Do Hats Cause Thinning Hair? Here's the Science and 3 Ways to Avoid Thinning Hair
Uncover the truth: Can wearing hats lead to hair loss? Explore the science and three proven ways to prevent thinning hair with Jolie.
If you’ve ever been concerned about thinning hair, odds are you’ve wondered whether or not your hats are a contributing factor. It’s a tale as old as time—“That hat is going to make you go bald!” The question is, is there any merit to this claim? Can hats really make you lose your precious locks? Read on to find out and learn a few ways to reduce the possibility of thinning hair from the comfort of your home.
The Science Behind Thinning Hair
Your hair grows from follicles, which are small structures inside your scalp's skin that produce hair. Inside this magical little pocket in your skin is a hair bulb, where your luscious strands spring forth via the division of cells and the production of a protein called keratin. As the cells divide, more keratin is produced and shaped into a helical structure that becomes your hair.
The hair growth process happens in a cycle and consists of three phases: anagen (growth phase), catagen (transitional phase), and telogen (resting phase). The anagen phase is the active growth phase, during which hair follicles produce new hair. It can last for several years, and the length of this phase determines the length of the hair. The catagen phase is more of a transitional phase, where hair growth slows down, and the follicle shrinks over the course of a few weeks. The telogen phase, also known as the resting phase, is when the hair follicle is rendered inactive, old hair falls out, and the cycle repeats on a healthy scalp, and new hair is grown. These continuous phases occur simultaneously on different hair follicles throughout the scalp.
A few factors can contribute to hair thinning and loss, primarily genetic predisposition, hormonal imbalance, and scalp health. We at Jolie like to focus on the scalp and give it its best shot at thriving for years to come.
Exploring the Hat-Hair Connection
There are fairly solid reasons why people believe that the consistent wearing of hats can contribute to hair loss. Some of these reasons include the tightness of the hats and the stress and tension they place on the hair and follicles, the sweat and dirt that can accumulate and become trapped underneath and on the scalp, and a lack of air circulation to allow your hair and scalp to breathe. All of these seem like logical reasons that would lead a person to conclude that hats cause hair loss. But is it actually true?
According to McGill University, the odds of wearing a hat being the root cause of substantial hair loss are highly unlikely. So, all of you who have been waiting on the edge of your seats for the reveal can take a deep breath and relax. But don’t get too relaxed, because according to the McGill article, “What it (hat-wearing) can do, though, is speed up the balding process if it’s already happening. The act of putting on or taking off a hat can pull out hairs that are already loosely attached to the head (such as those in the telogen phase or those growing from miniaturized follicles)... If your hat is tight enough, it can cut off air and blood flow to your hair follicles, but it would need to be abnormally tight to do so. Even still, this constriction is unlikely to cause baldness on its own; it would rather just worsen already occurring balding.”
Ultimately, if you think your hat is causing your hair to thin, there is good and bad news. The good news is, it’s not the hat; the bad news—you need to figure out what is causing your hair loss.
3 Practical Ways to Prevent Thinning Hair
1. Invest in a Jolie Filtered Showerhead
Attacking your hair thinning can often be a multi-pronged spear, but starting at the source is important. The most often overlooked portion of a person’s daily routine is as plain as day—the water from your showerhead.
More often than not, municipal water supplies play host to hard water minerals such as calcium and magnesium, dissolved solids such as hard metals, and chemicals used to treat water for human consumption, like chlorine. Thankfully, the Jolie Filtered Showerhead can resolve all of these issues and more in as little as three steps: unscrew the old, apply the plumber’s tape, and screw in the new. With its proprietary blend of filtration mediums, the Jolie Filtered Showerhead strips your water of any and all potential impurities, leaving you with nothing but crisp, clean, immaculate water for your body and soul, all without sacrificing your water pressure.
Without the Jolie Filtered Showerhead, all those contaminants listed above and more can soar out of your showerhead at high temperatures, land on your skin and scalp, and become trapped. What this means for your hair is that hard water minerals and other contaminants are building up on your scalp and around your follicles, choking the life out of your hair before you even enter your hair products into the equation. What’s worse is that these buildups can actually prevent your expensive product from doing its job before it even begins! Unfiltered water means unmitigated damage to your hair, skin, and scalp.
In fact, according to a robust study conducted on the efficacy of the Jolie, of 27 participants over 12 weeks, 81% saw a significant and noticeable reduction in hair shedding simply by filtering their shower water. Of these, 59% saw their hair thinning reduced by a rate of 33% or better!
2. Choose the Right Hat
Now that you’ve got a root-based solution (pun intended), we can move on to the hats that were never really doing the damage in the first place. The truth is that all of the reasons people believe hats cause hair thinning can actually be doing some damage in the long run, assuming you’re already suffering from hair thinning.
Wearing a properly fitted hat that doesn’t apply too much pressure to the follicles and hair is paramount. A hat that is too tight can cause traction alopecia, which is when your hair begins to fall out due to too much strain from an outside force. Hairstyles like tight ponytails and corn rows can also cause this type of hair loss. Make sure your hat is being treated gently and allowed to breathe, or you could advance your situation in the wrong direction, ultimately doing more harm than good.
3. Do Regular Scalp Massages
This one shouldn’t be too hard. Scalp massages feel good, and they’re good for you! When done gently and regularly, a scalp massage can actually help stimulate your follicles and trigger growth on a healthy, well-washed scalp (with the help of the Jolie Filtered Showerhead, of course). Additionally, a scalp massage can help relieve tension and stress, which have been known to have a variety of negative effects on the human body through the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. According to the National Institute on Aging, “Subjecting mice to mild stress over many weeks… reduced hair growth.” Keep your stress levels down and massage that scalp! You can also use neutral oils like olive oil or jojoba oil to moisturize your scalp and enhance your massage.
Minimize Hat-Related Hair Thinning with a Jolie Filtered Showerhead
The research shows that wearing a hat does not solely cause hair thinning, but it can certainly make it worse. Thankfully, there are affordable and readily accessible methods you can employ to start turning your situation around, which can be especially important for the average air-loving hat aficionado.
Switching to a Jolie Filtered Showerhead gives your scalp and follicles their best shot at maintaining your hair health from the very first step, and from there, wearing well-fitted, comfortable hats can be a huge benefit. Massage your scalp, you deserve it! And it could even help your hair grow stronger, longer, and more luxurious. Whatever methods you employ, the most crucial is this—your shower water is wreaking havoc on your hair and follicles, and by starting your journey with a Jolie Filtered Showerhead, you can help to stop your hair loss in its tracks.
