Why does smoking tobacco cause hair loss?
Hair loss
How does smoking cause hair loss?
To put it plainly, smoking tobacco doesn't do much good for your health. Regularly inhaling smoke from cigarettes, cigars, or pipes has been linked to a number of diseases, including diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Smoking can hasten the development of wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin on the outside. Smoking can, in rare cases, even result in hair loss, as we'll see. If you smoke and have seen changes to your hair, such as thinning hair or the formation of a bald spot where there was formerly a good amount of hair, this may be related to your regular exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
We'll be dissecting the various ways smoking tobacco can result in hair loss in order to comprehend the connection between hair loss and smoking. Managing the hair loss brought on by smoking will also be a topic of discussion.
How does smoking cause hair loss?
You undoubtedly already know that formaldehyde, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, lead, and ammonia are hazardous compounds that can be harmful to your health. Smoking tobacco results in the production of several different chemicals, including those listed above. In the following methods, their combined effects may cause hair loss:
- Smoking might impede the flow of blood to the hair follicles:
Although the hair on your scalp's surface may be dead, blood arteries located just beneath it make sure that your hair receives the oxygen and nutrients it needs to thrive. They are also in charge of cleaning the scalp of trash. These blood arteries may be harmed and have structural damage as a result of the chemicals present in cigarette use.
As if that weren't terrible enough, those toxins can also interfere with your heart's ability to beat normally and the vessels' ability to perform their functions. Atherosclerosis is a condition where a buildup of plaques around the arteries develops over time as a result of these poisons. The arteries may become narrowed when this plaque hardens. This harm may prevent nutrients and oxygen from reaching the hair, which are both essential for follicle development.
2. Smoking tobacco may impact immunological response
It is well known that tobacco smoke causes a wide range of illnesses. Not as well known is the possibility that smoking could impair your ability to defend against hazardous infections.
The immune system may be impacted by cigarette smoke's pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties, and it takes these tasks seriously. Smoking causes the release of cytokines and chemokines that encourage inflammation. Similarly, cigarette smoke has an impact on the functionality of T-cells, T-helper cells, B-cells, and other immune system cells. Along with androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata is a prevalent kind of hair loss that is an autoimmune illness connected to tobacco use.
3. Oxidative stress can result from smoking:
Smoking may cause oxidative stress in the hair, which adds to its negative reputation. Free radicals, which are unstable atoms that can harm cells, and your body's antioxidant defense system are in an unbalance, which leads to oxidative stress. Lipid peroxidation, a potentially dangerous condition brought on by smoking's oxidative stress, is a component of all living cells, including hair cells. Free radicals attack lipids, causing lipid peroxidation, which can cause the death of hair cells.
4. Endocrine disorders that might lead to hair loss are associated with smoking:
The endocrine system is a complex network of glands that controls how well your body functions. Well, that is until other influences like cigarette smoke disrupt the situation.
Grave's hyperthyroidism, a disorder where the thyroid gland, a component of the endocrine system, generates excessive amounts of the thyroid hormone, may be brought on by smoking cigarettes. Hair loss may result from this disorder. Additionally, smoking has been linked to endocrine conditions like diabetes, which is known to promote hair loss.
5. Smoking raises the level of the stress hormone cortisol:
Your body creates a hormone called cortisol to assist you in controlling the stress brought on by balancing work deadlines, daily traffic, or those days that are just too much to handle. Although it also has a role in the health and control of hair follicles, this hormone largely aids in coping with stress stimuli. Nicotine may gradually raise your cortisol levels if you smoke regularly. Hyaluronan and proteoglycan, two substances required for the growth of hair follicles, can be degraded by this buildup. Telogen effluvium and androgenetic alopecia are two conditions that can result from stress-related hair loss.
Home remedies to treat smoking related hair loss:
Major hair loss conditions like androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata can be brought on by smoking. The following techniques can be applied to lessen its effects:
- Minoxidil:
Minoxidil may be able to reduce hair loss when used topically as a liquid or foam formulation. It accomplishes this by acting as a vasodilator, that merely means that it widens the blood vessels nearby. This permits better blood flow to the area, which may encourage hair growth. While the exact mechanism of how minoxidil works is unknown, it also has the ability to force your hair out of the telogen stage and help with hair fall control, which is the final stage before something falls out. This is done to prematurely initiate the growth or anagen phase.
2. Finasteride
By blocking testosterone from converting to DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, this medicine promotes hair growth. DHT is a hormone that shrinks hair follicles, which is known to cause hair loss. They might eventually stop growing as a result of this. The use of finasteride as an oral medication is authorized. To notice results for hair growth, it needs regular use.
3. Corticosteroids
You may recall that tobacco smoke contains pro-inflammatory properties that can result in hair loss. Steroid hormones called corticosteroids have anti-inflammatory effects. They might lessen hair loss, and powerful corticosteroids might even promote hair regrowth. Creams, gels, ointments, and foams can all be used to topically apply corticosteroids. Alopecia areata can also be treated with oral corticosteroids, which work just as well. While there isn't much evidence that giving up smoking will promote hair growth, doing so may be able to stop additional hair loss.
Take Away
Smoking has a negative impact on your health in many ways, and in some cases, that negative impact can extend to the hairline and density. Smoking tobacco causes hair loss in a number of cunning ways, including oxidative stress, an increase in cortisol levels, etc. Quitting smoking could be a good place to start in order to manage its effects. Through hair growth treatments like minoxidil, finasteride, and corticosteroids, one can combat the effects of smoking on hair loss. When choosing the right course of action for you, it's crucial to consult with a reliable healthcare expert.
