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During the festive period many of us seize the opportunity to overindulge in some of our favourite foods and drinks. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying your favourite treats in moderation, consuming too much of something could be damaging to your health.
Drinking alcohol in excess is a key example of this. Guzzling a lot of booze in a short amount of time can lead to injuries, liver diseases and even cancer among other issues.
However, it could also have an unexpected effect – on your hair. Pharmacist from online pharmacy Chemist Click, Abbas Kanani, warned that binge drinking could lead to dehydration that in turn can cause shedding.
“Although alcohol does not directly cause hair loss, it does cause other issues that lead to hair loss,” he explained. Alcohol is a diuretic, so excessive amounts can cause accelerated dehydration which will dry out hair follicles and, over time, cause hair thinning.
“This can also cause high levels of acid in your body that deplete protein stores, further causing hair loss and other health issues.”
Alcohol prevents the production of a hormone called vasopressin, which plays a large role in the regulation of water excretion.
Abbas said: “This is why we have high levels of water loss through urine when we drink.”
A tale-tell sign of hair loss from dehydration is that “growth may slow or stop, and the hair shafts may become brittle and develop split ends”.
It negatively affects hair strength, scalp condition, and increases shedding.
Abbas said: “If a person drinks alcohol on an empty stomach or does not drink enough non-alcoholic fluids while consuming alcohol they can be at higher risk of dehydration.”
A lack of hydration isn’t the only thing that impacts hair growth.
He added: “Drinking an excessive amount of alcohol can cause nutrient deficiencies too and that will cause hair loss.
“Alcohol inhibits nutrient breakdowns and impairs your body’s ability to absorb the nutrients it needs in order to keep your hair healthy.
“Chronic consumption can prevent the absorption and usage of vital nutrients such as thiamin, vitamin B12, folic acid, and zinc.”
Our brains are also affected when drinking alcohol which can lead to feelings of being less inhibited, depression, aggression, anger, anxiety or stress.
This can negatively impact hair growth because long-term stress is linked to a condition called telogen effluvium.
“Telogen effluvium is a condition that causes your hair to stay in the resting phase of growth,” Abbas said.
When this happens, your hair can no longer grow and will begin to fall out in large amounts.
Not all forms of hair loss can be prevented, particularly in instances of genetics, illness and age, but the good news is that you might be able to reverse hair loss from drinking alcohol, or at least slow it.
“You may be able to regrow healthier hair if you stop drinking heavily, whether that be through binge drinking or consuming more than the recommended number of units, and by increasing your daily water and vitamin intake should help,” Abbas said.
To support hair growth he also recommended upping your intake of vitamin A, a B vitamin called biotin, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E either through diet or in supplement form.
