You probably swapped out those old cancer sticks for a vape assuming that it would be the less harmful alternative. No doubt it feels like that when you’re puffing on that nice smooth vapor without the smell of burning smoke or the ashes floating all around you. But here’s something that no one really brings up – your vape could slowly be killing your hair, and you won’t even realise the extent of it until you can actually start seeing the empty patches on your head. Here’s what it boils down to really simply.
What Exactly Happens When You Vape?
When you hit a vape, what you’re inhaling is a hot spray of “aerosol” that’s actually a cocktail of nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and flavour chemicals. Individually, some are not a big deal, but inhale these consistently with high heat, and it impacts you all over, not just the lungs. Your blood flow constricts and redirects.
Your hormone levels flip. And eventually, your scalp-which relies on a steady supply of nutrient rich blood-starts to notice it’s no longer getting enough food at the root of every follicle.
How Vaping Triggers Hair Loss?
Nicotine narrows your blood flow to your scalp. That’s most likely the most damaging element of vaping for your hair’s growth cycle. Vaping causes you to narrow your blood vessels. Your blood flow gets diminished, limiting how much blood reaches your scalp and your follicles for nutrients, which can eventually damage your follicles and lead to reduced hair growth.
That’s how thinning, miniaturized hair occurs. Nicotine increases DHT When it comes to male pattern baldness, nicotine’s effects are a real issue. Research has found that vaping has been linked to higher production of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. DHT is a hormone that directly contributes to male pattern baldness and even hair thinning in women. If you are predisposed to thinning due to family history, vaping will contribute to thinning.
Vaping causes oxidative stress When you vape, you expose yourself to a high number of free radicals, or unstable molecules that damage cells.
Hair follicles are susceptible to oxidative damage, and when these molecules are overwhelming the follicles, it causes disruption of your hair cycle and less growth. Nicotine may disrupt hormonal balance Many of your body’s systems that contribute to hair growth rely on precise hormonal balances. Chemicals found in vape aerosol, particularly the flavorings, are thought to interfere with thyroid and adrenal hormones that regulate growth.
Less collagen If you look at the structure of your scalp and hair, collagen is crucial in maintaining healthy growth and supporting hair growth cycle. It reduces your body’s ability to make collagen and compromises your scalp’s support of growth.
Is Vaping Worse Than Smoking for Hair?
Don’t be misled. It’s not automatically “worse” in every sense, but it’s certainly not harmless either. Many smokers have adopted vaping, and, in doing so, increased their nicotine intake, oxidative stress and the amount of damage they’re doing to their hair-perhaps more than smoking would have caused. Now that the scientific community is beginning to catch up, evidence of vaping hair loss is becoming undeniable.
What Can You Do About It?
Even if thinning or shedding are already happening-take your condition as more than a fleeting hiccup. Inquiring your doctor to cut back on your vaping habit – a significant factor for many cases of hair loss can actually halt additional thinning or harm when you stop smoking. Additionally, you’ll need to pack some nutrient rich food including iron, zinc, protein, and biotin in your diet.
Don’t neglect to consume sufficient amounts of water and also the need for a relaxing sleep schedule! In the unfortunate case that hair loss has already occurred on a level of damaging hair follicles for a prolonged duration of time, lifestyle adjustment simply might not be sufficient to recover it, therefore a specialized examination will become necessary.
When Should You See a Specialist?
When it comes to hair, anything over a hair-loss rate of 100 hairs per day or more indicates hair loss. Receding hair line and crown thin also shows you have a real problem. After all, when you seek timely and early help, you always yield the best possible results. QHT Gurgaon is where the best hair transplant in Gurgaon takes place. Our specialists take the time to find out the real reason behind your hair loss and will then tailor treatment as needed. The perfect answer could be medication, PRP therapy or hair transplantation surgery – the option depends wholly on your hair condition.
Final Thoughts
Vaping seems hip, healthy even. Think of it as a cleaner smoke right? Well, if that’s what you thought, your hair says otherwise. Whether you know it or not, that puff has consequences. Nicotine, hormonal imbalance, cellular free radical damage-they all play a major role in affecting your hair. And while all of these take their toll, those in charge (hair follicles!) notice the negative impact.
The signs of vaping damage have appeared already? Get a move on right now, because sooner is better than later when it comes to hair repair.
Book a consultation with QHT Gurgaon today and take the first step towards healthier hair.
