Does Sebum Cause Hair Loss In Any Case?
what do you make of this theory? is it possible that there could be any truth (or even half truth) to it?
The site you linked to doesn’t offer much besides unproven theories presented by an unknown author. It doesn’t look like the site has even been updated in almost a decade.
There has always been talk that sebum is the cause of hair loss, but sebum is the normal exudate from the glands on the hair follicle and when produced, it is completely normal. Now with that said, we see many people who are concerned about hair loss or just poor hair and when looking for something to blame, sebum always seems to come up. Sorry, folks — sebum does not cause hair loss.
Also, to perpetuate this old wives’ tale, you will always find some business that makes money helping you clean your hair better so that the “evil” sebum does not do its damage. Everyone needs to make a living, so I guess the sebum cleaners have been around for as long as people have focused on their hair problems and are willing to give up their hard earned money.
I’m sure sebum doesn’t cause the hair loss, but it contains DHT…more sebum = more DHT or enables DHT to bind to the AR better perhaps….meaning isotretinoin (Accutane) should actually help hair loss. Like I’ve said before, please don’t take isotretinoin (low dose) therapy for hair loss unless you have acne/rosacea/oily skin in addition to the hair loss. I assure you that low dose continual isotretinoin therapy has helped prevent hair loss in my case with constant use of finasteride and one other medication I’ve recently added…..so YES sebum can be bad/aggravating for hair loss…but it is NOT the direct cause of the hair loss. (The Androgen receptors are the culprit)