Can smoking cause hair loss?

[sheraz104]

Some studies suggest that Smoking increases DHT and accelerate balding. My cousins and uncles are heavy chain smokers and none of them are bald or have thinning hair!

[Blake Bloxham]

Here is an abstract published in Dermatology in 2003:

 

Besides being the single most preventable cause of significant morbidity and an important cause of death in the general population, tobacco smoking has been associated with adverse effects on the skin. Smoke-induced premature skin ageing has attracted the attention of the medical community, while only recently an observational study has indicated a significant relationship between smoking and baldness. The mechanisms by which smoking causes hair loss are multifactorial and are probably related to effects of cigarette smoke on the microvasculature of the dermal hair papilla, smoke genotoxicants causing damage to DNA of the hair follicle, smoke-induced imbalance in the follicular protease/antiprotease systems controlling tissue remodeling during the hair growth cycle, pro-oxidant effects of smoking leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines resulting in follicular micro-inflammation and fibrosis and finally increased hydroxylation of oestradiol as well as inhibition of the enzyme aromatase creating a relative hypo-oestrogenic state. In view of the psychological impact of androgenetic alopecia on affected men and women, increasing public awareness of the association between smoking and hair loss offers an opportunity for health education against smoking that may be more effective than the link between smoking and facial wrinkles or grey hair, since the latter can be effectively counteracted by current aesthetic dermatologic procedures, while treatment options for androgenetic alopecia are limited.

 

Frankly, I think the connection is probably more theoretical, and further studies are definitely needed.

[Spanker]

I think genetics causes hair loss. Walk down the street in a major city and you can see 50 year old homeless smokers that don't take regular baths and who have obviously lived really rough lives with full heads of hair. Smoking is bad no doubt, but I think when it comes to hairloss it is all about genes.

[JohnSheikh]

I know a chain smoker, and he have very good hair... I don't know about the science, and whether or not smoking cause hairfall...but just shared what I know.

[neetasherbal]

Excessive hair fall can be due to a multitude of reasons. Hormonal Imbalance, Stress, illness, Medical problems, lack of sleep, not balance diet, weather/water changes, ladies after child birth can all lead to the problem of hair loss.

[AbrahemSmit]

I agree with spanker. Smoking is a bad habit. I think Stress,weather and genetics causes are big reason for hair loss.