Alcohol and hair growth rate

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Hi everyone - I have been pondering this over the last few days.

Alcohol is known to be toxic to the human body. So I was wondering if there were any studies done on alcohol consumption and hair growth speed. Or if any of you have done tests on it - with alcohol and without alcohol, or would you be interested?

I have always been a non drinker. My growth rate is an inch per month.

Just a thought...:)

[cwarren]

Drinking alcohol doesn't change my growth rate. I am a moderate drinker (a few drinks on the weekend when I go out). I have gone months without drinking and didn't get any extra growth :(

Alcohol becomes a problem when you're a heavy drinker. It depletes the nutrients in your body, forces your liver and kidneys to work harder and causes dehydration.

[owlathena]

I've gone through phases where I've drank often and also when I've gone months without drinking at all. I started drinking semi-regularly when I got to college, and I never noticed any changes in my hair/hair growth. I suppose that because alcohol can make it so that your body does not absorb the nutrients you eat, heavy drinkers might have problems with malnutrition, which would affect hair. Just my :twocents:

[chou]

I have 3-5 drinks a week and get 1/2" per month--exactly as the same as when I was an underage non-drinker.

[Tisiloves]

Moderate drinking can actually be beneficial to your health, or at least you have to drink an awful lot to have as high a rate of morbidity and mortality as a teetotaller.

[Redhead Rebel]

I haven't had alcohol for months, then I had some on Saturday and my hair started shedding like crazy on Monday and its still going. I'm not sure if the shedding is related to drinking but it scared me :(

[SerinaDaith]

Hmmm this is an interesting topic. My mother is a recovering alcoholic and her terminal length is right around 29 inches. Perhaps she did too much damage to see any further growth. She does a lot of other hair no nos as well so I always figured it was breakage or medication based. I am a very light sporadic drinker for obvious reasons. I won't drink with any real regularity or heavily.

[akilina]

I always wonder about how bad alcohol really is... I mean it is one of those very old time drinks... Beer and wine have been around for AGES and heavily consumed ever since!
Why does it all the sudden have such a bad rap??

I know that there are many health risks that come up, so I am not completely stupid to the concept. Everything in moderation.

My hair grows the same no matter how much beer I drink, and I am a very heavy beer drinker.

I have cut back a LOT lately though, I will add.

My boyfriends mom swears by her miller highlife. She is 56 and spent some of her life on hard drugs, smoking cigarettes at a young age, and still does smoke, and has been drinking beer forever. She says her miller cleanses her system. I am sure many many people could disagree but its not worth arguing with her.

When she goes to the doctor and has scans and tests they are in complete AWE. There is not one sign in her body that she is a smoker or drinker. Not one bit. They said her insides look pristine.
Her hair also grows incredibly fast. As does my best friend (my bfs sister). She drinks a lot of beer too and her hair just sky rockets!

I am glad this thread was made though..I have been wondering a lot lately about this.

[furnival]

I'm a heavy drinker. I've been one for more than fifteen years, and my hair is currently the longest it's ever been. After a blood test my doctor said all my levels were perfect and I was a picture of health, so not all alkies are unhealthy and malnourished! My hair seems to chug along at the normal growth rate.
My Mum is a lifelong heavy drinker too, and she has beautiful thigh-length virgin silvery hair. We both have really fine hair too, so thigh-length is no mean feat.
ETA: My Dad drinks very rarely if at all, and he's bald. ;)
:beerchug::alcoholic::hmm:

[AineMuirne]

I never drink and never have and I get about an inch a month... that being said, I doubt casual drinking would affect hair. A bit of red wine a week would probably help because of the antioxidants.

Heavy drinking is a different story. I have seen the evidence of this. My family has a few very severe alcoholics and their hair and skin (along with the rest of them) are rather unhealthy. By comparison, dull, thin hair that was thick and lovely before alcoholism. I know of two alcoholic women with very long hair which, while still beautiful, used to be much more so before alcoholism.

[furnival]

Come to think of it, I know a lot of people who drink heavily, and their hair ranges from dull and unhealthy to jaw-droppingly wonderful. I think a lot depends upon the person themselves, their genes and their overall health. Alcohol may affect some people's hair adversely and not others.

[Kelikea]

One of my close relatives is an alcoholic and her hair grows faster than mine. I used to drink a lot, and then I've gone through phases of not drinking, and also of drinking moderately. My hair doesn't seem to change, regardless of my drinking.

[KwaveT]

I have never heard of this. I think of alcohol being negative on body in two different ways. One is on the liver and second on the brain. Yes alcohol actually changes brain chemistry. This is why epileptics are told to stay away from alcohol. Alcohol can make seizures worse. Real heavy drinking can actually give someone epilepsy that has never had seizures in their life.

[akilina]

Well, if anything I am happy I am not the only LHC-er who drinks a TON of beer :]

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Well I don't know if heavy alcohol use has any effect on growth rate or not. I was wondering if any studies had been done on it, since it is a toxin.

[AineMuirne]

A quick Google search yields

http://www.ehow.com/about_5329682_alcohol-cause-hair-loss.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/028251_hair_loss_balding.html
http://www.the-alcoholism-guide.org/alcoholism-and-hair-loss.html

And, related: http://www.the-alcoholism-guide.org/moderate-drinking-guidelines.html Because when I mentioned knowing alcoholics, I mean alcoholics. Like people who can't function or have a steady job because they drink so much, not people who drink a six pack of beer a night. I mean like a 24 pack a day or more.

[ApatheticFairy]

I drink three times a year-- Anniversary, New Years, and birthday about two drinks, usually a hard cider-- and I only get a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch growth every month. -.-

[Tota]

I know two heavy drinkers (one is an alcoholic, the other one is a party monster) and they both have gorgeous strong hair that grows like weed. Sadly.

[spidermom]

Moderate drinker; 2/3 inch per month on average.

[PolarCathy]

I drink very little, sometimes nothing for half a year, sometimes two beers twice a month or half a bottle of red wine at a party once a month. Growth, also very little. Sigh.

[furnival]

And, related: http://www.the-alcoholism-guide.org/moderate-drinking-guidelines.html Because when I mentioned knowing alcoholics, I mean alcoholics. Like people who can't function or have a steady job because they drink so much, not people who drink a six pack of beer a night. I mean like a 24 pack a day or more.
That's interesting. I've never done any of these questionnaires before. According to them I am an 'end stage' alcoholic, whatever that means, and have been for a very long time. And to think I always blamed my disinclination to hold down a job on a healthy disregard for authority! Must be the booze. I'd better sit back and wait for all my hair to fall out ;)

[dragonfly90]

It's good to know I can drink a lot with out it adversely affecting my growth rate :D just kidding. I have around 5 drinks a week, tops.

[spidermom]

As with anything, individual results may vary. Some people can smoke 2 packs of unfiltered cigarettes per day and live into their 90s, too, but that's not a good reason to throw caution to the wind regarding smoking. Same with drinking.

[longforthis]

I heard that if you do a scalp rinse with vodka your hair becomes very shiny and it increases growth rate...?

Has anyone tried this before..? LOL

[Tisiloves]

I heard that if you do a scalp rinse with vodka your hair becomes very shiny and it increases growth rate...?

Has anyone tried this before..? LOL

It was generally agreed that the percentage of alcohol in vodka would be very drying. Beer rinses work well, though.

[Elanadi]

I drink and my hair is almost at BCL. I'm on my third grow out to classic. Based on the responses to this thread alone, I think there is little to no connection between drinking alcohol and hair growth rate. Based on science, alcohol is not poison, and is actually beneficial in smaller to moderate amounts. And frankly, I'm not going to live in a bubble hoping my hair grows faster anyhow, we only have one shot around in this lifetime, and it's not all about how fast my hair grows. Cheers! ;)

[RubyTuesday]

I drink and my hair is almost at BCL. I'm on my third grow out to classic. Based on the responses to this thread alone, I think there is little to no connection between drinking alcohol and hair growth rate. Based on science, alcohol is not poison, and is actually beneficial in smaller to moderate amounts. And frankly, I'm not going to live in a bubble hoping my hair grows faster anyhow, we only have one shot around in this lifetime, and it's not all about how fast my hair grows. Cheers! ;)

here here! life is too short to give up dry Martini's :bottomsup:

[terylenerose]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've never had anything alcoholic (except maybe by accident) and don't plan to, and I get around 0.5" a month.