Can smoking cause hair loss?

Usually, we tend to say that our century has turned into a very bad road with a lot of bad habits to ruin our health and social life, too. From some point of view, it may be true because everything has become much easier to get. The market is full of awesome (and less awesome) offers to buy and try, available to most of us. Nevertheless, I’m not sure about some of the bad habits. What about one of the biggest market, smoking? It has an effect on our health and beauty as well. I can’t say it’s a good effect. And actually smoking itself has centuries-old history. Can it have a bad effect also on your hair? Is it a possible cause of hair loss? Smoking has its own history, but it doesn’t make it a healthy habit.

 

History of smoking

Although Christopher Colombus is said to be the first European to smoke, America discovered it ages before. It’s thought that smoking was common in shamanistic rituals as early as 5000 BC. Carvings from around 900 AD shows that Mayan civilizations also smoked and even a Mayan pot was found in Guatemala in 2012. It was full of cigars. After hand-made cigarettes and pipes, rolled and boxed cigarettes became available only from the late 1800s when mass production started and generated a huge demand on the market. It was the most popular at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. While you can see terrible pictures about the effects of smoking on boxes today, it was something cool before. Advertised also by famous persons. By now it’s become acknowledged that smoking is harmful in several ways, but let’s get back to hair care. Does it have any bad effect on hair? Is it a possible cause of hair loss?

Smoking and your body

All of us are aware of the biggest harm it may cause: it can seriously damage your lungs. You’ve possibly faced its bad effects on skin, as well. In this post I’m going to write about something else. This is the effect smoking can have on vitamins in your body. We can say that the human body creates itself time after time by building millions of cells. To do that it needs essential vitamins and minerals, too. Unfortunately free radicals are also generated in our bodies. By toxins. Not only because of bad habits, like smoking, but also through some normal metabolic processes. These free radicals can damage healthy cells, and vitamins are the key to protect us by neutralizing them. The sad thing is that when you smoke the production of free radicals are faster. It means that your body uses – and needs – more vitamins.

What can be the negative effects?

• After smoking just one cigarette, you can say good-bye to almost half of the recommended daily doses of Vitamin C. To the vitamin that can strengthen your hair.
• This bad habit may also decrease the levels of the vitamin B what is essential for a healthy scalp.
• It can influence on the absorption of dietary iron. The essential mineral that can help to prevent hair loss.
• Vitamin E is, the „beauty anti-oxidant” can help you to have beautiful and younger skin, of course… but it can do a lot also about neutralizing the toxins generated by smoking. The level of this vitamin may also be lower if you smoke.

The relation between smoking and hair loss

Smoking effects your body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals. So I think it’s just normal logic. Your body needs sufficient nutrients to build healthy cells. Also for growing healthy hair. Smoking decreases the levels of vitamins while increases the production of free radicals that destroy cells. It sounds obvious that smoking can have a bad effect on your hair, too. Smoking may be a reason of hair loss by reducing the levels of vitamins and minerals.

In the other hand, even if we say that smoking can take part in hair loss, it doesn’t mean that the ones who doesn’t smoke never face this problem. Hair loss is a common problem among both genders, several ages. And it’s not that simple to find the real reason. It’s not something to find out in a post, not even on one single visit at the doctor. Genetics, some diseases, infections, some medicines, stress or incomplete nutrition all can be a possible reason. And smoking can make the situation even worse.

I know that quitting smoking is not easy and a lot of people claim that it makes them less stressed. It’s said that only 3 out of 100 persons can do that. Nevertheless, it’s never too late to make another try and in the meantime, you can focus on taking vitamins. Smokers are advised to take higher amount of Vitamin C. A balanced diet is also important because it’s the best to get the vitamins and minerals from food.

Before taking extra amounts of any nutritional supplements, ask for advice from a doctor.

 

What other bad habits may cause you hair loss?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writting this post I used following articles:

onlinedoctor.lloydspharmacy.com (11.03.2019.)

smokingpipes.com (12.03.2019.)

verywellmind.com (12.03.2019.)