Scientists have been speculating since very long if smoking causes hair loss or increases an already ongoing loss of hair. If not hair loss, smoking certainly causes damage to other functions of your body and may indirectly affect hair growth. Before we arrive at a conclusion, let’s look at what happens when you smoke.

When you smoke, the nicotine content flows in your blood and causes narrowing of the blood vessels. This reduces the amount of oxygen that gets carried to your scalp and may indirectly impact the hair growth cycle on your scalp. This MAY accelerate hair loss. It’s better that you cut down on number of cigarettes if you can’t quit it completely. It’s good for your overall health.

There are several studies to tell that smoking can lead to premature graying and hair loss. In some cases it may also accelerate hair loss in men.

Doctors advise not to smoke after hair transplantation for the reason mentioned above. Smoking after hair transplantation may reduce the oxygen content in the blood going to the scalp and may cause skin infection, may also slow down the process of the growth of newly transplanted hair on the scalp.