Source
r/tressless•
echo78669

Stopped smoking. Losing hair.

I quit smoking cold turkey exactly 73 days ago and over that time, my hair has thinned out quite a bit. I'm hoping it's just an initial shed from the tobacco, nicotine, and other harsh chemicals exiting my blood stream, but I notice no new signs of regrowth.

Is it too early to tell? Has anyone else who's quit smoking been through this? I'm starting fin and minox today...

(UPDATE 9/11/14) Today is the 94 day mark of quitting smoking and I am happy to report that my hair has significantly improved since my last post. It's thickened up quite a bit and I am pretty much where I was at before I quit smoking 94 days ago. Granted, I have been on finasteride (proscar) and minoxidil (kirkland foam) for the past 3 weeks, but there's now way the treatments could be working for me so fast. I've started to shed in the past week or so, but my hair density still looks great to the point where my scalp is not as visible under lighting.

Overall, I am convinced that quitting smoking has been great for the health and density of my hair. I panicked when I started to aggressively thin a few months into quitting, but it has since really recovered.

Posted Aug 21, 2014, 4:05 PM UTC · edited

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echo78669OP•

It's pretty frustrating. The main reason why I quit smoking cold turkey was that I noticed I was gradually losing hair density. 73 days later and I've noticed the hair loss has really picked up.

I guess you're right. I was on the path to losing hair, as it was. I know overcoming the addiction to smoke is something to be proud of but it sucks that the results for my hair that I were hoping for turned out to be the opposite.

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z0nk3d0ut•

Well this might of happened whether you quit or not, but I think quitting can only have a positive impact on your health and appearance so give it all you got! I recently quit vaping VERY high levels of niccotine and I think it contributed to my hair loss at such an early age (17) along with a lot of stress. Good luck man!

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echo78669OP•

Thanks. Day 80 and going strong. I definitely have ten times the endurance when I run, play hockey, and have sex. My gf says my erections have gotten thicker and harder, so yaaay.

GJ on quitting, too! In the end, no one can claim that the smoking/vaping of toxins has a positive affect on one's health, let alone appearance. As for dealing with stress, I'm right there with you from a job dealing with a lot of projects, deadlines, and a micro-managing bitch of a manager.

But there are other ways to deal with stress and my go-to are the aforementioned physical activities that I'd recommend to anyone who's stressed out. It's scientifically proven that your body produces endorphins that make you happy when you exercise. For a 17-year old guy, I assume, you should have plenty of opportunities to be active!

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