Last Updated on August 6, 2017 by Robert Price
When I was in high school in the early 2000s, smoking was still considered cool. Kind of. It isn’t anymore, which is a good thing. But some people still enjoy lighting up and choking on their cigarettes, even though they know smoking causes cancer, premature aging, horrendous breath, emphysema, etc. Most of you smokers aren’t worried about any of that though! What you wanna know is this:
Does smoking cause hair loss?
Not necessarily, but maybe. Let me explain.
Hair loss is mostly genetic. So if you’ve got all your hair and no balding in your family tree and you wanna keep smoking, enjoy yourself! I mean, you should still quit, but your cigarettes probably won’t make you look like Dr. Phil anytime soon. You’re in the clear for now, which is more than I can say for your lungs.
That said, if you are balding, smoking may accelerate your hair loss. It also may make you start losing hair a bit faster than you would have otherwise, had you been a non-smoker.
Studies on Smoking and Hair Loss
A 2007 Taiwanese study study is perhaps the most cited and comprehensive study on the effect smoking has on hair loss. There were 740 participants, all of whom were already suffering from male pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia. The study found that smoking played a significant role in the “development of moderate or severe hair loss” among men who smoked 20 or more cigarettes per day (source).
Why Does Smoking Accelerate Hair Loss?
Smoking damages DNA to some extent, including the DNA in our hair follicles. The nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes can also cause poor circulation in your body, which in turn may reduce blood flow to your scalp and negatively alter your hair growth cycle. Your hairs may fall out a little faster, basically.
So If You’re Concerned About Losing Your Hair, You Should Probably Quit Smoking
As a former smoker, I can tell you I feel much better now that I’m off those cancer sticks. I have more endurance, my skin is healthier, and I save a boatload of money every month. It costs like 9 bucks per pack here in Washington state! Healthier hair, and a reduced risk of severe baldness are two other likely benefits of not smoking.
Me, 2007ish. Trying and failing to be cool. If there were a norwood scale for beards, I’d be a type 7. I’ve since learned that I have no business growing out my facial hair, ever.
How I Quit
I quit primarily for financial reasons. I lost my job and just decided that paying the $40 per month or whatever it was wasn’t worth it. So I quit, and it wasn’t even really that hard, honestly. I cut down on the cigarettes gradually over a few months. I treated each cigarette more as a special occasion, as opposed to a habitual necessity.
Then presto, a few months later, I was ex-smoker. And that was my first serious attempt at quitting. My approach probably won’t get the approval of the CDC anytime soon, and maybe it sounds too simplistic — but hey, it worked for me.
I’d suggest just cutting back on the cigarettes gradually — and of course, you can supplement your transition with gums, patches, etc.
Also, since I’m being honest, here’s another thing that helped me quit: I noticed that a lot of very dumb, ugly people with bad teeth were smokers. Not all of them, but many of them. Let’s face it, smoking is no longer a cool habit for rebels or outcasts or iconoclasts like it was for so many years. Even models and rockstars, who were reliable and unwitting shills for the tobacco companies for generations, generally avoid cigarettes these days. Keeping all this in mind also made quitting easier, for me.
Once upon a time everybody smoked, especially people we envied like our favorite musicians and actors. Both LBJ and Kennedy were smokers. Everyone who was anyone was, it seemed, smoked. Now the majority of smokers are toothless mouth breathers on food stamps. I’m exaggerating, but I’m doing it for a reason. You should try to associate pleasure and accomplishment with quitting smoking; and, associate failure, baldness, and trailer-park living with continuing to smoke. No offense if you do live in a trailer park, or are balding.
Cigarettes and Hair Loss – Conclusion
Smoking has myriad consequences and negative effects, from cancer to wrinkly skin to disgusting teeth and breath. And yes, it may expedite your hair loss, too. About 40% of women experience pattern hair loss, along with 70-80% of men. You’ll probably lose your hair to some extent at some point. Why make the situation worse by smoking? Now’s the perfect time to quit and start your new life as a non-smoker.
Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.