair loss through genetics, smoking will only accelerate the progression of shedding. And while stopping can help lower the extent of your thinning, if you don’t deal with the underlying issue, your hair loss will continue.  

Contact Hairy Hair today if you want to start tackling your hair loss. Our comprehensive treatment contains a range of powerful ingredients to deal with the root causes of shedding. It aims to widen blood vessels to the scalp to improve nutrient and oxygen delivery for healthy hair growth. It further helps to lower DHT levels, which cause follicle miniaturisation, and can lower inflammation to create a healthy environment for growth.

To get started, simply fill in a short online form. Once we get to know you and your hair loss, one of our expert Australian GPs will create a personalised treatment plan based on your details. They’ll give you a call and outline the plan while answering any questions you have. Your treatment will then be ready to be shipped straight to your home, meaning you can manage your hair loss treatment entirely remotely.