Hair care is something we don’t pay attention to. We think that shampooing and keeping it moisturized is enough. In our busy lives, hair can be less important and this neglect is causing the premature hair loss that we experience now. Sometimes we pay no mind that we get stands on the brush or have split ends here and there.

Experts say that hair loss is caused by a lot of things. Poor hygiene blocks the hair follicles and preventing hair growth as a result. Stress and poor diet can make us vitamin deficient which can also lead to hair damage and eventually hair loss. But all those things can be corrected by using products that repair the damage we’ve caused.

But there’s one thing that we could do that’s possibly irreparable. Generally, smoking affects the body in negative ways. But not too many people know that it contributes to hair loss in both men and women.

How Smoking Affects Hair

If you’re a smoker, be very much aware that you’re killing your looks starting with the hair, one strand at a time. Here’s how smoking leads to permanent hair loss:

• Reduces blood circulation

Most perennial smokers have been going at it for years and with that being said, they have been gravely increasing their risk of baldness. While it’s true that smoking isn’t the leading cause of hair loss, it still has a significant impact on blood circulation especially on the extremities which include the scalp regions. If blood isn’t flowing properly, your hair could die out eventually and fall off. More often than not, they don’t grow back.

• Pollutes the blood

Smoking fills the blood with toxins that are generally detrimental on hair and the scalp. When the blood that’s travelling in our veins is polluted by poison (nicotine), the liver can no longer keep the system cleansed. In this case, dirty blood in our scalp veins can destroy the hair follicles including those that are still growing. In other words, it’s killing even the baby hair. If there’s no opportunity for growth, hair would die eventually without proper nourishment.

• Clogging of follicles

New hair can’t grow if the scalp is too damaged. And this is partially caused by the smoke and the dirt that’s circulating in the air. Plus, years of using countless hair products do take a toll. When the pores are clogged, natural hair doesn’t grow back. The rest of the healthy hair on your head will go through its normal growth process. If they die and no new ones are growing, you’re headed for ultimate baldness.

• Quitting won’t make hair grow back

Unfortunately, if you’re bald or have bald patches already, quitting or giving up on smoking won’t correct the hair damage that’s been done. What you use to rescue your hair won’t mask the fact that you’ve been inadequate in hair care.

If you must stop smoking, don’t do it for hair loss. In fact, you should have your general state of health checked up on. If it was able to affect your hair and scalp, chances are there’s something wrong with your major organs too. You’ve been warned now, are you still going to light up that cigarette?