Does Masturbation Cause Hair Loss?
For many, masturbation is a private thing, which combined with lacking sex education in many areas unfortunately leads to misconceptions and worries. One common worry is that excessive, or indeed any, masturbation can lead to hair loss.. We will explore this idea in this post.
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The Myth
One of the supposed ‘dangers’ of masturbation you might have heard is that ‘masturbation will make you go bald’.
Quite where this myth came from is hard to pin down. It might be one of the over-the-top fear tactics used a long time ago, as with other hair-related myths (such as that masturbation causes hairy palms).
Another more recent idea might be that since ejaculation contains protein, it is depleting the body of protein that could be used in hair growth. We can dismiss this one right away, as although semen has a high percentage of protein (approx. 5g per 100ml), the volume is too low for that to make much of an impact. Since the average ejaculation contains about 3.5ml of semen, this means that only 0.18g of protein is lost.
Another possibility that stems from misunderstanding science is thinking that masturbation releases DHT (dihydrotestosterone), a sex hormone that causes male pattern baldness. However, a study shows the exact opposite happens, and refraining from masturbation can cause testosterone levels to rise.
What Does Affect Hair Loss?
After looking at what doesn’t cause hair loss, it is time to see what does, for both men and women.
Hereditary
Male/female pattern balding comes from your genetics, and is a gradual loss of hair over time, usually most noticeable by the time you are in your forties.
Hormonal Changes
Pregnancy, childbirth, birth control pills, and menopause could have an effect on hair loss.
Medical Conditions
Diseases with the thyroid, alopecia areata (an autoimmune disease that affects the hair follicles, preventing growth), as well as infections such as ringworm could be the reason.
Medicine/Medical Treatments
Various medicines as well as some treatments (such as radiation therapy) could have the side effect of hair loss. Be aware if you notice changes after starting new regimens.
Stress
Some of you might have heard of this before, but high stress levels can lead to various conditions causing hair loss.
Hairstyles
Strange as this may seem, hairstyles that pull the hairs and treatments that can damage the follicles and/or cause scarring can contribute to losing your hair.
Vitamin/Mineral Deficiency
Iron, vitamin D, zinc, and selenium deficiencies are linked to hair loss/preventing regrowth.
Some might think that there is nothing that can be done regarding hair loss, but actually there are some treatments.
What Can I Do?
First and foremost, you should see a doctor, as they are the best at diagnosing and offering treatments to such conditions.
There are some over the counter treatments, as well as lifestyle changes that could help as well.
Medications, both prescription and over the counter, can help. Some of these, such as Rogaine and Propecia, you might have already heard of.
Hair transplants take healthy follicles and transplant them to the thinning areas. Surgery can be costly and painful though.
Using lasers to reduce inflammation and promote growth, but as it is a new treatment, more research is needed to see if it is truly effective.
And finally lifestyle changes may help depending on the causes.
- Quitting smoking can make your whole body healthier, including your hair.
- Massaging your scalp can stimulate the follicles.
- Eating a balanced diet, making sure to get a wide range of vitamins, nutrients, and minerals can ensure you do not have deficiency related hair loss.
- Reduce stress, as high stress is not good for your body, including hair health.
Summary
We hope that from all the above information, it is clear to see that there is no correlation between masturbating and hair loss. In fact, sometimes masturbation could help prevent it! As masturbation can reduce stress and lower testosterone, both causes of some kinds of hair loss.
If you do suffer from hair loss and want to see what can be done to fix it, speak to your doctor first, and try to change to a healthier lifestyle. Embracing and accepting hair loss is always an option as well, as being bald can be a very attractive look.
There are a few possible issues that can arise from masturbation, but generally you should enjoy the many great benefits, and be wary of believing any of the old myths and superstitions.
