The Smoker’s Hair
There are more than 4,000 chemicals and gases found in cigarette smoke. To just think that after the lungs inhale them, they are brought by blood circulation all over the body. No organ is free from cigarette toxins. Your own hair will show the ravages, even if you don’t look hard enough.
The smoker’s hair is brittle, looking lackluster and malnourished. The top hairs are especially vulnerable to breakage; you can feel the brittleness as you run your hand through. You will notice longer hair strands in your comb or brush, indicating the hairs broke at the top. Bad cases are thinning hairs, shedding, and premature baldness. Simply put, smoking speeds up the rate you lose hair, while it slows down the rate at which hair regrows.
Even smoke from cigarettes can damage the hair follicles, making them shrink and wither. Some may die but the rest will be unhealthy and will be unable to produce healthy hair. The hairs reproduced will grow in brittle and break easily. Smoke will also impede blood flow to the follicles, causing them to prematurely age. Smokers may experience graying hairs much earlier in life, causing damage to melanin-producing cells that give color to hair. An increase in the androgenic hormone DHT, known to contribute to balding, is also influenced by smoking in the male population.
Smokers can be deficient in certain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants needed by the body for optimal function. Vitamins A, B, C, D, calcium and iron among others, important for healthy growth of hair, can be lost. Vitamin C is a particular concern as it is essential in collagen production. Another is the vitamin B family, important for the liver that detoxifies the body of harmful toxins, including those of cigarettes.
If the above-mentioned are not damaging enough, consider secondary smoke that others unintentionally inhale, including family members and little children. It is well studied that passive smoking is as dangerous to health as active smoking. Also consider that odor of cigarette smoke that tend to adhere to clothing, skin and hair. It is one of the most unpleasant stale odors to non-smokers.
Friendly Advice from Bellevue
We at Bellevue hair salon cannot stress enough the perils of smoking to health and hair. You know how you’d get your healthy, glorious hair back. Stop the brittleness, early graying, and hair loss … and keep the vitamins. Know more at Geena Moon’s hair salon in Bellevue.