A gym is the key to a healthier life, so move your body! We Pakistanis often turn to junk food instead of opting for a healthy diet and gym workouts to improve our physical and mental well-being. But you frequently hear rumours that gym and hair loss are interlinked. It is a general role that exercise increases our hormone levels. It spikes our testosterone levels, which impacts hair growth. But we have good news: gym and hair loss have no connections. Bodybuilding and workouts shouldn’t affect your hair growth. However, low-quality, high-protein supplements can be your culprit. Let’s dive into scientific facts and figures to clear up any confusion!
In This Blog
Gym and Hair Loss: Facts To Discuss
Direct Exercise Factors
Break the myth that physical exercise directly causes hair loss. Your active lifestyle can improve your scalp health by boosting blood flow and nourishing hair follicles for better growth.
Indirect Exercise Factors
Although a direct link between gym and hair loss is a myth, indirect factors such as sweat accumulation, nutritional deficiencies, overtraining stress, and specific supplements can still impact hair health. Simple habits like regular scalp cleansing, balanced nutrition, and avoiding tight hairstyles can help reduce these effects.
Research Insights
Studies show a link between intermittent gym workouts and hair loss due to potential oxidative stress, whereas consistent weekly workouts may help protect against this stress. This underscores the intricate relationship between regular gym exercise and hair loss, emphasising the need for further research.
Can Bodybuilding Cause Hair Loss?
Let’s resolve this misconception, too. Luckily, there is no connection between bodybuilding at the gym and hair loss. The testosterone levels in your body spike temporarily after resistance training and weight lifting. However, these short-term increases may have long-term effects on hair loss.
Effects of Gym Workout Sessions on Hair Health
If you want an authentic and scientifically proven answer, it’s YES! The reality is the opposite. Workouts rush blood flow to your scalp, delivering more oxygen and nutrients to hair follicles. This results in your hair growing much healthier and prevents hair loss. Although specific studies prove that exercise might indirectly affect hair health, these are usually treatable with simple remedies. Let’s discuss some insights from a sizeable survey-based study. It shows a surprising link between workout intensity and androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the most common type of hair loss. Here’s what they ended up:
Exercise Type and Oxidative Stress
Research revealed that oxidative stress harms hair follicles. This strain is likely triggered by light exercise, and interestingly, people with AGA were more inclined to participate in low-intensity activities such as walking for 30 minutes a day than those without hair loss.
Intensity’s Role
More vigorous exercise did not show a similar connection. Research suggests regular moderate-to-high-intensity exercise might protect against oxidative stress by boosting the body’s antioxidant defence mechanisms. This highlights a complex relationship between gym workouts and hair health.
No Direct Cause
Notably, the study doesn’t claim that low-intensity gym workouts cause hair loss or that avoiding exercise can prevent it. Further clinical trials are needed to explore this relationship in detail. Except for exercise, factors such as ageing or harsh hair therapy are more directly linked with hair loss.
The Silent Culprits: Unexpected Triggers of Hair Thinning
1. Sweat and Scalp Care
Intense workouts cause increased sweating, which can build up on the scalp and irritate hair follicles. A simple fix is to wash your hair thoroughly after intense sweat sessions, allowing the natural oils produced during exercise to benefit your scalp temporarily. This approach helps keep your scalp fresh while preserving the advantages of those oils.
2. Your Diet
In his multiple lectures, Dr Waseem discussed how a nutritious diet is crucial for nurturing hair from the inside out. Pushing yourself too hard in workouts without proper nutrition can deprive your hair of vital nutrients. To promote hair growth, ensure your meal plan is as balanced as your workout routine, focusing on a diet rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals for healthy hair.
3. Stress and Your Hair
Exercise is excellent for alleviating stress, but an excess of anything is wrong. It may increase stress hormones like cortisol and potentially trigger telogen effluvium—temporary hair shedding. It’s vital to maintain moderate workout intensity.
4. Your Workout Hairstyles
Tight hairstyles can place undue stress on hair follicles, potentially leading to traction alopecia, a type of hair loss that affects the hairline. Choose looser hairstyles to help protect your hairline.
5. Supplements and Steroids
Seeking an extra boost with low-quality supplements or steroids can harm your hair health. These substances promote muscle growth by mimicking male hormones, which can enhance their masculinising effects. They may alter testosterone levels, and if you are genetically prone to androgenetic alopecia, this could speed up gym and hair loss. The ultimate solution is to get a proper prescription from a competent nutritionist at Ginnastic Arena, I-8 Islamabad.
Balancing Exercise and Hair Health: Dr. Waseem’s Expert Advice
Doctor Waseem at Ginnastic Arena is always a good supporter of an active and healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise is safe and beneficial, so we strongly encourage gym members to adopt an active lifestyle. If concerns about gym and hair health are holding you back, rest assured that achieving fitness goals and maintaining healthy hair can go hand in hand with the right approach (as discussed above).
Ginnastic Arena, Islamabad, offers valuable guidelines on exercise intensity levels to help shape your routine. Your daily workouts can improve your hair health and overall wellness as long as you don’t push yourself too hard!
Remember, if you experience significant hair loss, it’s essential to consult your dermatologist at Ginnastic Aesthetics to pinpoint the cause and find the best treatment. Depending on your needs, options could range from medications like Minoxidil or Finasteride to treatments like hair transplant surgery.
At Ginnastic Arena, we aim to empower our clients with the knowledge to balance their active lifestyles with gym and hair loss treatment.
Nut Shell?
The notion that gyms directly cause hair loss lacks substantial evidence. Staying active benefits your overall well-being and your hair’s condition. By managing the indirect factors that could affect your hair during your fitness routine, you can enjoy the perks of staying active without worrying about gym and hair loss. Embrace your fitness goals with assurance, knowing they support your physical and hair health.
