If I Quit Smoking, Will My Hair Regrow?
While it is a reasonable hypothesis that smoking can cause hair loss, will giving up smoking lead to/assist in hair regrowth – or is the damage that has been done by smoking permanent? i.e is it reversible?
Thanks in advance.
Generally it is believed that damage from smoking is additive. We know that about the lungs, heart disease, and emphysema. We also know that for those that stop smoking, the additive impact does slow or stop, but the smoking-induced coronary disease or emphysema does not go away. Now if you extend that logic to hair loss, then by stopping your smoking, you may stop whatever balding smoking is causing, but it would not reverse.
Okay…it would not reverse you say…okay let me explain..at my point,i’ve been smoking for 5 years and im now quitting(another attempt) and i loss a lot of hair..so if i stop smoking, i cant regain my hair?!WTF $^$^… why stop smoking then?…i prefer smoking and relaxing thinking im losing my hair than.. not smoking and being all stressed and depressed for losing my hair….yeah there’s surgery, but wtf, why it cost so fuckin much? that is fuckin stupid, so why tell me why the high price for a doctor playing with a toy? thats stupid i say, by the time i get a good job and be able to pay, it’ll be late in my life, i need my hair more than ever..and right now
IF I STOP SMOKING WILL MY REMAINING HAIR, BE STRONGER AND MORE HEALTHY,AND THICKER.
I quit smoking 5 years ago when I didnt have any skin or hair related problems at all. Since I quit smoking, and believe me, I know this sounds crazy, my skin became unbelievably oil, I am being literally attacked by skin tags and skin irritations. My hair? Now, this one is really funny! My hair became a pot of grease and I have consistently hair loss which began exactly three months after I quit. Yet, every time I go to the doctor they tell me that in the long run, I will realize that I did the right thing. I dont miss cigarettes, and I dont doubt that they are very very bad for you. But I think doctors will not tell you what will happen to your body once you quit. My weight ballooned in 90 pounds without any major change in food intake or exercise routine. I now am also obese.
That’s a very interesting question. Smoking causes a lot of problems throughout your body, but I never heard of hair loss. When you smoke, you got bigger problems then hair loss!
Cigarettes contain a good deal of carcinogens, many of which effect people quite differently. They wreak havoc on circualtion, etc. And they do actually cause more stress than not smoking. Trust me – I used to smoke two packs a day, then finally quit. But back to your comments: I first noticed I was balding at 21 years of age (ten years ago), so I started using Rogaine and Propeicia. This stopped the balding, but did little to regrow hair. Later, I stopped smoking, and then the hair actually thickened and grew in. Back to normal, actually. No joke. I didn’t even realize the correlation until I started smoking the occasional cigarette (two years ago), and then my hair started to fall out. I have recently cut out the occasional and hope that the hair will grow back in. Of course, there could be no correlation. But this is a ‘risk’ I’m willing to take.
There is definitely a correlation between quitting and thicker hair. I have had thin hair all my life since childhood. I started smoking at 14. About 5 years ago I quit for 9 months. I immediately noticed my hair thicken up right at the front of the crown. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. But now I’ve quit again. I’m only 3 weeks in but I’ve already noticed the front area filling in again. My hair is still my hair, it’s still fine and all, but I no longer have that area of actual thinning at the front. The difference is really noticeable to me because I style it everyday. So even if everyone in the world tries to say there’s no correlation, they’re wrong. It makes a difference for me. Ive theorized that the thickening seems to be happening along the sinus areas around my head, which would make sense if the cells were being clogged before by my smoking.
However, your genes are going to be the deciding factor on how your overall hair is. Like I said, my hair is still my hair and I still have a full head of it, whereas my husband who’s never smoked is virtually bald on top.
Listen guys, whoever this docter is…he doesnt know what he is talking about. I stopped smoking cannabis and cigerettes 2 weeks ago and i swear i am regaining more and more hair by the day. I am not going mad i know this for sure because i stopped smoking a while back and the same thing happened, then i lost what i gained when i started again. Stop smoking if you want your hair back. Darren
To everyone here that wants to know if smoking causes hairloss or not. i have found myself tht it does. If yopur hair is thinning the best thing to do is just stop smoking or cut down on the amount you smoke. Here are the 3 things i think causes definate hair loss, cocaine, excessive smoking, stress and anger. what i have found myself is that when you stop smoking your hair will be okay again but as soon as you start again it will start thinning again. hope this helps. If your worried about your hair you should never do cocaine it will reck your hair teeth ETC
Its not a debate which is going on here,there are many reason for your hair loss Stress,Living style and lot more,even doctors do not have much to answer this,if you have lost your hair then dont think in a negative way,just be happy that you are not effected by any other disease whicy are not curable,i hope you would understand the disease i am speaking about,and comming to smoking even a kid know that smoking is hazardous to health and even can cuse hair loss in some cases,so than why dont we quit smoking for a good reason to come.
I searched for this site and found my answer. Ive been smoking for 8 yrs and can remember that when i started smoking i started lossing my hair. Genes? Race? Dont know, but ive always had hair at the top that was just “slow growing”. Iv never took a break but after reading this I’m going to try. It never bothered me that i have “thining hair” and i never took rogain or anything. But since i can see my many hair stubs in the mirror, im going to try and stop smoking. I know that my body does’nt hurt yet and that to stop smoking will make me a nervous reck, but i also want to be the person that i used to be. With thick hair, thick longs, and a thick brain. Im goin to go for it!. Whitout one last blow.
p.s.
I feel that people who can handle smoke and drink have the ultimate body of resistance. Even though I still smoke to this day, why keep it up even if we dont hurt. We know that its bad as well as knowing that we can be the ultimate human in our lifetime. What ever you wanted to do you can do far better, than anyone else, if you stop smoking. Think about it. We’ve already inhaled hell. Its only up from here.
Yes I stopped recently, and before that I had slowly started to loose hair in the front and got this hairline curvy things you know what I mean. Well after stopping a lot of hair grew back and it’s now like 5 years ago or so, and still growing more. Also more healthy and strong hair.
i have been smoking since three years and i experienced hair loss 4-5 months after i started it.I haven’t smoked since about a month now,and the hair loss has reduced drastically,i even rub my fingernails together everyday for 10 minutes which is supposed to be a great cure for hairloss,since the nerves in our scalp ends in our fingertips(it is a yoga therapy).I would like to know how much time does it take for the hair to regrow after i quit smoking, i mean when will it be noticeable.
to carlos the growth cycle is generally 3 months, once the hair has miniaturized it can take up to 5 months but after you stop smoking this will decrease and you will notice thicker more healthy hair, i had been smoking 2 packets a day and noticed my hair falling out and very thin and wiry now it has come back like a bush, i have quit for a year
to justin…thanks for your reply,i would also like to know that will my hairline also improve…if yes then how much time will it take for the new hair to sprout up…i would like to tell everyone that its almost 3months since i have quit and i do not experience any hair loss now,there are no hairs on my pillow,on my comb,in the toilet and i think my hairs are a bit thicker now but am not sure.
Strange. I quit smoking about three months ago and I’ve noticed that my temples have become very sparse of hair. I never had a low hairline by any means, but my once reasonably thick widows peak has become a thinning nightmare. I’m not about to start smoking again, but I did consider the option to see if any of my hair comes back. I suspect I will have to suck it up and shave my head as there is no hairstyle for a balding scalp akin to George Costanza. I just find the balding to be a strange coincidence, or just crappy luck. It sure doesn’t help a 40-something having a midlife crisis and then losing his mane. Ah well, my hair was mostly grey up til now. I had colored my hair to hide grey since my mid 20s.
Sam
Not to get your hopes up, but it might be some type of shedding phase youre going through right now. I read somewhere (cant find it anymore though) that compared quiting smoking to using Rogaine. The reason why is because when you quit smoking you get an increase in Nitric Oxide(this is also found in Rogaine).
I have quit going on 5 months now and I see an improvement.I notice shedding phases too and there were times when I lost a lot of hair but it appears to be getting darker and thicker.
Thanks Mike, that’s interesting and I’ll look into finding more about that. I hope this is the case for me, but I’ll accept losing hair over lung cancer at any rate.
I quit smoking at the end of Jan this year after about two decades of doing it full time, so I’m about five month ex-smoker as well. Congratulations.
I am a 20 y/o male. I have been losing my hair for about the past 4-5 months, and it seems as if it’s just getting worse. I’m a hairstylist, so I do know a lot about hair, just can’t figure out why mine is falling out. I’ve had blood tests done for everything under the sun and everything is normal. I smoke about 10 cigs a day. Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or ideas of why else my hair may be falling out and whether quitting does make a difference. I also have ruled out male patter baldness because my hairline is not receding, my hair is just getting drastically thinner all over. Please Help!
hello,i am 7 months smoke free now, i wanted to confirm that smoking aids hair loss,in these 7 months i smoked for 1 month between 3-4mnths period, just to check the effect of smoking.the 1st 3months when i stopped smoking i did not experience any hair loss.as soon as i started smoking i started seeing more hair coming out. now again my hair is really strong, it has regained its volume,its darker and shinier.some people believe i went for hair transplant ,which was the best comment i heard.please do not see your friends who smoke and still have head full of hair, smoking affects different people differently, its the same way as everyone doesnt acquire cancer or emphysema,only a handful do. some doctors say that it also depends on how good your nervous system is, if its not well developed smoking will damage it more and hence lesser mobility of blood .after you quit smoking try to jog/run for 25 minutes early morning, so that there is more oxygen in your blood.hope this helps.
hope you all quit smoking and regain your crowning glory.
Wow, Carlos that’s an amazing story. I truly hope that I get the same results as you. I’m turning 23 this week. I haven’t smoked in 3 days, on the patch. Hair has been thinning and losing density for a little over a year, and rapidly. I am almost certain smoking is to blame.
I’m 25 and started smoking cigs about 2002. Now around the end of 2006 I noticed my hair was falling out. I was still in my denial phase until about may of this year when i found this web site. It’s makes perfect sense. I always knew smoking was bad for me but i didn’t care until I couldn’t leave the house without a hat on. I’ve found so much inspiration from this website that i decided to quit(for the sake of my 360waves) so july 3 I smoked my last cigarette and have been smoke free for 77 days. Hopefully my hair will grow back. can anyone tell me how long it will take? because i think i see a few new strands but sometimes I think my eyes are playing tricks on me because I want my hair to grow back so bad.
Congratulations, Bobby! 77 days is a great accomplishment. I quit 9/11/09 and I hope to see results soon. I would also like to know from everyone how long it will take to see results once one stops smoking.
I might add that I’ve been on Promox (www.hairgrowthmd.com) for 5 months. Most of my friends think my hair has gotten thicker. However, I know that it’s because instead of spiking it up with gel, I leave it down, dry. It gives it a thicker look. In reality, I’m almost certain that it’s getting worse by the day. Thinner hairs and less of them. If I put my hair up, you can see my scalp. It’s pretty crazy to have gone from having immaculately thick hair a year and a half ago, to now. The worst period was from January of this year till now. I’m looking back at New Year’s pictures with my hair up, it’s night and day. I don’t know if it’s smoking, or genetics. All I know that my father is 57 and he still has a good amount of hair for his age, and when he was 23, he had the hair that I had 2 years ago. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with Promox or if it’s just another scam, for which I’m wasting money on. I’ve heard everything from my having male pattern baldness to telegen effluvium, and now hair loss caused by smoking. I don’t trust any dermatologists anymore.
i used to smoke pot every day and my hair kept getting thinner and thinner. i was losing about 10% a yr from 18 so at 23 i had lost half of my hair. i stopped smoking and stopped taking pot a yr ago and have about 20% more hair then i did last yr so my hair loss from 18 is now about 30% which is not too bad. My hair looks great now and stays dry for longer so looks thicker anyway. moral of this story… i am totally convinced that for me smoking causes hair loss
comment on bobby’s latest… Try taking pictures of your scalp (where you notice thinning) and try to compare future photos with that.
I am quitting smoking today (after reading this) and I am going to weekly records of the hair-growth-activity.
Watch this space…
I guess I’m younger than everyone here,I’m 17 and I just started smoking 1 year ago.After 4-5 months I noticed that my hair was getting thinner and thinner.At the time I blamed the gel and the shampoo so I just stopped putting gel,changed shampoo and I actually stopped smoking for 14 days or something like that.I immediatly noticed that my hair wasn’t falling down anymore and I felt that my hair was growing back so I started smoking again.Not long after restarting smoking,2 months from it,I noticed that my hair was getting thinner again and at the time I realised that the real problem were cigarettes.I made a couple of tentatives that didn’t even last a week until 18 september and that means 22 days without smoking.My hair are still falling down and I’m waiting for results(hoping that I’ll have any).
Folks, it has been 9 smoke free days and I can confirm that the texture of the hair (less dry and more oily/moist) and skin is beginning to change (softer and moist). Although, I am yet to see a ‘marked’ change in the hair density, it appears that the number of hairs ‘falling’ has decreased. It is too early for me to personally correlate thinning of hair density to smoking BUT quitting smoking seems to have paved a promising path…more on this later.
I’m a 20 year old male. started smoking about a year ago, and for 3 months now i started losing hair, thinning day by day and getting very greasy one day after i wash it.It’s not receding but getting thinner all over. 4 months ago i had quit for one month, and the hair i had then compared with what i have now is a very big difference. It never occurred to me that the 1 pack a day would do this. I’ll quit today, hope to see some effects soon.
p.s: wish me luck.
best regards, andrew
im 22 years old and been smoking pot everyday for the past 4 years…im not talkin about 1 or 2 joints a day, im talkin 2 or 3 fat blunts a day. i usually wear a fitted hat everyday too. This past year i noticed my hair thinning. my hairline isnt receding tho.. i have a thinning circular spot in the front of my head.. and a small spot on the top, and its off to the side instead of right in the middle. i def. think my hair loss is from blazing, wat else could it be?. Both sides of my family have very good hair. i dont drink much and dont do any other drugs… i have no other health problems,, my diet could be better tho b/c im about 10-15 lbs overweight. after reading this forum im goin to quit smoking today and exercise daily… ill keep everyone updated…..
I’m in the same boat as you Dan. I am a month shy of 19 and i used i smoked tons of weed daily because i used to sell it, and all my friends that smoke daily have the same type of hair loss as us. I have completely stopped smoking for 4 weeks now. I see little one inch hairs fall out when i shower, but I think they will grow to be stronger. I’m not exercising much besides gettin laid;)(which is the only thing keeping me sane) but I definately feel that I am changing mentally. Anyways I also have little white hairs on the sides of my temples that i hope will be regrown in 5 more months. Anyway if you google “johnny depps hairline” you will see that he basically has the same amount of recession as me(I think he used to blaze because in nightmare on elm street he has the same amount of recession)and I think that he just doesnt do it more than once a month or so. But anyways all girls love johnny depp and he has a receding hairline just like you and me. I was depressed for a little bit because I got a buzz cut and I was like “fuck im going bald” and since I’m a drummer my hair has always been part of my style but I’m not smoking again until 4/20 which will be about six months and I’ll post and tell everyone whats up. PEAAACE
I mean I’m in the same shoes as bob
Joseph…so much more your weekly updates.
I guess everyone dropped the ball on this one.
Maybe because smoking really has nothing to do with hair loss after all…and that it’s all just DHT.
so much FOR***
Hi All,
Sorry Danny, was on a long holiday and i am infact keeping a close watch on the hair regrowth. I started to maintain a journal from october last year and been updating it (unfortunately not the site). I have made some photos (17 in total) and have compared them closely. what i am about to report is something that my girlfriend confirms too. Apart from the odd cigarette (one or two per week), I have been smokefree for about three months now – feel great about it and there is no doubt that it improved me overall. I smell good, my taste buds are REBORN and in all im extremely happy. Regarding the hair loss – THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that smoking contributes a great deal. we have noticed a marked regrowth on my scalp when I once thought it was a heriditary receeding hairline. The density of hair is increased drastically so much so that it is difficult to comb when my hair is dry (never used to be the case as far as my memory takes me). The texture of hair is much much better now and obviously getting less and less coarse – not to mention the consistency.
So I hope that this message will be the final nail in the coffin for every cigarette that you hold – quit it and see the difference.
Agian boys, very sorry for not having updated the site.
Best wishes for a smokefree life :)
Joe
If this is all true, I congratulate you man! I’m very happy for your success.
Where can we see these 17 photos?
i have not been smoking for about 2 years now thanks to nicotine patches and a lot of self-discipline. the withdrawal symptoms i got from quitting smoking was not nice though.
I am an 18 year old male, I have been smoking on and off for roughly two years, within the last year or so I have noticed my hair is not as thick as it once was and I have started to develop a receding hair line.
I thought it was heredity at first (and a little of it may be), but I knew in the back of my mind that the smoking was to blame, I probably average’d a pack and a half a week or so.
I’m officially quitting today, I will report back in 5 months and give you guys a progress report.
Good luck all.
im 20 and have a fucking patch on my head looks like alopecia i did quite smoking for about 8 months 2 years ago, it was realy fucking hard, when i quite my hair felt strong and i felt overall in good health but after 8 months i started again stupidly, now my hair is thin have a patch of hair missing i can just about cover it up. kind of scarey i still have to go for the blood test realy pisses me of. i wana quite but when i try now its 10 times harder then when i first did it. it maybe the ciggerrets i feel it is but not knowing just adds to my anxiety and stress. all im saying is dont smoke some people can handle it some people cant.
also been smoking since i was 14 15
Smoking -in addition to an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle- is a strong factor that influences hair loss/thinning. Following the good doctor’s logic, I think his pattern of reasoning is flawed. Firstly, emphysema is a “full-blown” side-effect of cigarette usage, but its correlation with hair thinning, as opposed to baldness, is a mistaken connection. Hair thinning is not the “full-blown”, final result that is, in this case, correlated with emphysema. If a person is at risk of a progressive lung disease -and truly makes a committment to stop smoking- then this individual can expect a reversal -this, in turn, is the correlation with hair thinning. Secondly, depedning on the extent of your hair loss, in the case of miniturization, your follicles still exist, albeit in a malnurished and thinner form. Ceasing smoking -compounded with a healthy lifestlye- can certainly reverse hair thinning. I have abstained from cigarettes and have undergone a “diet revolution”, and my hair is healthy and vibrant again.
my last post was sept 18th 2009 and i haven’t grew any new hair it still looks exactly the same. i dont smoke anymore but now i have to wear a bald head because it looks like shit having a nice haircut with a receding hair line. life sucks! i want to kill myself
hi,
I have a problem with my hair just falling, I have been diagnosis that I have allopecia. But the doctor who supposse to help me only in July10 , I m now afraid its too far image its April10. What else can i do now.
Its giving me stress.
Help me
My story starts like this..back in the 90’s,with me being the average 15 year old trying to get some attention from girls,i began smoking.I have to admit i liked it at start,i even found it amusing at times for me.
I had medium length hair,near around my shoulders and a bit longer as a grew up,something related with hairfall for men,although back in that time it was hard to even see my scalp,i was proud of my full black straight hair with the thick and shiny look.
Growing up with my smoking habit,i noticed my hair started to get thinner,and losing around 100-150 hair every day.
The years passed,and when closing 18,i joined the army,which requested us to cut our hair,short,very short.This was something i could deal with,after all i was getting bored of being hairy throughout all those years.
Well what i saw in the mirror when i cut my hair,was a nightmare.A head full of spots and scarce hair.
The army changed me,i decided to cut smoking and lead a healthy sporty lifestyle.
2 years later,with me starting my university studies,and haven’t smoked a cigarette since then,i started to see my hair growing thicker again,with most of the scalp spots disappearing.
Throught the years,i really thanked myself for quitting smoking.My hair is now full,thick and shinier than ever.
If it really wasnt about my hair though,i wouldn’t even consider stop smoking.
M, what sort of timelime are we talking here? I mean you abstaining from ciggies?
helo all, thnks for the comments, i have smoked light for 15 years and have seen balding/thinning come and go, i never thought it was the smoking, but it is, as a quit for a couple months last year and saw my hair regrow, but i returned to light smoking and now after 10 months it is thinning/balding again. I am taking schizandra to counter the effects with some success but it is obvious to me i need to quit. I researched and foung that the vascular system contracts with any smoke, even pollution, as the body protects itself from the contaminents. thanks for the comments
@sedd LMAO i agree
Thanks to all the people who took time to post about their stories, it really helps! Unlike some doctors. I am quitting the smokes too and will report back after a few months.
Some one mentioned that a healthy lifestyle also helps to improve your hair which I find to be true, I mean look at all the athletes and gym junkies, most of them have full healthy hair.
ok i believe the hair becomes thicker after you quit smoking but what about men who have never smoked and are as bald as badgers
3rd day without a smoke. Skin feels smoother and less shedding of the hair. I will update everyone in a few months.
I was shedding about 200 hairs per day when I started smoking again after a 5 year break. After I noticed the shedding and dry hair, I quit smoking for 2 months and shaved my head at the same time so it can grow back healthier. when my hair grew in, I did a test and I pulled it as hard as I could and only about 1 strand would fall out each time as opposed to 7 or 8 hairs while smoking( just slightly pulling on it) I was not loosing hair 2 months after quitting and it was the best feeling ever…..I started smoking again and again am facing the same problem, just a slight movement through my hair breaks off 7 or 8 hairs EVERY TIME. I’v been smoking for 4 months again and decided to quit today because I remember how much STRONGER and healthier my hair felt when I didn’t smoke
i have to admit reading some of these stories makes me feel better about my situation, knowing im not alone out here. over this past summer i noticed i was losing a lot of hair. i dont have a bald spot, but my hair has gotten thinner and it appears my hairline might be starting to reside. it bothers the hell out of me. im 20 years old and i never pictured myself like this. i have been smoking weed and cigarettes since i was 16, and everyday since i was 18. i just quit both two days ago, and hope i can stay strong. if quitting doesnt work i guess ill try rogaine and all that but im hoping its just smoking. anyway ill keep you guys updated.
I am 27 and my hair has been thinning slowly for about 4 years now and I have been smoking a pack a day for 9 years. In September 2010 I quit my position in the corporate world to pursue a business online. I am at home all day on my laptops. I started to smoke more and more and now I smoke a pack and a half to even 2 packs a day if I drink alcohol. Also, my condo is always a little smokey as i clear it out about 10 times a day but tend to smoke right after I clear the rooms out (stupid I know, Fucking Phillip Morris). I also started smoking 1/2 eighth a day of pot. Last month a big chunk of my hair was missing at the top of my head out of no where. I have been taking Biotin and all types of vitamins for about a month now. I see little to no change. I have been researching it and found that it does seem that smoking is definitely the problem. I will quit tomorrow and keep posting here. Some people have said that it can also be due to too much masturbation or anemia. Red blood cell count gets low and your body is lacking Iron but it seems to me out of all my research that the main reason is not enough oxygen to your hair follicles and smoking is one of the things, if not the biggest, to slow blood flow in our system. The scalp is also the least place on our body’s to get blood to as it is the highest point from our heart. So, lowering your head below your heart everyday for at least 10-20min. will help. You can bend over or lay on the edge of your bed or whatever works best as long as you put your head below your heart and get more blood to your head.
Hi all! I’ve been reading your comments and decided to add my own experience. i started smoking cigarettes at 23. im 28 now. i always had thick hair before i started smoking, but i noticed significant hair loss once i started smoking. im a black female with white and native american ancestry, so my hair is soft and wavy/curly like corbin bleu from high school musical. anyway i noticed that when i started smoking my hair suddenly became coarse, nappy, rough, and damaged looking. but i continued to smoke. i suddenly decided to quit in feb 2010. my hair grew back like wildfire! back to the soft, wavy, curliness that it once was. but lo and behold, i started smoking again. and within 8 months my hair has gone right back to the nappy mess it was when i was smoking the last time. so i have quit once again and for good b/c i really don’t like this! i chopped all of my hair off b/c i just couldnt help it out. i can’t speak for everyone else, but i found that for me there IS a direct correlation between smoking and hairloss. when i quit, it grew in quickly and thicker. when i started smoking, my hair texture changed for the worse and the slow growth and shedding began. but forget about hair loss. SMOKING KILLS!! i never had a respiratory infection until i started smoking!
i posted about a month and half ago about how i had lost hair and i was quitting smoking along with all the other drugs i was doing. i am here to tell you that my hair grew back. im not saying that it will happen for everyone but if you are smoking and doing other drugs while experiencing hair loss it could easily be that. it can mess up your chemical balance. i started eating better, working out five days a week and taking vitamins. Its not all the way better but every area has improved greatly. i still go out and drink but im not doing it as often or drinking as much. i hope this helped and good luck to everybody
Thank you everyone for your comments, especially people that have been updating their progress. I’ve been thinning hair at a slow rate for years now, in which I have been a 1/2-1 pack/day smoker for about 10 years. I always felt I didn’t have a reason to quit smoking, because I knew I wouldn’t have to face the health consequences till later. Now I have a reason, which is to improve my hair loss. If there’s a chance, it’s definitely a good enough a reason to take. I’ll pick my hair over smoking any day. I officially will quit today 2/14/2011 at 2:19 am. Hopefully, I can be one of those people that update in the future stating I have stayed off the bad habit and have begun to notice a difference in my hair. Thanks again everyone for the much needed motivation!
I’m so glad I found these comments.
I began smoking about a year ago, and my hair has become drastically thinner. It’s embarrassing beyond belief, and I’m only 17 years old. After reading these comments last night, I decided to quit smoking. Today has been my first day, and I really hope I see thicker hair by summer. I’ll post again in June with before and after pictures. Wish me luck!
Hey everyone. I’ve been smoking steadily since I was 16, I am now 24. My grandfather has some recession and smoked earlier in his life, most of the recession is due to genes. My mom smokes very little and has sort of thin hair. So there are hair problems in the family BUT. I am now 24, and I have more of a recession than my grandfather, and my hair is thin as hell. If I go only a day without shaving it down to nothing, you can play connect the dots with my hair. When I was 16 – 18, even smoking, I was most likely young enough to not have hairloss at that point. My skin was extremely smooth, I never got pimples, my hair was long, shiny, and girls use to play with it on the bus. I’m quitting smoking officially tomorrow, when I wake up. So my last cigarette will be tonight. I’ll be joining a gym soon, I already eat healthy, organic and such. So I’m going to bookmark and update everyone on any changes. Wouldn’t this be a great reason for everyone to quit smoking? It’s stupid that we wouldn’t stop for the fact that it’s deadly, but our looks and egos are obviously more important :).
Hi Kenny,
how is your quit going? any updates yet?
i can relate to many people’s stories and i don’t think that anyone here is crazy. because there is no doubt that smoking makes certain peoples hair thin..and to others, it does nothing!
i began smoking weed hard in august 2010, and today, 8 months later, my hair has become a mess again.. i smoke about 5-12 fat joints a day… my hair used to be really full and thick and now its so thin in some places (temples and crown).. my skin and scalp have also become so greasy.. I’m not overweight either.. there are no signs of hair loss on either sides of my family..
i know weed induced hair loss happens to me in my chronic phases.. my hair thinned from weed in my early and mid 20’s,and teens… so i know why it has gradually thinned again… my hair thickened up every time by quitting puffing, exercising and eating better.. so I’m gonna have to do it again.. though its so hard giving up weed.. the transition of lifestyles is just so drastic god damn it..i know I’ll thank myself in the future, but the now will be painful…. I’m gonna buy a rowing machine to help me sweat out toxins and to help with insomnia that goes hand in hand with quitting weed… it will also help with rage and irritability issues.. it’ll help clean my lungs too… gotta start focusing on health and natural highs again..i find that creating a really heavy sweat from your scalp is a great way to promote hair growth and cleanse your skin from the inside.. it also makes you feel great.. i hope that my story and tips helped you as much as yours helped me.. good luck to everyone.
Smoking pot or cigs will cause/contribute to hair loss. It’s tough to stop cuz its really a lifestyle change. Just stop smoking it all, go without fast food, and get some exercise and you will be a new person. Seriously, way more productive, healthy, and confident. You have to survive the transition, but if you can then you’re golden. Cut out soda too.
well, its been 10 days since i quit smoking weed cold turkey… and guys, i swear on my life that i already see an minor improvement in my hair, and a big improvement in my skin… i wash my hair every second day now, there is no need to wash it every day anymore.. i remember looking at myself in the mirror in the early hours before going to bed, after having smoked a good 10 joints all day long and my skin looked so tired… it’s 2:20am now and my skin is looking bright and way, way less greasy. it really makes a big difference for me. what can i say?
i did buy a rowing machine like i said i would and i use it with rage and fury almost every day!.(in a dedicated trance, i battle fate itself on that thing, the blood flow is intense and the exhaustion leaves you calm and tired. its a great feeling).. just in 10 days.. i promise you guys, knowing what weed does to my body, i wouldn’t even smoke a joint of the sweetest most dank bud out there if you payed me right now..
I’m starting to think much more clearly and I’m becoming optimistic again.. my sex drive has skyrocketed too.. i find that i am way more productive now and less misanthropic and paranoid.. paranoia is pretty much gone actually. no more staring into empty space depressed and miserable anymore..all these things will in turn help my hair as well.it just makes sense.
many of you might think that I’m either a bullshiter, or even crazy, but i am dead serious here.
I’ll admit that my sleep is kinda bad, (especially the first nights) but I’ve bought some 5-htp (check it out) and it really helps me sleep better..(although it makes you have some weird dreams, some of you might like that though. lol). and even though i don’t zonk out like a stoned bum for 12 hours, i now sleep 6-7 hours and feel so full of energy when i wake up..no kidding.. i lift weights in the mornings now. (i do 1 hour of exercise a day)
i know now that weed isn’t for me.. but stupidly, when enough time goes by, i forget about that. but i seriously think I’m done with it for life now. why pay my money for so much negativity? we only live once, and you realize that bluntly when you’re clear headed. boredom shouldn’t be drowned with weed. boredom should be filled with productivity.
I’ll be back in a month. good luck to everyone.. and don’t forget, the need for weed is all in your head. if i did it, anyone can.
So i decided to quit smoking today. The reason is my hair line at the front is getting more and more noticeable. I dont see any hair on my pillow or what not, or when i shower barely any hair comes out. However someone once told me that smoking in young people is a big factor to hair loss. Therefore im deciding to give it a try today. I see little blonde hairs when the hair is going missing and little light brown hairs. I figure they are not getting enough blood circulation or oxygen and the skin pore gets clogged. So im hoping by quitting smoking that it will open up the pore and cause my hair to grow back. its funny cause just the front of my hair is weaker and the rest of my hair is full and thick. so here we go wish me luck hope to see results very soon. Keep you guys posted.
Hi All, just quit smoking today. Found this thread and it’s enlightening.
Have been a very heavy roll ups smoker for many years and am looking to combat my thinning hair.
Kicking the evil weed into touch looks like a good place to start.
Good luck to all.
Hi, quit smoking 1/1/2011. Didn’t quit to regrow hair, in fact I never thought about it. This morning I noticed a few small hairs popping up below my receding hair line. Got to looking a little bit closer and these small new hairs seem to be everywhere! Thought I might be crazy…then I found this wonderful online conversation. I hope it’s not something I just didn’t notice before. It’s been a few days short of 3 months and even two weeks ago I felt that my hair was looking healthier. Good luck to everyone!
Uhmm it’s me again…after more than a year even though.So I didn’t really succeed on quitting a year ago but I did succeed now,it’s been 36 days without smoking including today.My hair never stopped thining during the whole year actually and I feel like I should take those damn blood tests or whatever they are.Noone in my family have alopecia,my father has more hair than me lol,I guess I’ll report back to you guys after 2 or 3 other months.Goof luck to yall fellows
One last thing,since 15 I’ve participated in lots of male beauty contests,in some I won in some others I didn’t but the point is if I lose all my beautiful blonde hair all my life will change,cmooooon it’s gotta be smoking….!!!!!!
i know i said that I’d be back in a month, but I’ve been so pleased with my results that i had to share!! my hair shedding has stopped COMPLETELY! been off weed for a month now.
its now been 72 hours since i showered and my hair is still not greasy.. when i run my fingers through it and pull on it, nothing comes out!! this is amazing because when i was smoking weed, I’d need to wash my hair every day, (or every other day)and when i did, clumps would come out and my scalp was severely itchy!
my hair has also grown quite a bit in this month without weed. this can only be good news guys.. i rarely think about myself balding anymore.. i don’t think it will happen to me anymore.. but when i was smoking, that’s all I’d think about because of how much hair was falling out!
in another 3 months, i reckon my hair will be perfect again. its been just a month now and i see no thin patches anymore, I’m so pleased and proud of myself for having the courage and willpower to quit! fuck weed forever.
Well two weeks off the smokes and can’t say I’m noticing any improvement at all.
Early days tho I guess.
by the way, i still smoke rollies. about 4 small cigarettes a day. and i drink alcohol every now and then..
Hey Cgaig, i doubt that cigarette smoke has much to do with hair loss.. maybe a tiny bit… its the weed that makes certain people lose hair..
i believe that the people who experience paranoia, depression and anxiety while high, are the ones who experience hair loss from weed.. those who can smoke blunts and be social and happy need not worry (about their hair at least).
– the link is between stress (paranoia, anxiety ,depression) and hair loss. your health is bound to improve, but i don’t know about your hair.
Hi Larry yes I’ve noticed the common thread here is weed smoking.
Have quit regular heavy smoking regardless and just to improve my health, tho losing hair tempts me back to smoke due to the sadness it brings :(
Craig i can assure you that your hair will improve,I’m almost 2 months smoke free now and I already feel better,better health,better hair!!I haven’t got the male baldness pattern and still I was losing my hair soon after starting to smoke!!Have you done the blood tests btw??
Hi everyone!
Well, I started smoking almost 2 years ago (I’m a soon to be 27 year old) and in the past few months I started to notice some serious hairloss and thinning on the crown of my head. I’ve always had thick and great hair, but now it’s just awful! You can clearly see my scalp right through the top of my head! It’s been driving me crazy so I started smoking even more from stress. I notice that if I even brush my hair lightly a few strands fall out. I want to quit smoking and see if there are any changes. I’ve tried a few times already with no success. WISH ME LUCK! I want my great hair back! Best of luck to all of you also, and I’ll try and report back with my results soon!
Patrick try patches to help you quit, I’m using them and they help a great deal. Good luck, hairloss is a shitty aflfliction that’s for sure.
Craig, i know the vicious cycle you speak of.. that used to be me! its hard to break but you can do it, because i did it too! and seriously, reading Patrick’s last message about being able to see your scalp sends shivers down my spine because that was me a month ago.. some scary shit!
i still smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol from time to time (cant help it), but no more weed for me ever again!
this is what you should do if you are serious about stopping the hair loss and becoming healthy again. try to run a lot and sweat out toxins. at least an hour of exercise EVERY day. drink 2 liters of water a day and cut out all, or most of the sugars in your diet.. NEVER drink pop. cut out ALL junk food and fast food. try to eat healthy like fruits veggies, nuts, meat, rye bread, oat meal, fish, milk etc. take a multivitamin specifically formulated for hair problems, try to have normal sleeping patterns, buy organic shampoo (sulfate free).. go for a colon cleansing (i never did one but i want to after all the trash I’ve been eating for years).. while watching TV, sit upside down with your head hanging to promote some serious blood flow to your scalp for 30-45 mins. (not kidding) do all these things and i promise you that you will see a real improvement. i was a chronic burned out lazy, balding pot head and i did it, so i know you can do it to.
i used to be able to see my scalp like Patrick, i worried about my hair every effing day, because the problem was clear!! showering every day, i would tussle my hair over the sink and see at least 30 hairs each time. and my drain was clogged with hair.. i was going bald hardcore! now i promise you, i never worry anymore! i can go 4 DAYS without showering and when i tussle my hair over the sink not many come out, like 10 -15 and i haven’t cleaned my drain in weeks..
by cutting out weed and living healthier my hair has become very strong again! i look at it all over with a mirror and i see full coverage now! i can blast light on my hairline, temples and crown without feeling sorry for myself anymore! i don’t know what else to tell you. please just try the things i suggest, stick to them and please let me know how you did! what do you got to lose? try it for a month! it will work! because health starts from the inside, and is reflected on the outside. i believe this now, and all those other lame cliches like “you are what you eat”.
i might sound like a sewer rat scam artist, but I’m not making jack shit by doing this! i just know how painful it is seeing yourself deteriorate day by day and if i can help someone, i will try to.. all it takes is time, dedication and a little money for the products and food.
Well, I’m back to report…
Ok, so today is actually the first day of my quitting. I have really struggled with it and it’s been driving me crazy, but I’m ready to do it. My hair is starting to fall out like crazy and my scalp is still clearly visible, so I’m hoping for the best and I’ll report back with my results. Stay strong everyone!
even if it wont work, dont you think it is time to quit smoking? You should quit smoking, eat a bit more, and relax like you have retired. Living a relaxed life has more points than the life of a chimney in my books.
Seven weeks off the cigs, no benefit to my hair whatsoever.
Health must be improving tho :)
Ok, I’m back.
On my last post I said that I was quitting that day and I was going to chart the results. Well, I ended up starting up again after a day.
This time, I feel I’m ready. I no longer can stand what I’m doing to my body and there are too many benefits to gain from quitting. I want my hair back, yea….but I really want to be healthy and smoke free.
I will come back soon and let you guys know the results. I just crushed the cigs I had left and threw them out. I’m ready… Please wish me luck.
Nine weeks off cigarettes, no improvement whatsoever to my hair, still thinning, no regrowth, the continued loss of hair makes me yearn for the comfort of a roll up, but I guess improved Health is the obvious main benefit of being smoke free.
12 weeks off the cigs and I’m back on them :(
Tempory blip-but any way didn’t do anything for my hairloss.
So, I’m 22, my hairline appears to be receding at an alarming rate since January. At the moment I look pretty fine, no one can has really noticed yet that I have massive receded bits to each side of my head as I can cover them up with my longer hair. The idea that in 6 months or so it will be really obvious is pretty scary.
Anyway, I don’t smoke a massive amount, maybe 6 a day? I also don’t think it’s a case of my hair thinning, rather a receding hairline, so maybe quitting the little I do smoke isn’t going to do anything. What are the chances, though, that if I stop my hair might start to grow back a bit?
The main problem is that I get so depressed by my hairline that all I want to do is have a cigarette/alcohol.
so im 25 years old, and when i was 17 i started smoking hookah. you might know hookah is worse then cigg.
i started loosing hair when i was 18..and went into complete depression mode. i used to have beautiful thick hair and now its basically nothing left. im hoping that now that ive quit smoking hookah after 8 years my hair could come back…what do you guys think..give me yourr input..
STAY AWAY FROM SMOKING ANYTHING..
HOOKAHS, CIGGS, WEED
its not worth the stress, torture and depression i went through
felt like i was living in a coma for 8 years up until now
where im taking a step.
When people get hair transplants, the surgeons tell them not to smoke because it will inhibit hair regrowth. There’s gotta be a reason for that, right? Also, it takes about 4 months of Rogaine use before any results start to appear. Quitting smoking for 9 weeks isn’t enough time for anything to happen. Especially if it takes Rogain2 4 weeks to work.
@ sam
Fair enough – I’m going to stop smoking again anyway, hate the ashtray mouth I’ve got again, regardless of hairloss, and hopefully it’ll benefit that too in the long run.
can someone please tell me if i stop smoking, will my hair come back
ive been smoking for 8 years w no history of hair loss in my family but im very bald right now..
its been 4 months since I’ve quit weed and started to live healthier. my hair was a thin frizzy mess when i started.. you could clearly see a greasy scalp through some peach fuzz hair… and today, 4 months later, its extremely rich and shiny!! its even mid length now and it still looks thick! i take a mirror and look everywhere around my head, and there is no trace of scalp anywhere!
im totally convinced that pot smokers who experience paranoia, fear and anxiety from weed, will also lose their hair… like i was! i had no reason for losing my hair! my dad is 67 and he has a full head.. my bro is a weed fiend but he doesn’t experience the anxiety from the weed, so it doesn’t affect his hair.
4 months later and it seems so stupid that it was so hard to quit, because today i wouldn’t even smoke if you payed me.. I’ve also become so much more sociable, have a girlfriend and a couple other girls lined up for me! if i was still smoking weed, i wouldn’t have these experiences.. I’d still be miserable, alone, balding playing 360 high!
fuck that guys. don’t be fools! we have ONE life, and its too short to be miserable! if you think weed is fucking your life up,or making you lose your hair, just quit it… get over the initial hard period, and after that, everything will be fine!! weed isn’t for everybody!!
I had always beautiful shiny hair. always got comments about it until 2 years ago (at the age of 31) i started smoking. stupid i know. after 3 months i started shedding like a dog but it never occurd to me that smoking could be the cause. my search for a good dermetologist began!! i saw total of 7 dermetologists and spent thosands of dollars. they all asked for blood tests and sinece everything was normal, they blamed it on stress. it was bull as i never stress. i am just not a stressy kinda person. the funny thing is i told some of these doctors that the only thing that has changed in my lifestyle is that i have taken up smoking.
they said no way, this is not the reason unless i am smoking 3 packs a day. i had always been smoking 10 sigarettes or less per day mind you. but after all, i decided to stop smoking and see what happens. surely even after 3 days i saw results. my hair stopped from falling out and after a month, i had a lot of regrowth and my hair is shiny and nice again.
i just want to tell you this. doctors are hand in hand with the tobacco companies. i know for a fact that they recive money and insentives not to tip people off about the dangers of cigarettes. of course we all know the dangers of cigarettes on our internal organs as it has been proven and is difficult to hide but when it comes to hairloss, this is a huge booming business for them and the pharma!! they will never admit as this is the way they make money of weak people like us. so help this conspiracy fail and be strong and quit the damn ciggies for your own good. you’ll save a lot of money in doctor fees, hair products and also the money you spend on cigarettes itself. Peace to you all and be strong :) Good luck.
I am 28, smoker for 7 years, my hair loss started almost 3 years ago, in 6 months i lost 40% of hair all over, top,back,sides. I am using minox (2 years), proscar for 7 months with no improvement also no further hairloss. I dont know was my hairloss due to stress or smoking.
After reading this blog and comments i will quit smoking soon and see what will happen.
There’s no scienfitic research which supports the theory that quitting smoking aids hair re-growth, that’s not to say that it’s not possible because in my experience is IS!
To the poster who is using nicotine patches; PLEASE listen to my advice and stop using patches, how can you treat nicotine addiction by giving yourself the very drug you’re addicted to? think about it, patches, gum, none of these methods work and neither does the will power method work. Read Allen Carrs Easy Way To Stop Smoking, once you have removed the brain washing that nicotine addiction causes and is the reason why you are kept in the trap, will you give up permanently. Remember smoking is not about enjoyment if it was you would only need to smoke one ciggy a day, it’s all about relieving the withdrawal pangs the previous ciggy created; nicotine doesn’t fill the void it creates it! Good luck!
NickD, this specific blog aims at sharing experiences about whether there is noticable hair re-growth after quitting smoking or not. your input will be much much helpful if you could share your experiences about hair re-growth rather than ways of stopping smoking – there are tonnes of websites for that :)
thanks for all the infos and motivation as well, I smoked since I was 14 and now im 32, doing 1-2 packs a day. I havent notice any problems on my respiratory but on my hair it is really tremendous. I WILL QUIT SMOKING STARTING TOMORROW.
Hi Guys,
Well have been reading all the threads and have to say, that I now agree that quiting is making my hair regrow. When i mentioned it to my partner when i first noticed it, they thought i was going mad. Have to admit I thought I was as well. Now a few more months on, there is more and its a lot thicker in places I didnt have any!!
I had been smoking since I was 15, and when I turned 35 at the end of June 2011, I thought time to give up. I have been using Niquitin Lozenges, low strength and these have helped me a lot. Take a bit of getting use to, and if any of you have tried them you will know what I mean.
I use to smoke between 20-30 a day as well and had been loosing my hair since the age of 20, but didnt think it could be smoking, as my dad and most males in the family had hair loss, but Dad did have more than me.
It took me a good few months before I noticed anything[Dont give up guys, and you need to give it time] think it was on Month 3 that I spotted some extra hair on my head, and then got the mirror out and really examined my head. Thought I was going mad.
I am now on month 8, I dont have a full head of hair yet, but it is growing, and I spot more hair each day. My hair is a lot thicker in places, sides, top and crown and slowly going from blonde to brown. On the top of my head, I have got loads of blonde fuzz, and some of this is slowly turning into thicker hair. ON my crown and top I didnt have any hair, apart from the odd few.
did not think my hair loss was down to smoking,but it looks like it helped me to loose it.
I dont know how much more will grow back, and if quiting will help your hair grow back. However it is working for me and im over the moon.
I dont want to get my hopes up for a full head of hair, but if all the fluff turns into proper hair I will have and I wont have to shave it, even thou I like the style and saves time. WOuldnt know what to do with hair, as havent had it for over ten years!!
Some of the guys on here have been lucky and had regrowth within weeks, mine took a few months. I had been smoking alot and the body needs to repair itself and detox.
I have had the odd one or two, and do miss it, but the results are amasing.
Oh and im still on the lozenges, as love the minty ones, and wasnt sure if it was them that were doing it, how you start to look at what you are doing different and darent stop in case it was then. BUt does look like it was.
WOW! this website has really opened my eyes. I’m 21 and I started smoking cigarettes and smoking pot about two years ago when I moved out to L.A. Since then I have noticed that my hair has dramatically thinned all over. It has been two of the most challenging years of my life because of the thinning hair and a major blow to my self confidence. I’ve been wearing a hat EVERY FUCKING DAY because of this and its only getting worse.
I did talk to my doctor about this about six months ago and all he suggested is to get my thyroid checked, so I did. Everything came back fine. I kept searching for an answer and I think I found it in this blog. :D
I am determined to quit smoking TODAY! I had my last cigarette a few hours ago before I found this website and it shall be my last! I will come back and record if there is any progress going on up there and I hope to god there is!
Thanks so much to all the previous participants of this blog, it has been a HUGGGGEE help. Good luck to you all.
I am 21 years old and have been smoking since i was 16. I have been smoking about a pack a day, give or take, for about 2 years now. Before I smoked cigarettes, my skin looked great, teeth were white, i could run miles, and i had a head full of thick dark hair. Today, my skin is patchy and pale, my teeth are starting to chip and stain, I wake up in the morning coughing, i gag when i brush my teeth, i’d be lucky to run down the street without feeling horrible inside, and today i have noticed that my hair is starting to thin out considerably on the top and sides. I can see my scalp now! This is the final straw, I know i need to quit and I am going to follow through this time. I’m scared about how hard it is going to be. This page is giving me a lot of confidence about it though. Hopefully all goes well. Here’s to a healthier future :)
Aloha! My experience could help you.. I was a model with lean looks (but not mean!). Healthy & long hair too. 5 years ago i started smoking, from 10 to 20 in 1 year. I lost my job and went through a break up which meant a lot of smoking. Now, this was in 2007. After 8 months of depression and nothingness, i got a better job and a better GF. Instantly, my hair became thicker and grew back!
In 2011, I went through the worst break up ever and smoking was still on (20 cigs/day). I became a drunkard & lost my job. Recently, i realized that i had become obese and lost a lot of hair on my crown and sides. I also started suffering from nervous attacks and sleep disorders (panic, paralysis & feelings of death). I was a guy who used to inspire confidence and motivate people but i found myself feeling dejected. So, in a STATE OF PANIC, I reduced cigs to 10 and waited for my hair to grow back. It did not happen this time around, I realized later that my spirit and motivation was very low. And emotional stress was off the charts!
Today, after reading all the comments here, I understand cigs affect hair but it’s not the only thing (As in my case). It’s the feeling of well being irrespective of whether you smoke or not that decides the levels of stress. In fact, worrying too much about balding itself causes balding. Get a job, have a regular social life and see how your hair will GROW BACK.
I’ve decided that i will quit smoking, drinking and become more social. Of course, deciding is one thing and actually doing it is another. I will keep all of you posted if there are any improvements, I am positive that there will be because i know what it takes now to get my hair back. & most importantly get my life back.
Arrrrr!
My hairline has been receding a bit over the past 2 years somewhat noticeably, and I’ve been a pack a day smoker for the past 10 years, so I’ve been using Rogaine to help combat it. Although I’ve never noticed anything too impressive about the product, I have noticed some improvement. About a month ago I stopped smoking, while making no change to using the rogaine, and I have noticed a much more significant improvement. Before I quit I could tell it was getting worse, but now it seems as though my hairline is advancing rather than receding. I don’t normally make these comments and I’m not trying to bullshit anyone, but I say try quitting. It might help.
Quit smoking 6 mos. Ago started smoking at age 18 I am 50 and bald on top small hairs started growing on bald spot no kidding not dramatic but hairs growing where there was no hair I am hopeful
And will keep everyone posted ……Look compared to the other benefits of not smoking hair loss or growth is not that important but we are human and vain so secretly I hope my hair regrows even though I tell my family it doesn’t bother me it always has
Just wanted to add my 2 cents, as this blog has really helped to convince me to quit smoking. Ive been smoking since i was 17, and have been experiencing hair loss since I turned 24. I am now 27, and suspected it might be the MJ smoke that was causing it, but am so addicted to smoking that I keep dismissing the idea. Now the thinning has gotten to a point where it will become noticable to others and if i dont do something about it now, i feel im doomed. Dont mean to sound full of myself but im a very attractive male whos always recieved compliments on my eyes, skin complexion, and hair. The thinning hair is already screwing with my self confidence and if it gets any worst I dont know what id do. Ive tried all kinds of supplements, shampoos, you name it, to no avail. My father is 52 with a full head of hair, and same for my uncles on my mothers side. I gotten many blood tests over the years (vitamins, hormones, thyroid) that all came back normal.
I believe the loss didnt start untill i was 24 because of the simple fact that from the age of 17-23 i was in highschool then college, and had to quit smoking for a couple months every spring to pass my drug test for my summer internships (im an engineer). This couple months of quitting was apparently enough to get the toxins out my system and allow my body to start from scratch. Also my school years were relatively stress free thanks to a scholarship which made it so i didnt have to get a job. I had the best group of friends I could ask for, the most beautiful girls on uconn campus, and plenty cash thanks to ebay ventures. At the age of 23 I graduated and got a full time job, and havnt given smoking a break since…. My stress levels have risen higher than they\’ve ever been, and so has my smoking habit.
Here\’s the evidence that Ive ignored all these years that leads me to believe that smoking is the cause of my hair loss. Since the loss started, i noticed that id wake up in the morning sometimes and my head would feel sorta limp/tingly as if the blood wasnt flowing efficiently overnight. Also, I would always notice more hair fall the morning after a hardcore session, as opposed to the morning after a smokeless night. Also my skin would be much drier on these mornings, and get ashy simply by rubbing my finger on it. I recently went on vacation to DR and wasnt able to smoke the whole time. I noticed when I returned to the states that my hair was way softer and moisturized, less frizzy. Still I dismissed the idea due to my love for mary jane.
I agree with the people that say smoking can cause hair loss for those who get paranoid/axiety after smoking. This is me all the way. The high used to be relaxing and introspective when i first started but has turned into a paranoia inducing habit which leaves me tired and antisocial. Still untill now I was never able to give it up.
Well ive officially decided to give smoking a 3 month break to see what happens. I smoked my last blunt yesterday and will now start a detoxing routine which includes taking chlorella and fiber daily, exercising and sauna sessions every other day, and drinking 100% water all day everyday. With this rigorous course of action I expect it shouldnt be too long before i notice results. I promise Ill be back with my results in hopes of helping others as i feel this blog has helped me…
I always had beautiful hair, and I never smoked or used any drugs. I started smoking weed when I was 25. I had culry hair kinda like dl hughleyarExcept mine looked much better. White people would always ask to touch it, and my Mom would run her fingers through it(hated when she did that). About a year after I started smoking, a bald spot appearedon the right side of my head behind my hair line. I had to cut my hair to hide the thinning. Then a twin spot on the left appeared. By 27, I was shaving my head. I seem to be bald right down the middle of my head now, and thinning around m temples. I quit smoking weed a month ago. I already see inprovement. My scalp isnt itching, I see new hair just growing in, and thicker hair. My skin is looking beeter also. I’ll keep you guys posted, but I’m done with the weed. Im way t handsome to be bald at thirty! lol
I m 31…I m glad ht crossed that site, really full of inspiration, thanks to guys..and congratulations to whom who are ex smoker. I started smoking when I was 29, in the last 7 months I noticed that my hair is falling dramatically, I would weak up in the morning and see my pillow, the floor, table bathroom my hair is everywhere, now my head is really seen, I used to have dark shiny strong hear, now it looks like disaster week and thinner very dry and color like get.. all to blame is me and cigarettes, I m going to stop and hopping that my hair will grow backand will go back as it was 3 years ago..I also feel kinda dispersed since I started smoking,and less motivation in my life and energy… guy, after 4 months I m going to report my progress and my hair situation… keep it up guys and and let’s stop this drama of cigarettes and let u bet back to life…we are damn wasting it!
I started smoking in 2010 to combat severe depression and to just slow time down a little bit. In 2010 I had beautiful curly hair I would say probably 3B or a little curlier in places. My hair has always been fine but I always had a LOT of it. Anyway, about a year ago I noticed a huge change in the appearance of my hair… The curl started falling out! I went from that beautiful 3B to about a 2C… And it wasn’t even consistent. My hair was incredibly dry and very brittle. I would pull out so much hairs every time I took a shower I thought I was going to go bald.
At first I attributed the change in my hair texture and density to birth control (I had been taking that since 2009 to combat acne) and I figured I would go off of that because it’s terrible for you anyway (but that’s another story altogether). Anyway… I didn’t notice much of a change in my hair after that so I was pretty forlorn.
But two very different and great things happened to me around the same time. One, I got accepted into my State’s University, and two, I got laid off from the job that was the reason I started smoking to begin with. Fearing that I would lose unemployment and not wanting to be a liar like half the people that use unemployment I tried to stop smoking so if need be I could pass a drug test without cheating, just in case my previous employer called me back OR I started applying elsewhere. I slowed down greatly on the amount I smoked (went from once a day to mayyybe once a week).
The closer I got to semester start the worse my highs were because I was so paranoid that I had caused permanent damage to my brain and wouldn’t do very well in the University… I couldn’t even enjoy smoking anymore. It was completely ruined it for me. So I stopped smoking altogether. I haven’t smoked since August 11th, so it has been 2 full months.
So, back to the point of this forum… About two months ago there was a spot at the nape of my neck where it looked like my hair wasn’t there because the bottom layer had broken so much that it was as short or shorter than the top layers, I had this goofy fuckin’ blank spot in the bottom of my hair that I thought was VERY obvious. I went to my stylist about a month ago telling her about my concern and she said it was broken but that it was growing back. I didn’t believe her at first but those words were SO great to hear after battling with my hair issue for over a year… The more time goes by the more I notice HUNDREDS of short hairs growing back in! Not to mention the texture is coming full circle, I am making progress towards being a 3B again.
I will bookmark this page and come back and do an update in a few months to let ya’ll know how it goes! Sorry for rambling, my hair has just been an emotional rollercoaster for me as it was a HUGE part of my identity and I bet there are a lot of people who can identify with that.
Good luck everybody!
I smoke since i was 18 and my hair was really thick untill i passed 22 and saw my hair was getting thinner really fast… Since i started smoking i lost 100-200 hairs a day and i wondered why… Nobody in the family is bold so im sure its not genetic.. I always thought it was the smoking but i didnt see my friends losing that much hair as me.. But i think it effects everybody in a different way.. I want my thick hair back cos i start to get bold i front cos of these shitty cigarrettes!!! I stop as of today! Thx for confirming my theory that smoking indeed can cause extreme hairloss! Just not for everybody..
Best of luck everyone. Day two of quitting smoking and it’s not too bad (awful every other time i tried, but this time’s different for some reason). Anyway, i’m 24, been smoking regularly for 7 years, started to notice thinning on crown and left side for the past six months. My dad’s only NOW started to get a bald spot, so it’s kind of embarassing. I was about a pack, sometimes just half, a day smoker. I’ll keep updating in a month/two months. I do believe, as someone mentioned, regrowth can be attributed to your mental attitude when quitting: ie, if you’re depressed and miserable and just wanting to smoke, the stress/pressure from that may inhibit growth or cause continued fall. Just trying to keep a positive and happy mind, knowing that i’m finally going to quit smoking and be done is quite exciting after all! Best of luck, everyone. I’ll post in a month before the next year
hello guys wz up..i have been smoking for almost 1 year now but i dont know i have not seen any chnge in my body…but i think i am loosing hair growth…i wnted to quit but no wy i am here in africa niamey niger….i am 23 man smoking had really become soimething new in my life…..thanks my cell +233249557822..also interested in women……..
Hello guys ! There is difinately a corelation betwwen smoking and hair loss. Smoking reduces vitamin b12 and zinc thaty coz hairloss, my doctor said the same (you may google it). I have been smoking from past 12years since I was 14. I’ll have to quit since most of my hair is gone grey (50%)and also started shedding at temples. For people who want fast results need to change diet (include lots of fruits and salads) mayy also take vitamin and minertal tablets.
Growing up and throughout my 20’s I had incredibly THICK hair, and a LOT of it. Through the years, all of which I smoked, I began thinning out, and couldn’t figure out why. I didn’t get perms, or colors or overuse a brush. There was no issues with balding in my family. It was getting to the point of seriously scaring me. And then I quit smoking 7 months ago, with the help of an E-Cig! Have noticed here in the last few months that not only does my hair feel thicker, and stronger, but there’s hardly EVER any hair in the brush after I use it. I would say my hair is 75% back to what it once was, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Best of luck to those trying to quit! If ya don’t do it for your hair, do it for your health!
I ran across this blog and am amazed. I am in my 40’s and have been smoking for 20 plus years! I have experienced tingles in my scalp as well as my scalp being really sore. I used to have hair that was complimented almost everyday. Now I have the biggest bald spot in the top of my head and half of my hair is gone on the left side. I quit smoking at one point for about 10 days and amazingly as it may sound I got a shocking look from someone at work as she said your hair is pretty. My hair bounced as I walked. I started smoking again and now my hair is thin and ugly all over again! I KNOW that it is the cigs! I’ve had a biopsy on my scalp and I have had those painful injections. I was told that I have alopecia but at the end of the day all that this word means is HAIRLOSS! WTF!!!!!! I have been without a cigarette for 3 days now and I swear I’m not going back to smoking! I had my daughters take pics of my balding hair today and will take more pics and post again on this page in 30 days!!!!! Praying people lets all pray that God restores my hair! AMEN
I came across this thread with a google search. I started smoking about 3 years ago because of business related stress. I am now 27, and started when I was 24. It started off as 4-5 a day just to relax, and I noticed myself buying cigarettes more and more often. About a year ago I started buying those Nic Out plastic filters and there was no more coughing in the morning. I went for a week or two without smoking, but as soon as I was at an event with drinking, I started smoking again. I noticed about 3 years ago that I had a noticeable bald spot at the top back of my scalp. The increase in hair loss was an exact correlation with my smoking. I am quitting cold turkey today. As we speak I just threw half a carton away. I looked in the mirror today and that bald spot is getting worse. I know baldness is passed down on the mother’s genes, and my maternal uncle and my mothers father started thinning in the front only in their late 40’s, both non smokers. There is also a traditional remedy for hair loss that I recommend based on others’ experience. Burdock oil, massaged into the scalp and left there for an hour or two before you shower is supposed to help. Also, stop using those mass advertised shampoos with Sodium lauryl / laureth sulfate. That stuff dries out the scalp. I will keep everyone here updated on my smoking and hopefully hair loss reversal.
Started smoking weed at 27 years of age, hairloss started at the same time, up until then had perfect hair. Me and my friends thought it was an age thing but having stopped and started a few times realised that it was THE cause because each time hair grew back and the hair became better quality. Am 43 now so I am going to stop for good as smoking weed has so many negatives to it. Will update but for now all I will say is please read through this blog again and again so it sinks in, smoking, especially weed can ruin your hair(obviously not for everyone) but a lot of the posters on this blog have the same reaction to weed and the same response to quitting ie IT STARTS TO GROW BACK!!! It takes time, give it 3-6 months. I am one of those people who get quite paraniod when using weed although I know people who used weed and don’t get paraniod but still have hairloss. All I know is that it 100% effects me in such a bad way that I never want to touch it again.
Oh by the way, it’s best if you use your spare time doing something more productive and in my experierence exercise is the very best, do something you like and make sure you sweat. Don’t listen to doctors, they know very little about this and lots of other things including acne – short story – went into doctors after having been on antibiotics for 13 years for acne, yes you read that right, 13 YEARS! and they did nothing, infact it got much worse but I although I told them that it seemed to be brought on by certain foods they told me every time that food has nothing to do with it. Anyway I cured it myself by taking certain foods out of my diet(chocolate, beer, yeast etc) Most docs are arrogant but then you all know that. Oh and stimulant like cocaine, speed and the like can cause hairloss. Its simple but takes some willpower but the end result will be worth it.
hi guys, i am 23 yr old, i began smoking when i was 18 & i have already quit smoking since jan 18th 2013.I ‘ve big patches upside on my head.once i had read these comments about hairfall in december 2012, so was willing to quit smoking & i am already done with it.
really i am worried about my hair & the way of thinking myself also changed.i need my hair back.please help me to regrow my hair guys.
wish me luck guys.
again me,guys if i got any changes with my hair ‘ll surely update with it.
anyways you should help me guys!!!
good luck everybody!!!!
It’s working guys! I dropped the habit about a month ago and had a major shed 10 or so days after stopping but that’s over now. Other half mentioned the difference last week. There is obviously no new growth yet although it looks and feels as though there is, I think it must be to do with less inflammation in the scalp.
I’ve been through this before a few times and after about 5-6 months the difference is almost like magic. Weed destroys my hair for whatever reason and this time i’ll not go back, it is just not worth it plus all the other benefits you get from not smoking.
I will update again soon. Good luck
Hey, i would also like to share my part. i’ve been smoking cigarettes since i was 16, now i’m 23, so seven years more or less. during that time i noticed that my hair started to fall out. it didn’t bother me to great extent because i used to have good looking, thick hair. Well about a year ago i noticed that my hair was getting thinner and thinner, i could start to see the scalp above my forehead. At that time i had hair of mid-length. Somewhere in september 2012 i decided to cut my hair really short, because the hair cut with long thinning hair just looked to ridicules. When the hair was cut i noticed, to my great horror, that there was another thinning area on the back/top of my head. Actually it looked much like typical MPB except that it was quite asymmetrical and with a little island of non-thinning hair in the middle. I have to say that was quite a traumatic time for me. Well this February i decided, as many times before, to quit smoking and actually succeeded. it’s been 8 weeks since i smoked cigarette(and occasional joint, like once or twice per week). in my first week of quitting i’ve found this page and was quite impressed by the stories. so that could be a reason why i finally succeeded.
and results so far? for the first 6 weeks i used to regularly take photos and also count how much hair fall out daily. every day i used to do ten pulls with my hand over my hair and count how many hairs fall out. after quitting the average number was around 15. i first started to do that like two weeks after i quit so i don’t have any control for comparison. beside that i thought my hair was much more healthy looking and it also had more of a volume. well last week i got myself a buzz cut, have to say i really love it and actually don’t care as much to regrow my hair. Since then i haven’t been doing my daily test because hair is just too short. all in all i would say there has been an improvement but for now everything is anecdotal. this has been my eight week, will continue to report in the future.
cheers guys:D
Cut all the refined sugar, candy, sweets etc + carbs where you can and your hair will be much better. That’s where the secret lies.
Hey, me again. I’ve been of the ciggs for three full months now. Can’t really say i’m seeing any improvement. Still, i feel much healthier… Probably this works for some and not for the others.
Hey all,
So I’ve been smoking for 10 years now. (On and off)
Ever since last year, I’ve been smoking a lot more and started
To notice insane hairloss. Inspired by all your guy’s stories
I’ve decided to quite staring today.
I hope to see results & ill keep y’all posted!
Well, virtually the day after my last post I started smoking weed again, couldn’t believe it, after a month off and noticing the benefits I let my guard down, and guess what?, within a few days I was having a HUGE shed with 7-10 hairs coming out with a gentle pull and over the next 4 months smoked weed every day, from morning till night, what a plonker I am!
Anyway my hair went back to an incredibly thin ugly mess but all is not lost because 4 weeks ago yesterday i stopped again and my hair is looking tons better, seems like all inflammation is gone and NO hair is falling with a pull and new hairs are sprouting everywhere.
I know i said last time that i wouldn’t ever smoke again but a silly friend pursuaded me to have a bit and that is all it took.
My hair is growing back like a miracle.
Speak soon friends.
Another thing to mention is that I have been doing a lot of research like most of you and have found out that in certain individuals who are predisposed THC binds to cb1 receptors in the scalp and causes cell death, and I thing nicotine can also do the same thing in predisposed people. Remember everyone is different so just because it doesn’t happen to so-and-so doesn’t mean that it wont happen to you. Find out YOUR trigger and listen to your gut instint.
Balding is not normal.
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Hii eveone.I was smoking for the past 8 years.I am 28 now..
i came to visit this blog and decided with determination that i will quit this habit.Its been just 2 months and seeing a lot of improvement in ma hair follicles.
i also want to mention a ancient Hindu procedure which ma grandfather told me-keep the beard for one year.Dont drink or smoke and keep the celibacy(no sex and masturbation),pray whatever god u believe in and drink a lot of water.just do it and not only your hair but after one year u will glow outside and inside..am on my way.its up to you..but its really great results..like i told you its been just 2 months but guys its hard(celibacy i mean).
ALL the best everyone and wish me too that i get success in my mission..
Will update after a year(i.e june 2014).
god bless u..
“hare Krishna hare ram”
All you al,if you quit smoking ur life will definitely improve dont expect miracles at least till the first 3 months.start changing your life slowly….patience and perseverance are most essential,as far as hairloss is concerned hair health will improve on an average by 30-40% but if you are genetically predisposed to be affected by DHT and subsequent mpb…then the loss of hair will decrease but not completely cease.
still….after you quit smoking you will have more blood reaching ur scalp so more hormone supply hence at any cost whatever u do just stop getting stressed in any situation even if its nuclear holocaust…this helps lower cortisol level which when added to dht+smoking+bad diet+no excercise will be disastrous for anybodys hair no matter how resistant he/she is.So try to minimize risk from these factors and live good
PEACE TO YOUAL AND DONT FORGET GOD!
Well, it’s 6 weeks and 3 days since I quit and it is now very noticeable that my diffuse hair is filling in. I’m looking forward to the six month mark. It does take time guys so don’t give up, make sure you give it at least six months before you make a judgement. I make sure I exercise every day and sweat as much as possible, maybe it makes a difference, maybe not but my hunch is that it helps.
I am quite new in quitting process. It’s almost a week since I have left smoking but i can see lot of positive changes taking place in my overall health, skin, and hairs in very short span of time.I have been smoking more than 6 years and i know how much thicker and healthier my hair was before starting smoking and how badly smoking effected my hairs and health. I have been suffering from back pain which lead to me in tuberculous decease and I can say it for sure that smoking was the only reason which causes me to suffer from this decease. After recovering from this decease I noticed very rapid hair fall as i didn’t gave up smoking even after recovery.
But now I am in quitting process and believe not only my health was improved but also my hairs are re-growing, thickening and more and more healthier by each passing day which is very good experience for me and i am feeling very happy with these amazing changes.
I am not going to touch cigarettes for the rest of my life as they really kill you.
Stop Smoking and see the difference in your hairs and your overall health.
This is my message to all of you guys
Cheers
Ok so ive been a smoker for 12 years im 26 years old. About 5 months ago i got a job driving and went from smoking 1 pack a day to 2 packs a day. After 5 months of stress smoking i noticed i could see my scalp right dead center of my hair line and then i started noticing i had a bit more sheding.Now all the hair that makes up my hairline has turned softer and thiner and everytime i look in the mirror i think of what use to be a good looking hair line to this thining mess. I still cant stomach it no one should have to deal with hair loss in there twenties no one. Even after all of my pain and suffering i still cant seem to quit this habbit. I smoked my hairline down and it hurts.I light up with tears in my eyes and am trying to quit. They should make tobacco sales illegal and make it so if you want to smoke grow your own and smoke your own tobacco. Down with big tobacco they have cost many good people to much all in the name of profit.
tired of hairfall
if i quit smokin will my hair regrow
plz giv me a serious suggestion
I am a 41 year old woman and I have noticed my hair thinning a around my right temple. I was born with a rather unfortunate hairline for a girl. It is a hereditary thing but most of the women in my family were born with the hairline of a 50 year old man. But I am used to it and it never bothered me because I just cover it up with my hairstyles. But now I notice my right temple is REALLY becoming thin and it is starting to freak me out. And my overall hair volume is much thinner too. I have smoked off and on for the lat 20 years but definitely smoking more now than I ever have. And I notice the place where it is going thin is right above the place where I hold the cigarette so I am wondering if it is the heat from the lighter making me go thinner there, along with the toxins in the cigarettes. As a woman, it is even harder I think because lets be honest….men look sexy with bald heads. Women look like freaks. So I am going to quit smoking tomorrow for good, and start eating healthier and taking vitamins and hope to God it helps. Pretty sad that going bald scares me more than lung cancer. Just goes to show how addictive cigarettes are. I will post any improvements I see. Good luck to all trying to quit.
Stephen, not sure but I will let you know what I find out with my experience. I like bald headed men, if that helps. Nothing to be ashamed of at all. But I understand your wanting your hair back. I hope it happens for you.
thanks marla for givin me some hopes….i m not ashamed of it but i want it back more than nething else…
Hi everyone, I’m 31, been smoking MJ and cigs since 13.. my reciprocal. My dad also smoked both his whole life, and was bald by his early 30’s. He’s got the horseshoe. Well, I started noticing my thinning around 23 and it freaked me out just like everyone else. I started taking fin and that did help fill in the thin-ness a bit. But there was one time I looked in the mirror and to my amazement, all the thinning was gone and parting my hair down the middle showed zero signs of balding.
That was at age 25, and I was fresh off my last deployment in the service. Of course I wasn’t smoking weed at that point, but I had also stopped smoking cigs for that short 5 months. I never made the correlation, I assumed it was from the pills. Well, I’ve stayed on the pills this whole time and the last few years my hair has been slowly thinning out again. This last 9 months has been the worst and now I’m at a point of panic again. It’s the worst its ever been and the pills aren’t working.
Here’s the deal, that 5 months of quitting cigs was the only time since 13 I didn’t smoke them. My hair came back then. Now I’ve smoked the most pot/cigs ever over the last few years and my hair is getting really bad. I’m def genetically predisposed, but I’m pretty sure smoking in general speeds it up and makes it a lot worse. I quit weed two days ago and gonna try to ditch the cigs tonight and just start vaping if I cant stay away from the nicotine.. And I’ll be sure to update, because after reading all these posts, I’d be an A-hole not to contribute.
Well it’s been a month and I’m noticing a LOT of things, including thicker hair. But it just looks overall thicker, I cant really tell there is more yet, it’s probably a little early.
Raab C
-Canada’s Finest Brigade
I had quit on 24th March 2013 and was good till 4th of october … Trust me guys it was awesome … I had new strangs.. hairline had got thicker, 4th of october had a bad break up started smoking and drinking everyday again and I’m worst than before, just quit yesterday.. never going back again “Prayers Needed”
I have been smoke free for approx. 17 days 16 hrs 7 minutes and 46 seconds, after smoking for around 9 years (am 29 now). My hair was always mega cool, but started receding very shortly after I stated smoking. Never really associated the smoking to hairlessness but it does make sense. If you roll around in nuclear waste your hair will prob fall out too. On a trip to Amsterdam I decided to smoke so much that I would never smoke again and it seems to have worked. Am feeling so much better, can run and bike for so much further without feeling exhausted, skin is feeling smoother, and I think that new hairs are growing on my head?! Though not sure if they were always there and just never noticed them before… This forum has been a huge inspiration to me – maybe there is some truth in this theory! Certainly seems logical… Let’s see if more hairs grow back after abstaining for longer!
Hi Matt, we upgraded our website and some comments are missing. We are working on it. Thank you for reading BaldingBlog
This entire thread has been amazing. I read through every post. My story is crazy , but might be helpful. I was born and didn’t smoke until I was 34! LOL At the time I was going through a painful divorce (wife cheated etc) and I went to the beach with friends and started smoking. I had had some mild hair thinning (history on mothers side of baldness), but it wasn’t too bad prior to smoking. I smoked from 34-42 (age) about a pack a day sometimes more and my hair got progressively thinner. So I feel the smoking definitely enhances problems with people predisposed to them. I quit for 4 years from 42-46 and another stress factor led me to smoke again. In that 4 years and just before I started smoking my hair looked amazing, better than it had in years. So recently I just quit again, hopefully for good this time. First cigs are way too expensive. Second, I was ready, psychologically for ending this habit. And third, I just turned 50 and am losing lots of friends to cancer and other illnesses :( . I think obviously health habits can lead to healthy hair. One thing I have noticed is my friends who tend to be big beer drinkers usually have full heads of hair regardless of smoking or bald parents. From uncles in their 60s with full hair to friends in their 50s that look like they are 18. Not sure if this is just a random thing but perhaps an occasional beer or drink (or more than occasional for them) is good for your hair. Ill report in again as I get further along in my non smoking stage here! Best of luck to all!!!
Hi freinds,
My name is Vishnu.am 23 years old,I started smoking 2 years back,after 2 months I notice that there is a small range of hair loss,,,first time I neglect it,but then it become very worst situation,I choose too much ways to stop the hair loss,but all things not get gud result,at last I choose to quit smoking,,,I quit smoking in the day 15/08/2014,,,after 1 week I found some changes,,hair loss rate is drastically low,,,so plz quit smoking and get a good scalp and good hair,,,keep positive,,be happy
I am in the process…. From all who quit for atleast 2 months, reply back with results
quit for almost three months. wow, time flies. not sure if there is a progress, maybe some thin white hairs are new in the front. let’s see how it continues
iv quite few times before when i was younger and it worked then, I hope it will work again, I am quitting again on monday
Hi guys,
Great thread. IMHO there is absolutely no doubt that smoking and hair loss are linked. I started jogging almost every day a couple of months ago and just stopped smoking for a week now after reducing my smoking to 4-5 a day when I started running. I can see some hair growing back – nothing really striking but I’ve got a good feeling about it.
Don’t forget that before a hair falls, it dies – and that process can take up to 3 months! Don’t expect your hair to stop falling overnight. I know I will need to stop smoking on a long term to see any effect, but I don’t focus only on the hair thinning, it’s about the entire body, keep it healthy and your hair will look equally healthy.
Sometimes I see older men with a head full of hair smoking and I’m thinking that it is all bs and quitting won’t help. But I started to have a closer look at smoking people in general in the streets. There is a much bigger proportion of balding guys amongst them. Some people don’t seem to lose hair from smoking – and it can be very misleading -, but it’s not the case for most of us unfortunately..
I’m coming up to 25 years old, I’ve been a smoker for 4 years both weed and cigs. The top of my hair is thinning bad whereas in my younger days my hair was so thick people found it hard to cut my hair! Hoping that the zero intake of the chemicals in smoking will revitalise my hair again. I see a big link to smoking and hair loss and encourage anyone who wants ALL the health benefits of not smoking to stick with it! Enjoyed reading this thread so thought I’d add a cheeky input. All the best to everyone man!
im 19 years old and i honestly see a link with smoking and hairloss, i started smoking at 15 and i remember everytime i would run my hand through my hair a few strands would come out, i quite smoking about 3 months ago and i began working out as many times a week as i can and i would sit in the sauna after that as an attempt to improve the blood circulation in my body, and i feel like the amount of hair im losing has decreased and there are these little hairs growing on the left side of my head where my hairline used to be before the hairloss (im not sure if it was always like this or if this is just a result of my wishful thinking) but ive been following up with this thread for a while and i dont know if quitting will reverse the damage, but i hope it will and for the people who have commented about going back to smoking because they havent seen a change i hope you will look at things this way: you already did some damage to your body why throw it all a way because things didnt go your way, you still have the rest of your body to worry about. quitting smoking will benefit you greatly, you can build your strength and stamina, and have a chance to be healthy again, i know hairloss is devastating, but youve got a lot more to lose than your hair. i’ll post something again in the near future and hopefully i’ll have some good news. i wish the best of luck to you all
I’m Ash (a dude) and I’ve been smoking since I was 15, I’m now 26 so roughly 10 years. Although it’s more like 9 as I did manage to quit fot pver a year once between the ages of 18 and 19, and back then, I quit for diffetent reasons; teeth, skin tone, and generally looking unwell but I was younger then so noticed no difference in my hair, I guess it never bothered me to.egin with because I always had a good, full head of hair. Though, looking at it back then, I could see the early sines of hairline recession. When I quit though, everything did improve and my hair looked glorious and grew long and thick.The past few years though have been.very rough and.dificul. Ive been through a few bad relationships, a hell of a lot of smoking to deal with the stress, didnt eat well at all, stopped exerciaing and generally ae up on life when i noticed i didnt look as good as before and my hair especially. At this point tight now, I havr stopped smokinh thanks to the inspiration this site has caused, but the current state of my hair is medoum long, reasonably thovk but thinning on top aand my hair has receded at the top sides of my head quite a lot qoth sparse bits of hair covering those areas. Its been killing my self esteem and though i fear it may be goo late fot my hair now i am still willing to givr it a try. If thos works i hope to never see this website.again guys, but all the same thank you :)
I’m 39 yo and I stopped smoking this year. I’m completely bald for years (I’m fine shaving my head, it looks good on me).
1 month and a half after I stopped cigarettes I saw new hair regrowth where the scalp was bald for years. Now it’s 4 months without cigarettes and, no, I obviously don’t have a full head of hair, if you’d see me now you’d still say “he’s bald”, but you can see some new hair, very diffuse, but some strong hair. I also try to eat healthier and take care of my scalp with various oils and sulfate free shampoos (with kétoconazole is a plus). I did not stop smoking for regrowing new hair but for my overall health and I’m surprised of the effect on the quality of the scalp’s skin. It’s thicker. My guess is that the blood flow has increased and the nutriments and oxygen are now properly delivered to the folicles. Not saying that this can work for everyone, but it worked on me. My male pattern baldness is genetic so I don’t think that the cigarette is the cause of my hair loss (my reaction to the DHT is, like 99% of the MPB) BUT I now think the cigarettes increased it a lot and that I now maybe can regain some of what was lost where the folicles are still strong enough to grow again.
I normally never respond to these things, unless it’s something I truly beleive in. The average smoker who decides to quit will require more than one attempt to do so, they will actually take about 7 quitting attempts to completely quit. My story correlates with that statistic, and every time I quit, my hair began to grow back like a fern. The technicalities of this are vast, and I will list a few of them here:
1) Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to your cells, oxygen is entirely necessary for growth of new cells, including the cells used in production of skin, hair and nails.
2) Smoking will thin your blood vessels, furthermore raising your blood pressure and decreasing circulation, anything that lowers circulation will cause death of cells. A decrease in circulation to the scalp will cause A) loss of pigmentation i.e grey in of the hair, and B) slower or stunted hair growth.
3) Smoking inhibits the absorption of minerals which aside from bacteria, amino acids and some other lovely substances, are what our bodies are made of, including our bones (your bones will become brittle and lose density too, but you won’t notice that seeing as how they are underneath your skin), our skin (silica is one mineral used in our body’s production of collagen, which holds our skin together like an elastic band, with no silica, our skin will sag), hair (again with the silica), and brains.
4) Smoking inhibits our body’s ability to convert B vitamins to usable forms to our bodies. B vitamins convert food into energy and are entirely necessary for hair growth including the most beneficial for hair: Biotin, which turns our fat and oil intake into something our bodies can use. Oil is just as important for our bodies (if not more important) as it is for our cars, just (just make sure they’re good fats like omega 3, 6 and 9s, every oil has a different purpose, but all 3 aid in hair growth). Niacin or Vitamin B3 is another B vitamin which aids in circulation by widening your blood vessels and capilaries (small blood vessels), which increases blood flow everywhere in your body, including the scalp (be careful with this one because high doses of niacin can cause a flush effect, your skin will turn bright red for a half an hour if you take too much).
The Effects of smoking on hair growth are not limited to these, this is just an example for all of you. Some helpful tips are
1) quit smoking
2) eat salmon, walnuts, flaxseeds (omega 3s)
3) exercise often (anything that causes you to breathe heavily and take in more oxygen will be beneficial).
4) massage the scalp for at least 5 minutes a day, jojoba, olive, coconut and Argan oils will stimulate hair growth, cayenne added will increase circulation but you must be careful to make sure it doesn’t leak into your eyes because then you will have a much worse problem on your hands.
5) cut down on caffeine, it is a diuretic, notice how it makes you pee? It will cause you to urinate out a lot of minerals that haven’t yet been absorbed and B Vitamins (which are water soluble).
I Hope this was helpful, feel good.
Justin_Virga@hotmail.com if you have any questions.
Hey guys, I just want to say thank you for all your posts here. I read them with a smile and sometimes I laughed because I could correlate myself to the stories. All my life I have been having the thickest curliest hair, my teacher used to say I Will never go bald. Well here I am 23 years old with thinning temples and crown. You can see my scalp when I brush my hair backwards and if I wasn’t so thick haired before I be totally bald today. This fucking shit got me obsessed I see it everytime in the mirror. I noticed first when I was 21 but my guess is it started earlier. I have been smoking cigs since I was 14 and MJ since 17. So i quit from today, thanks I comeback in 6 months with results! What a fucking new journey I dont Know this new life, without the chemicals. Blessings
Now imagine your a women with these hair loss issues =( now that truly sucks No shaving a head and moving on for her, not quiet as sexy as it is for a man. I hope quitting help regain something for me Also remember though all those chemicals in cigarettes alter you body, everything from a hormonal imbalance, circulations to thyroid issues so maybe after you quit and stay quit awhile you should have a complete physical and blood work up =) Smoking does effect everyone’s body differently hair loss can come from so many things not just genetics as drs want to tell you when they can no longer figure it out. I pray for us all
guys it’s true…believe me..i was smoking since 9 years..when i was in std 7…and i was completely bald…my crown bas like wooh…clean road…bt it’s been like 6 month without any butt stick…not even any occasional one..i am getting my all hair back…its unbelievable
By stopping smoking u will put on some weight for sure and before you quit smoking shave you head for couple of times I am sure you will have your hair back … I did it and it worked really good just start applying only one product and stick to it could be shampoo or conditioner or oil or wax
I have got a very thick hair now …
I was been advised by a 87 year old man who still smokes and he was my cigarette buddy …
Hello, i have read all the stories on this website and it has inspired me to stop smoking. Little background is im 18 and first started smoking weed around 15 or 16.hate cigs so havent even touched those.and all my life have had super thick long hair and literally over a year my hair thinned dramatically and has kept getting thinner to this day. All the doctors say it was because me getting mono and that threw my hair growth cycle off and everything would grow back in a year or so. Well i kept smoking everyday and everytime i would notice mostly baby hairs falling out in the sink when i would ru hand through hair. Only fell out on the top and never this sides cause they were still thick. Would lose sometimes clumps of hair after a couple of mins running hand through hair. The hairs that fell out were mainly babie hairs too because my hairline is made up of manly baby hairs which makes for a pretty rough looking hairsyle cause my other hairs we long. I wear a hat almost everyday to school and whereever i go which really sucks cause i used to hate wearing hats. Well havent smoked for over a week now and no lie i dont lose hardly any hairs when i run hands through hair i fell tiny hairs all over my top scalp underneath my longer hairs now and I expect to have my normal hair back within a couple months cause my hair normally grows fast. The point is that some people are different when it comes to smoking and it might be a rare thing because all over the internet people say weed doesnt make hair fall out and it makes it grow and i used to believe that until i came to my senses and actually tried to stop. So if u believe smoking is the cause behind ur hairloss i hope u will attempt to stop. I do love smoking not gonna lie i see nothing wrong with it but my long thick hair is what keeps me from smoking when offered.also gonna buy a vape because i think it will help and give me something to do so i dont think about smoking or something i can do when im with my friends who smoke all the time. But will post back in a couple of months with results.best of luck to everyone expericing the nightmare of hairloss
So marijuana and weed is interchangeable with affects? Like stopping cigarettes but still smoking weed will do nothing ?
So is there any difference in regards to stop smoking cigarettes but continually smoking weed ?
Hi Guys, I started smoking since i was 13 i am now 27 Male. To quit smoking i Started taking Snus(snuff or snoof). Its kind of tobacco which you place it under lips, I started it as a alternate for Ciggs and it is less harmful but very addictive i guess more than ciggs. So just wanted to know if any of you guys know about it and does Snus also has the same effect on hair as smoking.. please let me know so that i can stop the snuss so to stop my hair fall.
Hi all,
Please read my comment as it is very important and I did not see anyone else mention this issue. I have never smoked cigarettes or weed in my life. Actually i have never smoked anything ever (not even any drugs) and I had beautiful hair. Honestly I modelled for a few products before I did something stupid. Well in 2011 I went on a vacation to Ibiza and everyone was on everything except me. So the only thing I tried and liked was litchi flavoured electronic cigarette !!! BAD BAD mistake. I was hooked. I was on 10mg since 2011 till 2016. I lost a third of my hair. I went to multiple dermatologists and i did mention vaping but of course they decided the connection cause they make money of tobacco companies and if I buy rogaine, they get a cut of that too. So I thought I am so dumb for knowing the reason and not facing the facts. I stopped vaping. I drenched my hair with coconut oil every night and washed it in the morning. Started a bootcamp exercise routine, cut out all sugar, fast foot, etc.. and started to really eat clean and I honestly can tell you after 3 months there difference is HUGE. I am just posting to tell you all the issue is also with the nicotine and the poison flavouring they use for the liquids. So PLEASE if you quit WEED and Cigarettes, DO NOT PICK UP VAPING. It is as bad. No one really knows what is really in those liquids and most are bottled in asian countries. There is no way to check. Not only that, I read reports that batteries exploded in some users mouth and they lost several teeth and needed surgery plus they had 3rd degree burns. Vaping may look safe and clean but I promise you it is not. The marketing of it is managed for it to look that way. Its very very bad and there are not recent studies on it. My health over all is so much better and my hair is nothing to compare to before. So please keep away from VAPING. Its just as bad if not worse. Wishing you all an addiction free life :)
@Sarah Hope you get head full of hair like before.
Even I am trying to cut off and stop Snus(snuff or snoof).
I have been loosing my hair evenly for about four years. I quit smoking for about 6 months and noticed my hair had stopped falling out and was definitely filling in. I started smoking again about two weeks ago and the whole process started again . Needless to say I’m convinced that smoking is the cause of my hair loss and I’ve quit again for two days . I will not be smoking again as I love the hair. It’s may take a month or two to see a difference in the hair loss don’t get discouraged :)
Thanks for the information. People always ask me about the connection between hair loss and smoking. You seem to have nailed it.
Hello, my name is Ryan. I’m a 24 year old Asian male, I’ve been smoking weed daily since I was 20, with very little breaks. I also picked up a cigarette habit a few years ago, smoking anywhere from 1-10 a week. My hair has been diffusely thinning, especially near the temples and crown. I’ve never had super thick hair (like enough to do a flat top or anything), but I’ve noticed hair fall and thinning since February 2017. Went to the derm and he told me that I should use Rogaine (which I really don’t prefer to use).
Been reading this blog for a while, and finally got the courage to quit both of these smoking habits. I will be running and sweating daily, mixed with doing deep breathing exercises and meditation. I will also be eating fish oil supplements and men’s 1 a day tablets. I promise I will update with my results in a few months.
(I know these posts aren’t super helpful to anyone, but I hope to post back towards the end of the year with an update.)
Best,
Ryan
Thanks, the comments is helpful
Hello I am smoker of 24 years here. I am 37 and I have quit smoking for one month now and have noticed my hair is falling out far less and it is waaaay thicker and shiny. My skin is full of color as well. When I go out now lots of ladies check me out and approach me even tho I have a receding hair line. The ladies never approached me when I was smoking. Probably because having a fag hanging out of your mouth isn’t very becoming. Anyways smoking is a waste of time and money and we don’t have a lot of either these days. Quit smoking and free yourself! Be your best self!
Good for you. You will also probably live longer and better.
William Rassman, M.D.