Does Vaping Cause Hair Loss? What We Know So Far

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However, it is important to remember that vaping is a relatively new phenomenon, and we simply have not had the time and studies to fully understand what the long-term consequences may be with excessive or ongoing use.

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When it comes to cigarettes and hair loss -- the connection has been clear for a while now. One Taiwanese study found that cigarette smoking increased the risk of moderate to severe male pattern hair loss by nearly two-fold as compared to non-smokers, and that smokers were more likely to develop early-onset genetic hair loss than non-smokers.

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But, does this negative impact on hair still hold true when we are talking about vaping vs cigarettes?

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Below, we will cover why nicotine itself can cause problems for your hair, review why vaping may be harmful even if nicotine is removed, and give our final thoughts on vaping and hair loss.

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Read Related: Does Vaping Cause Acne? 5 Ways Vaping Can Affect Your Skin

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Why nicotine alone can be damaging to your hair follicles

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A lot of the negativity towards cigarettes often gets thrown towards the non-nicotine chemicals inside and the burning matter that you are inhaling.

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But, it is important to realize that just plain nicotine itself can be harmful to your hair as well -- even if there are no other chemicals and nothing is burning.

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Nicotine alone has been found to cause constriction of the dermal papilla (part of the hair follicle unit), locally decreased blood flow around the hair follicles, DNA damage accumulation, dysregulation of the hair growth cycle, and an increase in follicular inflammation and fibrosis.

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Basically, if you are switching to a vape in hopes of avoiding hair consequences, but you still have nicotine in your vape, it is possible that you may not be protecting against as much as you think.

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Vaping may come along with detrimental chemicals, even if nicotine is skipped

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Maybe your vaping habits only include vapes that do not contain nicotine, does that mean that it is less harmful to your hair? 

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The truth is that we do not know yet if the vape solutions themselves can be harmful to your hair. Since vaping culture is relatively new, we simply do not have a lot of studies looking into specific negative consequences, like hair loss.

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Vape solutions can also be extremely different from one company to the next, meaning that different chemicals which may be detrimental to your hair long-term may or may not be included.

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What we do know is that vaping even nicotine-free vape fluids can lead to significantly higher levels of toxins in urine, as compared to no vaping at all.

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Also Read: Does Smoking Cause Hair Loss? 7 Negative Effects Smoking Can Have on Hair

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Vaping and hair loss: bottom line

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While there may be some general health benefits or aid in eventually quitting that come from making the switch from combustion cigarettes to vaping, it should not be seen as a consequence-free swap. 

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Smoking is a known contributor to worsening or early-onset hair loss, and while we do not have much data on the subject yet, it does not seem like just switching to a vape gives you a free pass on these negative hair effects.

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The issue is that the nicotine itself, whether in cigarette or vape forms, can lead to follicle damage, shortened growth cycles, and reduced scalp blood flow. It is these factors that can exacerbate patterned hair loss.

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If you are wondering if a nicotine-free vape fluid may then be the ticket, we don’t quite have the data on how that may affect your hair yet. But, we do know that even nicotine-free vape fluids can increase the amount of toxins in your body (as measured by a urine test).

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Since an increase in toxins is never a good thing when it comes to general hair health, we can safely assume that even nicotine-free vapes are likely doing your hair no favors, at best.

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Strut Health prescription hair loss formulations online

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If thinning hair or early-onset male pattern hair loss are big concerns for you, you may want to consider rethinking your use of cigarettes, nicotine products, and vapes.

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Getting these things out of your life may do your future hair some good, but it can’t be promised that any damage that has already been done can be reversed.

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Certain medications may be used to help slow the progression of patterned hair loss (whether it was sped by smoking or not).

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In some users, certain medications like Minoxidil and Finasteride may also help regrow hair to some extent, although the main goal with treatment is stability and maintenance of what you are currently working with.

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Here at Strut, we have a passion for hair loss formulations. We offer customizable prescription options that allow us to adjust the formula to your needs, goals, and preferences. Many of our compounded products can combine multiple active ingredients in one formula, as needed. 

If you are interested in seeing if a prescription hair loss formula is a good fit for your hair concerns, simply select a product and complete a free online questionnaire and image-based consultation in under 15 minutes.

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Our U.S. licensed providers will review your information and develop a treatment plan for you, if appropriate. Then, your prescription will be put together at a licensed U.S. compounding pharmacy and shipped to your home with our free shipping.

*Compounded drug products are not approved or evaluated for safety, effectiveness, or quality by the FDA. Rx required.