Air pollution 'can make you bald'

May 2008

Experiencing hair loss?

Now, you can blame it on air pollution, instead of only your genes, for a study has revealed that men living in contaminated areas are more likely to go bald that those breathing cleaner air.

Male pattern baldness, which develops gradually, typically starting with the appearance of a bald spot in the crown and thinning of the temples, is known to be hereditary.

But a team of researchers at the University of London has linked the onset of male pattern baldness to environmental factors like air pollution and smoking, British newspaper the 'Daily Mail' reported on Monday.

According to the study, the toxins and carcinogens which are found in polluted air can actually stop hair growing by blocking mechanisms that produce the protein from which the hair is made.

"We think any pollutant that can get into the bloodstream or into the skin and into the hair follicle could cause some stress to it and impair the ability of the hair to make a fibre.

"There are a whole host of carcinogens and toxins in the environment that could trigger this. It suggests that if you stop smoking or live in an area with less air pollution, you may be less predisposed to hair loss.

"There is an inherited basis to hair loss, but we have now identified environmental factors that are important too," lead researcher Mike Philpott from the University's School of Medicine at Queen Mary was quoted as saying.

The researchers came to the conclusion after analysing hair follicles from balding men and subsequently studying the samples in laboratories.

The study, published in the latest edition of the ' Journal of Investigative Dermatology' , raises the hope that yet more treatments could be developed to combat hair loss in men.

Air pollution 'can make you bald'