Many people in Surat are smokers, and you may find something common present in all of them. Yes, they either have fewer hairs or are bald. So, is there a link?
You may know that smoking causes skin's premature ageing, vascular, lung cancer, and heart disease. Yet, are you aware that smoking can also cause hair loss?
Read on to learn how smoking is associated with hair loss and premature greying.
Does Smoking Cause Hair Loss?
Several factors contribute to hair loss, including genetics, stress, and hormones like DHT, lifestyle habits such as nicotine consumption. They all can damage your hair growth.
Blood flow is critical to the hair follicle (pores or tiny holes on your skin that produce hair) for healthy growth. The nicotine in cigarettes is shown to reduce blood flow all throughout the body while constricting your blood vessels.
Reduced blood flow within your scalp can negatively affect hair development as the follicles do not receive enough nutrients and oxygen to follow a healthy growth cycle.
Now that you know whether smoking causes hair loss, let us discuss how smoking affects your hair.
Effects of Smoking on your Hair
These are a few ways of how smoking negatively affects your hair:
- Smoking decreases collagen, removing the hair's natural oils, making it dehydrated
- It progresses to premature hair greying
- It hampers the endocrine system. Also, it changes the gland's ability to create healthy hormones
- Smoking reduces vitamins A and C in your body that is essential for collagen creation
- Decreases immunity, which makes you vulnerable to illnesses
Now that you know how smoking affects your hair let us discuss how it causes hair loss.
How does Smoking Cause Hair Loss?
Poor blood circulation
Your follicles require high minerals, oxygen, and nutrient supply to build healthy hair. The cigarette's toxin content affects your blood circulation, lessens blood vessels, and impede blood flow. Due to weak blood flow, your hair does not get these vital nutrients and stops growing.
Weakened immune system
Smoking reduces your body's immune response; it makes you susceptible to infections. Hence, if your immune system is poor, fungal or bacterial infections chances increases on the scalp, it prevents your follicles from making new, healthy hair.
Stress
You may be aware that stress causes hair loss, and it is true. Smoking raises stress and causes increased heart rate, tensed muscles, and blood pressure.
Nicotine cravings may increase stress when your body begins to go through withdrawal.
Disrupts the endocrine system
Smoking hampers the body's endocrine system, which leads to higher DHT levels, the hormone that causes male pattern baldness.
DHT shrinks the follicles till they stop creating hair. It makes the follicles create hair that is weak and brittle, causing your hair to appear thin.
A common question that most people have is whether their hair will grow back after they quit smoking. Let us discuss this next.
Will my Hair Grow back if I Stop Smoking?
When you stop smoking, your complete hair and health will improve. If smoking was the main cause of your hair loss, quitting can prevent scalp's drying and premature ageing. It will decrease the chances of hair fall.
Note, you cannot reverse the damage that happened due to smoking. Quitting helps your body revive to a state where there is a likelihood to regrow healthy hair.
Still, it takes time for your hair to regrow itself and come back to its healthy state. So, be patient, particularly if you were a long-term smoker.
If you continue to suffer from hair loss after you have stopped for long, there may be other possibilities, and you must address them. A hair specialist can guide you in the right way. In some cases, people do require hair transplant surgery to revive their lost hair.
If you have visited a hair transplant clinic in Surat, you must have asked whether you can smoke after your hair transplant surgery. Let us discuss this next.
Can I start Smoking after my Hair Transplant?
If you plan to have a hair transplant and want 100% success chances, avoid smoking for a week before the procedure. Also, avoid smoking two weeks after transplanting your hair.
Open wounds are at infection risk, and the longer it needs them to cure, the more infection risks you have.
Infections can get dangerous to the hair transplant's success. There is a chance of scabs and crusts left over the skin for long, causing scar tissue formation.
There are several other causes of hair loss, and they may be interconnected. If you have hair loss, hair thinning, or premature greying, you should add healthy habits to your routine.
Try to involve everyday exercise and a well-balanced diet. Avoid punctuating your life with smoking.
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