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hibiscus
November 8th, 2010, 06:09 AM
This is something I've been curious about recently. Do any of you think that excess alcohol consumption slows down hair growth? I would be interested to hear any of your experiences. I do like wine but I tend to be very careful to try not to drink excessively. However I know its very easy to be drinking more than you think you are. I've read about the negative effects alcohol can have on blood circulation and vitamin absorption. Just wondering if cutting back and maybe saving it for special occasions might help with hair growth. I've been making such an effort lately to eat healthily and exercise, I thought I may as well extend the healthy lifestyle to my drinking habits. Any thoughts?

pepperminttea
November 8th, 2010, 06:56 AM
I'm an occasional binge drinker. I get drunk about three or four times a year, normally during a celebration, and sometimes have a nightcap of whisky (a single shot glass worth, but at a leisurely pace), about the same amount of times a year. I haven't noticed any changes in my hair's growth rate, or health generally, besides the typical morning after feeling.

BeatlesFanGirl
November 8th, 2010, 07:02 AM
Well, if you are not an addicted massive alcoholic, it should not affect seriously. The less the better although. Too bad I love drinking too. :D I'm a social drinker which means drinking at parties/social gatherings. I love almost everything: beer, wine, tequila, vodka...

jujube
November 8th, 2010, 08:07 AM
I don't think there's been much research done on the topic. But to state the obvious, the less you drink, the healthier you are, the healthier you hair is.

aenflex
November 8th, 2010, 08:12 AM
Perhaps over time, with frequent consumption. I have a couple that lives in the next townhouse and they are career alcoholics, one in late stages of liver sorosis, and needless to say he is bald and her hair is thin and dry and just overall missing. They are in their mid-late 40's. It's very sad to see.
Occasional drinking, I don't know. I hope it doesn't :) I like a few drinks every now and then.

trolleypup
November 8th, 2010, 09:27 AM
I doubt that moderate alcohol consumption is going to cause any issues, so long as you are generally healthy.

On the other hand...people do scalp massages to increase blood flow and help hair growth...and a drink or three certainly seems to increase peripheral blood circulation. I dunno.

In any case, a couple decades of more or less moderate drinking doesn't seem to have done my hair in.

Niwa
November 8th, 2010, 09:29 AM
As always, it depends on the person, but I can definitely see how alcohol would slow hair growth. I know that people have found before that cigarettes slowed their hair growth. (No need for the smokers to respond; cigarettes might not slow your growth, but I know others whose growth it has slowed.)

In2wishin
November 8th, 2010, 09:35 AM
I really think that moderate drinking probably does not affect the hair either way. The thinning hair seen on many heavy drinkers is likely to be a result of the poor nutrition typical of those who substitute alcohol for nutritionally sound food.

There is a (male) alcoholic in my family who still has really nice, thick hair. This person is what is known as a "high functioning alcoholic" and still eats well even though he drinks to excess.

Avvoltoio
November 8th, 2010, 10:01 AM
As many scientific page write the alcohol can be healthy when comsumed moderately. So i think it can't be problem for your hair, while you know where is the border, and don't be drunk too often.

Purdy Bear
November 8th, 2010, 10:06 AM
I dont know about alcohol but a lot of things do show up in your hair for months after youv used them (ie drugs - medicinal or otherwise).

Iv not read of anything like over drinking affecting the hair growth or shredding but it may have a factor connected to stress.

hibiscus
November 9th, 2010, 04:34 AM
Thanks for your replies.

LocustSpawning
November 9th, 2010, 05:05 AM
Anything bad for your body = bad for hair. So in excess, as everyone else has said - I think it'd definitely have negative effects.

That being said, my father is an alcoholic who still has a long head of hair... longer than mine anyway.. *jealousy*

Astarte_1980
November 9th, 2010, 05:11 AM
I do not drink at all alcohol. I do not like it.
But if that has a relationship with my hair, I do not know.

DARKMARTIAN
November 9th, 2010, 05:56 AM
I used to drink really heavily. Very rarely ever do these days though. (been at least three months since my last drop). But it seems that something I used to notice when I used to drink liquor was that the next morning my hair always seemed really dry. It is supposed to be a well known fact that alcohol can dehydrate a body. So I dont see why that cant extend to the hair. But I am talking excessive consumption though.........

thank goodness thats over with.....:o

Bene
November 9th, 2010, 06:20 AM
Huh. In my younger, wilder, drink-so-much-I-can't-see-straight days, I don't recall my hair growth any different than at any other time, so :shrug:

gotzbrainz
November 9th, 2010, 09:53 AM
I know that if you take biotin for hair growth the alcohol makes it hard for the biotin to work