# Men's Hair Loss > Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic >  does wearing a hat cause hairloss?

## bertrumhenderson

my hair is very fluffy and i often wear a hat before i put product in to get it a bit flatter.

i've looked online to see if wearing a hat causes hair loss, and basically the whole of the internet says that it doesn't.

however, my mother came in from work and told me she had been reading an article by some german hair expert or something. this person said that wearing a hat cause cause hair loss as it causes 'wear and tear' to your hair. is this true?

i figured here would be the best place to ask.

----------


## Spex

Complete BS

----------


## Mirage

Can't say it any better than Spex.....

----------


## Havok

propaganda by visor manufacturers.

----------


## Hurts

Yes if you wear a very tight hat for 15 hours that does not allow air to your scalp

----------


## PatientlyWaiting

I don't believe hats cause hair loss.

But coincidentally, my hair started thinning and excessively shedding when I started wearing baseball caps every day to play baseball. 1 month in, when I was 16. Before that, I never wore hats and I never thinned. Also, my hair did not get any better while I was on Propecia and Rogaine, and still wearing baseball caps every day[no longer to play baseball, just to cover my hair loss]. I got rid of all of my hats and haven't worn any other hats this year, and now all of a sudden Minoxidil and Finasteride decide to work better than before.

So I don't know. Every thing points to wearing hats triggered my already predetermined MPB, but didn't exactly caused it, it just sped it up maybe? But then doctors and scientists say otherwise, and I don't know more than doctors and scientists. 

It's supposedly shut down as a myth because if hats cause hair loss, then why do we have hair on our armpits where it is covered by our arm all day, and why do we have pubic hair which is covered by underwear and jeans/pants all day? Why do we grow toe hair if we wear socks and shoes everyday and suffocate our feet for hours a day. I want to believe hats trigger hair loss because of the coincidence I went through with wearing hats and getting hair loss immediately. But it doesn't make sense that the head would be so different than every other body part in regards to what causes the hair loss.

----------


## Winston

> Yes if you wear a very tight hat for 15 hours that does not allow air to your scalp


 Hats do not cause hair loss no matter how long you wear them or how tight they are. Hair growth is not dependant and air reaching your scalp and in order to cut off the blood supply which would cause hair loss as well as scalp necrosis, the hat would have to be unbearably tight, causing excruciating pain. Theoretically I guess its possible if  someone was being tortured by being forced to wear some sort of specially rigged unbearably tight cap,  but it cant happen in the real world.

----------


## Havok

how many MLB players are bald? i'm guessing not too many.

----------


## Dr. Glenn Charles

Only an old myth. But beware you can get sever hat head.

----------


## BackwardsBalding

Seeing how decreased blood flow is present in the heads of balding men I don't think rulling out a tight hat as at least contributing to hair loss in an individual already loseing hair is smart. Better words might be that it wont cause hair loss but if worn too tight for long periods of time it certainly can speed it up to some unkown degree.

----------


## Dr. Glenn Charles

Anything is possible, but it would have to be a really really tight hat to effect blood circulation.

----------


## BackwardsBalding

> Anything is possible, but it would have to be a really really tight hat to effect blood circulation.


 I agree it would need to be pretty tight however I don't think that is to hard to achieve at least not in my case as I often get headaches wearing hats do to my egg shaped head they fit too tightly. Dr Charles sorry to go off subject but I would love to hear your point of views on the information provided on the thread "Male Pattern Baldness Cured" by me on my original account ResearchNeverFails. Its a long read but certainly worth it and it would be very beneficial to hear a Doctors input on the matter. I have seen significant growth using these methods Its quite amazing every day new hair pop up and I promise to post pictures soon. In an effort to keep this post primarily about the main topic I think due to my egg shaped head hats very much affect blood flow and I try not to wear them unless they are loose fitting.

----------


## PatientlyWaiting

> how many MLB players are bald? *i'm guessing not too many.*


 Lol, you're way off. The majority are bald or have a receding hairline. Few MLB players have a full head of hair. Relatively speaking.

----------


## PatientlyWaiting

> Seeing how decreased blood flow is present in the heads of balding men I don't think rulling out a tight hat as at least contributing to hair loss in an individual already loseing hair is smart. Better words might be that it wont cause hair loss but if worn too tight for long periods of time it certainly can speed it up to some unkown degree.


 Who ever outright confirms or denies 100% that hats speed up/don't speed up hair loss, is lying. Me starting to lose hair when I started to wear hats regularly, does personally raise suspicion for me in which if I didn't wear baseball caps regularly, my hair loss would have most likely last longer to start. Why did it start at 16, the same age I started playing baseball all year round? Hats definitely don't cause hair loss, it doesn't trigger MPB, that would be nonsense. But I believe if you're already gonna get MPB, wearing caps regularly will speed up the process, but i'm not 100% sure on that. But I don't think it can be shut down 100% either.

----------


## Havok

> Lol, you're way off. The majority are bald or have a receding hairline. Few MLB players have a full head of hair. Relatively speaking.


 that's a pretty bold claim. i see a lot of MLB players with mature hairline like derek jeter but they're far from being 'bald.' i watch a lot of sports and i don't see any noticeable disparity in baldness from MLB/NFL to say MLS or NBA.

----------


## VictimOfDHT

I kinda have suspecion that my baseball cap is what's causing the transplanted hairs in the hairline and temples to fall out. Having an oily scalp and a bad dandruff problem and wearing a hat is a bad thing I think. Wearing a baseball cap doesn't cause MPB if it's not in you of course.

----------


## AgainstThis

Don't be absurd.

A lot of people associate hat wearing with hairloss, particularly because when you take them off, you see a lot of lost hair on the brim. So your peon, terrified mind assumes it's the evil hat's deed.

Not so.

During my army stint, we all developed helmet-jockey baldness phobia. The bitter truth, as with anything related to hairloss, is that it's all genes. Any normal hat-helmet won't damage your hair at all. If it's in you to lose it, it'll make it look shittier and if you have sebhorroic dermatitis as well, you'll look even worse, but it's NOT the hat/helm.

----------


## BackwardsBalding

> Don't be absurd.
> 
> A lot of people associate hat wearing with hairloss, particularly because when you take them off, you see a lot of lost hair on the brim. So your peon, terrified mind assumes it's the evil hat's deed.
> 
> Not so.
> 
> During my army stint, we all developed helmet-jockey baldness phobia. The bitter truth, as with anything related to hairloss, is that it's all genes. Any normal hat-helmet won't damage your hair at all. If it's in you to lose it, it'll make it look shittier and if you have sebhorroic dermatitis as well, you'll look even worse, but it's NOT the hat/helm.


 There has been a study that has confirmed that decreased blood flow is found in the areas of the head where balding is occurring. When this decreased blood flow is present it would be negligent to assume a very tight hat would not contribute to hair loss as the arteries that bring blood flow to your head are very close to the surface of skin. DHT thrives on areas of the head that have low blood flow its that same low blood flow that will allow DHT to build-up in the follicle in the first place. However, I doubt all of baseball players are wearing hats so tight that they restrict blood flow or that your army helmets were even slightly too tight. So yes tight hats can affect flood flow thus speeding up hair loss and no regular fitting hats and army helmets would do absolutely nothing to hair loss.

----------


## PatientlyWaiting

> that's a pretty bold claim. i see a lot of MLB players with mature hairline like derek jeter but they're far from being 'bald.' i watch a lot of sports and i don't see any noticeable disparity in baldness from MLB/NFL to say MLS or NBA.


 There's absolutely no question at all that there are more bald men in the MLB than any other sport. No question. I'm 100% confident about that.

----------


## Havok

> There's absolutely no question at all that there are more bald men in the MLB than any other sport. No question. I'm 100&#37; confident about that.


 where are you pulling this statistic from? because i'm genuinely curious. i'd loved to be proven wrong for curiosity sake. lol

i don't want to sound like an ass but sometimes ppl tend to see what they want to see. you know how they say if you think women are horrible drivers then that's all you're going to see and remember. each time you run into horrible women driver it's going to solidify your biased perception even more or something like that.

----------


## BackwardsBalding

> where are you pulling this statistic from? because i'm genuinely curious. i'd loved to be proven wrong for curiosity sake. lol


 I think he is saying that this is what he has observed. I would have to agree that baseball hats only when worn tight will have an affect on hair loss.

----------


## Artista

Overall FACTS~Hats *DO NOT cause hairloss.*

----------


## Ziggyz123

I used to think that it was BS, but I had a black lab and right where his collar was on his neck was a ring of hair that was gone. I imagine it must have been rubbing and maybe the friction caused the hair loss, but maybe not. I guess it can cause it if you where it back against your hairline or something this causing traction alopecia.

----------


## burtandernie

As someone that lived years without any hint of MPB at like 20 years old let me tell you hats dont cause MPB or contribute at all. Hair that is not affected by MPB is really strong. Its not coming out unless you yank it super hard or it gets ripped out by getting caught in a machine or something. It doesnt just fall out when brushed against a hat.
What causes MPB is inherent in every man by birth. The testosterone that makes you so manly likes to destroy hair over the years. Its all hormonal and it makes perfect sense if you think about it. Although there are deeper layers to the problem than just hormones.

----------


## Paul Shapiro, MD

This tread started with a question if wearing a hat causes baldness by wear and tear to your hair.  
What we know about Androgenetic Alopecia is that DHT binds to androgen receptors of susceptible hair follicles and this activates genes that cause hair loss.  The follicles start to miniaturize and become small villus hairs and eventually disappear altogether.   A biopsy of a scalp with Androgenetic Alopecia will show miniaturized hairs, more hair in the anagen phase, and signs of inflammation.  There have been some studies, though few and small, which suggest that there is decrease blood flow in the balding scalp.  
We also know there is a condition called traction alopecia.  This is when constant traction on the hair causes inflammation and reduction in hair follicle size.  Initially it is reversible, but with time it is irreversible.  This is seen in patients who have hair styles that keep their hair constantly pulled tight such as corn rows.  
So, to answer the question of does wearing hat cause baldness by wear and tear I think we can say definitively no.   If circulation is a factor in male pattern baldness it would be happening on the cellular or very small microcirculatory level.  We do not see increase baldness in men with hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.  And we know they have decrease circulation.   This shows that a general decrease circulation is not a cause of hair loss.  So if circulation is involved it is at a microscopic lever.  Possibly when DHT binds to the genes it could cause decrease circulation or oxygenation on a cellular level.  Or maybe the inflammation and decrease in the number of hair follicles seen in balding demands less oxygen and thus there is decrease circulation.  We don’t know.  
But if diabetes and hypertension does not cause increase baldness then it is unlikely that wearing a hat will decrease the circulation enough to have any effect on the follicle.  As Dr. Charles said anything is possible and maybe if one wears a very tight hat for prolonged periods of time it can promote hair loss.  But I think this would only be in men who are going to bald anyway because of their genetic predisposition to balding.  
I think the hair loss Zigg123 saw in his dog is most likely traction alopecia.
As for baseball players, when I watched the World Series last year, wearing a baseball helmet sure didn’t seem to affect Hunter Pence’s hair.   

----------


## qwanlee

According to this study:
The contribution of endogenous and exogenous factors to male alopecia: a study of identical twins PMID: 23629119

Hats turn out to be beneficial. It could be protection against UV(which are a factor in gray hair not proven in mpb tho).

The hat could be trapping CO2 gas and "forcing" it back into the skin. Yessss....... I guarantee the skin breathes(about 2% total CO2 thru skin).

Search for carboxytherapy and qwanlee:

Something I've thought of trying:  ( home carboxytherapy)

This will give you a slow steady release of CO2 instead of just a 10 second CO2 poof reaction. 

What you will need:
baking soda
distilled water
1 gallon vinegar
1 gallon plastic container with a plastic lid(easier to cut).Preferably clear so you can see when the reaction ends
some air hose from a fish aquarium or hardware store.
silicone seal
shower cap
PH test strips

Then make a saturated baking soda/distilled water solution(as much as the water can hold without sediment)
Pour that into some type of mold. Ice cube trays would work. Freeze

Cut a hole into your container slightly bigger than the air hose. Use silicone seal on both sides.

Pour about 1/2 gallon of vinegar into the gallon container. Drop the baking soda ice cubes into the vinegar. Seal the lid quickly. 

Actually before that you would have had your shower cap with the other end of the hose underneath your scalp.

Pure UNADULTERATED CO2 baby.  :Cool: 

Drop more ice cubes in as the reaction slows. 

Test the PH of the used vinegar. When it is a 7.0, you will need fresh vinegar .

Repeat.

Brush your NEW head of scalp hair. It's THAT fast(kidding). But, I think you could very well mimic clinic carboxytherapy results because you only go in occasionally for those. With this method you can keep your scalp on 24/7 CO2 if you want to.

Plus it doesnt limit other topicals. This opens up the application logistics because it shouldnt interfere with other concurrent treatments. 
Although, I would do the CO2 treatment on a scalp that is clean. Creams and oils may block the CO2 diffusion into the skin.

----------


## qwanlee

> This tread started with a question if wearing a hat   If circulation is a factor in male pattern baldness it would be happening on the cellular or very small microcirculatory level.  We do not see increase baldness in men with hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.  And we know they have decrease circulation.   This shows that a general decrease circulation is not a cause of hair loss.  So if circulation is involved it is at a microscopic lever.  Possibly when DHT binds to the genes it could cause decrease circulation or oxygenation on a cellular level.  Or maybe the inflammation and decrease in the number of hair follicles seen in balding demands less oxygen and thus there is decrease circulation.  We don’t know.  
> But if diabetes and hypertension does not cause increase baldness then it is unlikely that wearing a hat will decrease the circulation enough to have any effect on the follicle.  As Dr. Charles said anything is possible and maybe if one wears a very tight hat for prolonged periods of time it can promote hair loss.  But I think this would only be in men who are going to bald anyway because of their genetic predisposition to balding.  
>    


 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3853891/

Many of the factors of CVD are found in mpb. The serum homocysteine levels correlate well with degree of baldness according to the study.

"and SH increased with increasing grade of AGA [Table 4, Figures ​F"

We know that aldosterone levels are elevated in mpb and fpb. 
Both aldosterone and homocysteine have deleterious effects on bone endothelial progenitor cells(CD34+). We see CD34+ EPC's lower in one study of balding hair follicles.

I think there is an all out assault on bone EPC's. Oxidized LDL elevated in mpb does an number on EPC's also. You HAVE TO get bone EPC's to the scalp. I think something( T. gondii) is disrupting HIF-1 signalling of scalp to recruit bone EPC.

Search for this post(it's required...kidding)   "Androgenic Alopecia- You're Balding Because of Your Bones"

If you get EPC in your scalp you get angiogenesis which is needed and where I agree with you in a moment.

You said: (I think correctly) that it is in the microcapillaries of the scalp. Well, from this study we see there are problems with microcapillaries in the nail beds of alopecia patients. Think what gets hit hardest in diabetes....NAILS and extremities like feet.

Ok...I'll end there. The study:

Capillaroscopic patterns in patients with systemic sclerosis, psoriasis and alopecia and their correlations with serum concentrations of several angiogenic markers 

Gra?yna Chodorowska1 / Ma?gorzata Michalska-Jakubus1 / Joanna Bartosi?ska1 / Agnieszka Gerkowicz1 / Micha? Adamczyk1 / Dorota Krasowska1 
1Department of Dermatology, Venerology and Pediatric Dermatology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland 
© 2015. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License. (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) 
Citation Information: Polish Journal of Public Health. Volume 125, Issue 1, Pages 49 - 54, ISSN (Online) 2083-4829, DOI: 10.1515/pjph-2015-0024, May 2015 
Copyright Clearance Center 
Publication History 

Published Online: 
2015-05-09 
Abstract 

Introduction. Capillaroscopy is a non-invasive imaging method that allows cutaneous microcirculation to be analyzed. During the last decades, a diagnostic and prognostic potential of nailfold capillaroscopy (NVC) has been gaining increasing appreciation. The main indications include Raynaud phenomenon and scleroderma spectrum diseases, however the usefulness of this technique is also suggested in a variety of non-rheumatic diseases. 

Aim. To assess capillaroscopic patterns in systemic scleroderma (SSc), psoriasis (PV), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), alopecia areata (AA) and androgenetic alopecia. To evaluate serum levels of several endothelial and angiogenic markers, and their relation to capillaroscopic pattern. 

Material and methods. There were evaluated 295 patients with systemic scleroderma (SSc), psoriasis (PV), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), alopecia areata (AA) and androgenetic alopecia, as well as age- and sex-matched controls, were examined. In each subject, NVC was performed and serum concentration levels of several angiogenic markers. 

Results. In SSc three NVC patterns: early, active and late were distinguished. Angiopoietin-2 concentrations were higher and andothelial microparticles were lower in patients with late NVC pattern. We found several differences between the NVC pattern in PV and PsA. No correlations between NVC pattern and serum levels of angiogenic markers were revealed. In AA, we distinguished both normal and abnormal NVC patterns, although the normal patterns were more frequent. Branching capillaries and features of neoformation were often present in patients with the abnormal pattern. In androgenetic alopecia, the normal NVC pattern was most frequently present, however, we found several statistically significant capillarosopic alterations, like branching capillaries, features of neoformation and altered distribution of capillaries. 

Discussion and Conclusions. Serum levels of Ang-2 and EMPs may reflect capillary damage in SSc. NVC pattern varies between PV and PsA patients. 

The presence of abnormal NVC patterns in alopecia patients might show the role of disturbances in microcirculation in the diseases. Further studies are required to confirm the hypothesis.

----------


## jamesst11

I do believe it can cause hair loss, because we obtain energy through photosynthesis... the chloroplasts within the hair need to capture photons from the sun or it will die, like grass under a rock... haha NO completely false.  Severe and constant tugging and pulling on the hair, such as with tight braids, cornrows, etc... can cause traction alopecia.  If you are CONSTANTLY wearing the hat and it is SUPER SUPER tight and it is pulling your hair?? haha.. who knows, maybe.

----------


## qwanlee

> I do believe it can cause hair loss, because we obtain energy through photosynthesis... the chloroplasts within the hair need to capture photons from the sun or it will die, like grass under a rock... haha NO completely false.  Severe and constant tugging and pulling on the hair, such as with tight braids, cornrows, etc... can cause traction alopecia.  If you are CONSTANTLY wearing the hat and it is SUPER SUPER tight and it is pulling your hair?? haha.. who knows, maybe.


 James...I didnt know where you going with the chloroplasts... Good recovery. I was HOPING you were joking.

----------


## WHTC Clinic

Which expert wrote the article?  Maybe there are translation errors...

----------


## qwanlee

> I don't believe hats cause hair loss.
> 
> But coincidentally, my hair started thinning and excessively shedding when I started wearing baseball caps every day to play baseball. 1 month in, when I was 16. Before that, I never wore hats and I never thinned. Also, my hair did not get any better while I was on Propecia and Rogaine, and still wearing baseball caps every day[no longer to play baseball, just to cover my hair loss]. I got rid of all of my hats and haven't worn any other hats this year, and now all of a sudden Minoxidil and Finasteride decide to work better than before.
> 
> So I don't know. Every thing points to wearing hats triggered my already predetermined MPB, but didn't exactly caused it, it just sped it up maybe? But then doctors and scientists say otherwise, and I don't know more than doctors and scientists. 
> 
> It's supposedly shut down as a myth because if hats cause hair loss, then why do we have hair on our armpits where it is covered by our arm all day, and why do we have pubic hair which is covered by underwear and jeans/pants all day? Why do we grow toe hair if we wear socks and shoes everyday and suffocate our feet for hours a day. I want to believe hats trigger hair loss because of the coincidence I went through with wearing hats and getting hair loss immediately. But it doesn't make sense that the head would be so different than every other body part in regards to what causes the hair loss.


 Yah...you bring up some valid points. If you wear pants and underwear like most of the world then it would be impossible for there to be pubic hair. I guess we know the answer to that.

Coincidentally, I have some gray hairs on my scalp but almost no grays on my chest. So, I suppose my shirt is shielding my chest from UV.

----------

