Too Much Chlorine and Hair Loss?
Hello doctor,
My building water supply has too much chlorine in it in the ‘hot’ water. I have to take head bath with luke warm water so I have to mix hot and cold.
Is this the cause of my increased hair loss and thinning on the crown since moving to this building?
Does your opinion agree with traditional Ayurveda on this?
Chlorine in our tap water and hot water should not cause hair loss or increase your hair loss. It is an urban myth. If it was true, a disproportionate number of professional swimmers would be bald, as they are in a chlorinated pool all day long.
For readers that aren’t familiar with Ayurveda, it is a traditional, holistic treatment of medicine from India. From Wikipedia — “Ayurveda deals with the measures of healthy living, along with therapeutic measures that relate to physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony. Ayurveda is also one among the few traditional systems of medicine involving surgery.”
So if you’re asking if I agree with Ayurveda that chlorine is causing your hair loss — no, I do not.
Here’s what a 10-year swimmer and MD says on the subject:
Yes, chlorine allergies and sensitivities are possible, but chlorine is also harmful to all people, even if they don’t have allergies. The most important thing is to make sure that the pool you’re using checks their chlorine levels properly and has good ventilation. “Swimmers’ hair” is classically bleached in color (blondes can even turn greenish!), brittle, and dry. Scalp tingling or discomfort is not uncommon. I recommend that you take a soap shower immediately after using the pool and to wash your hair with a special shampoo for swimmers and follow that with a good conditioner. Bathing caps help a lot. Some women also put conditioner in their hair before swimming and they say that this helps; I don’t have any proof of this though.
Google dr. donnica…cheers