On average, drugs can stay in your system for around 2 to 4 days upon use, and they come with a long list of side effects, including anxiety, liver disease, heart disease, kidney damage, respiratory problems, the list goes on. One of the less commonly talked about side effects of drug use is: hair loss.
So, how does drug use cause hair loss? Well there are a few ways that hair loss can occur when using recreational drugs.
For one, drug use can interfere with your natural hair growth cycle. This condition is known as telogen effluvium, and occurs when your hair follicles are shifted into the rest phase of the hair growth cycle. In order to understand this process, let’s quickly cover the hair growth cycle.
Your hair moves through three main stages of growth:
The next way drug use can cause hair loss is through structural damage. More specifically, drug use alters the keratin that makes up your hair, causing damage and hair loss. A study of the hair structure in drug users was able to determine that excessive drug use weakens and breaks your hair, lifting it from the shaft. This, as you can imagine, can cause excessive hair loss over a short course of time.
Lastly, drug use causes stress on your body and your mental health. Long-term exposure to stress can cause extreme hair shedding which is also a contributor to telogen effluvium. When you are not taking care of your body, exposing yourself to stress, and increasingly being exposed to trauma, hair loss is the outcome.
While methamphetamine use causes hair loss through the many ways mentioned above, you can also experience hair loss through tactile hallucinations. Tactile hallucinations are a symptom of meth addiction and consist of sensations felt in the body, like bugs crawling on your skin, and other uncomfortable sensations.
Tactile hallucinations can cause hair pulling, skin picking, and other harmful bodily injuries, self-induced.
You might be surprised that marijuana made the list, but studies support that hair loss and marijuana abuse are related. Regular marijuana use can affect your endocrine system, which in turn can increase hair loss.
Your body needs a proper balance when it comes to your hormones, so anything that alters the homeostasis in your body can create hair shedding among other health issues in the long-term.
An addiction to cocaine can cause hair loss through nutritional deficiencies, altered sleep patterns, and diminished self-care. Prolonged use of cocaine (sometimes called White Lady) can reduce your appetite, which causes you to get less of the vital nutrients your body needs to run efficiently- this includes growing your hair.
Cocaine use can also affect your sleep patterns. When you are not getting sufficient sleep, your body cannot handle stress efficiently which can cause hair shedding.
Misuse of adderall without can cause hair loss. Typically when you are prescribed adderall by a doctor, you have regular check ups to ensure the drug is right for your body.
When abusing adderall on your own, symptoms and side effects can go unnoticed and undiagnosed, leading to hair loss.
If you are looking for hair loss reversal, there are a few holistic ways you can reduce hair loss from drug use, grow back your hair, and regain your overall health.
However, before trying to treat hair loss, you need to address your drug addiction. Trying to grow back your hair, while continuing the use of drugs will be counter-productive. Try to focus on recovery first, this will allow your body to recover from drug use and create a healthy environment for your hair to grow back.
Breaking free from addiction is hard to do on your own, so getting professional help is the best way to safely and effectively stop drug use. Holistic treatment from an addiction recovery center can support your long-term success and addiction recovery.
Once you are on the road to recovery, you can begin holistic hair loss treatment and the good news is, there are several ways to do so. Using LLLT, making lifestyle changes, reducing stress, are some of the best ways to hit your #hairgoals.
LLLT, or low-level laser therapy is a non-invasive hair loss treatment. LLLT uses cold laser light to regenerate your hair follicles and stimulate hair growth. While it might sound straight out of a science fiction movie, studies have shown that LLLT is a safe and effective treatment for hair growth. To use LLLT, you simply wear a laser cap a few times per week, for about 30 minutes at a time (this time can differ among brands). Within about 6-9 months, you should start to see new growth and improved hair density.
If you are not sure if laser therapy is right for you, take this quiz to determine if you are a candidate.
Getting rest, moving your body, and eating nutritious foods are all essential treatments for hair growth. Your body needs to be at its best to facilitate sustainable hair growth. Getting quality sleep every night will help reduce stress and allow your body to repair while you sleep. Moving your body everyday will stimulate blood and oxygen circulation which is vital to scalp and hair follicle growth. And lastly, eating nutritious foods will fuel your hair growth through vital vitamins and minerals.
Making changes in your lifestyle can take some time to stick to, so don’t be hard on yourself. Try to make little changes every day, as these little changes lead to big results. Just focus on taking care of your body in a nourishing and living way.
As mentioned above, stress can cause excessive hair loss rather unexpectedly, so getting a handle on your stress is imperative to growing back your hair. While managing your stress can feel like a daunting task, there are some simple ways you can cut back on stress. Simple ways to reduce stress include mediation, getting outside in nature, spending time with family, trying a yoga class, and focusing on self-care. While stress is unfortunately a normal part of life, you can always change your response to it.
Hair loss is never something you want to experience, but the good news is that you have several options to grow back your hair and improve your health.
If you are struggling with addiction and need support in your recovery journey, our team at The Hope House is here to help.
Tiffany Fuller is a creator for illumiflow, a revolutionary brand helping its customers regrow their hair, and Premium Web LLC.
