Hair Fall and Smoking

 

Marlboro or Dunhill? Do you relate to this question? If yes, then this blog is definitely for you. According to a World Health Organization (WHO), India contributes around 12% of the world smokers, which means around 120 million people in India smokes tobacco in form of Cigarette, Cigar, Bidi etc. But do you know that smoking can be a serious reason for hair fall also apart from the fact that tobacco causes cancer. There are few things that you should know from the best hair transplant clinic in Kolkata.

What smoking does to your hair?

The hair follicles in our scalp need essential nutrients like proteins, vitamins, zinc to have a healthy growth of hair. Now these nutrients reach our scalp through the circulation of blood.

Cigarette smoke contains toxic chemicals that shrinks our blood vessels and disrupts the blood flow in our body. Hence the hair follicles inour scalp doesn’t get enough nutrients due to the lack of blood circulation in the scalp. This disrupts the hair cycle and the hair becomes thins and starts to shed leading to noticeable hair loss.

Weakens immune system:

Due to the disrupted blood flow in the scalp, the hair follicles starts to produce excessive oils which leads to sticky hair, dandruff (seborrheic dermatitis), itchy scalp and scalp infection which leads to aggressive hair loss.

Since smoking imbalances the blood flow in the body which weakens the immune system of the body making it difficult to fight the pathogenic infections. This further aggravates your condition and results in severe hair fall.

Pollution:

The toxins presents in smoking not only hampers the health of the person smoking but also affects the one who is exposed to passive smoking or second hand smoking.

Harmful pollutants like nicotine and cotinine released into the air by cigarette smokers deposit in the hair shaft. This results in permanent damage in the hair structure of the people who are exposed to that polluted air. And, the alkaline nature of the toxins released from cigarette smoking can disturb your scalp pH, which affects your hair growth finally.

It’s not just inhaling smoke that is going to damage your hair but also people who are accustomed to stay and smoke in closed rooms or in car with windows rolled up are more prone to damage as it acts as a pollutant directly in contact with your hair.

Also, pollution caused by smoking can intensify your genetic hair loss while the carcinogens present in the contaminated air block the mechanisms in your hair follicles that produce hair protein.

How to stop hair loss due to smoking

1.  STOP SMOKING

The best way to reverse your hair thinning is by quitting it which is indeed the most difficult thing to do for a regular smoker. Your body promotes reverse hair growth by its natural rejuvenation process when the contamination is cut off for the hair and scalp tissue.

We know giving up is not easy so instead of quitting in a snap try patches or gums and give up eventually.

2. Have nutritious diet

Nutrients like vitamins and minerals acts as cleanser to the system for the contamination that has already been done due to smoking. They helps to rejuvenate the system and repair your antibodies so that they prevent you from pathogenic infections which aggravates hair fall.

Ensure your diet includes foods that are rich in Vitamins-A, B, C, D, E, K, iron, zinc, folic acid, proteins, etc. Include herbs like Indian gooseberry (Amla), fenugreek, coriander, turmeric powder, Jeera, etc. in your everyday diet as they not only promote your hair growth, but also strengthen your immunity