Somewhere along the line, hat-wearing got a bad wrap when it comes to hair health. Some people even believe that wearing a hat too often can lead to hair loss (we will explain later why this is unlikely).
However, as it turns out, hats may do just the opposite for your hair -- they may play a protective role.
Below, we will highlight why the “hair loss from hats” myth is unlikely, why hat-wearing may actually be good news for your hair and scalp, and review some results from twin studies where one twin is a hat wearer and one is not.
Who knows how the “hats cause hair loss” myth got started. Maybe people started noticing that their buddy with thinning hair wears a lot of hats. But, did they get the hair thinning from the hat, or did they start wearing more hats because of a receding hairline? In most cases, it is more likely the latter.
Hats can’t “suffocate” your hair, and your scalp doesn’t really “need to breathe”. This is because your hair follicles are nourished by nutrients and oxygen through the vasculature in your scalp -- not snatched out of the surrounding environment.
However, there may be some rare cases of someone wearing hats and headgear that are extremely tight. If a hat were for some reason so tight that it was restricting blood flow to the top of your scalp, this could end up being an issue for healthy hair growth and overall health. But, this would be so tight that it would be extremely uncomfortable, and the wearer would likely not put up with it.
It is also important to keep headwear clean, so avoid instigating or worsening bacterial or fungal scalp infections that could have a negative effect on hair health.
The bottom line here is that you can go ahead and wear your favorite hats as much as you like without the worry of hair loss. Just make sure they fit comfortably and keep them clean.
As a piece of good news for the hat-wearers of the world -- you may actually be doing something good for your hair in the long term.
Hat wearing can protect your hair and scalp from the damaging effects of UV rays from the sun. Excess sun exposure can make hair dry, brittle, and even break down pigment molecules. For the scalp, it can cause dryness, or follicle damage over time.
One interesting study was done looking into hair loss in 92 pairs of male identical twins to try and identify environmental factors that may correlate with more or less hair loss. The results showed that daily hat use was correlated with decreased temporal hair loss as compared to the twin that did not opt for daily hat wearing.
Hat wearing seems to be a perfectly fine thing to do, whether you are concerned about your hair thinning or not. It is unlikely that wearing a hat is a cause of hair loss. In fact, it may actually have a protective effect against the sun’s UV rays.
However, if you are experiencing male pattern hair loss, just wearing a hat will not be a safeguard against this genetic situation progressing.
There are a variety of medications available which have been found to help slow the extent or progression of genetic hair loss, including male pattern hair loss and female pattern hair loss.
At Strut, we offer topical and oral hair loss medications that may help your hold on to more of your hair for longer, and may even lead to some level of regrowth in certain users. We utilize prescription ingredients like Finasteride, Dutasteride, and Spironolactone, combined with tried and true OTC options like Minoxidil to try and amplify the benefits of our formulations.
If you are interested in seeing if a prescription hair loss option is a good fit for you, simply select a medication from our hair loss treatments and complete a free online questionnaire and image-based consultation with our U.S. licensed doctors in under 15 minutes.
If you are a good candidate for treatment, your medication will be approved and shipped to your front door from a U.S. licensed pharmacy with no shipping costs.
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