Bike helmet / baseball caps

[fowler]

Is there any truth that wearing the above can effect hair? Im cycling to work at the moment and so wear a helmet 20 mins there and 20 mins back and sometime wear a cap at weekends. My hair is thinning a bit so I want to stop all contributors, how eve small they may be. I know it is mainly down to genes etc but if wearing a helmet can effect my hair through rubbing, I'll be inclined to stop weraing it.

Thanks

 

[fowler]

I presume this is a question seen many times before however I couldn't find anything on it on here. I'm guessing its a myth but any info / input from others would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[ali777]

Wearing helmets/caps is regarded as haisloss myth.

I personally think it's a myth in a sense that the hat itself doesn't change the DHT levels in the scalp to cause further hairloss, but hats can break hair, produce sweat, bacteria, etc. My point is, hats can cause the scalp to become less than optimal for healthy hair growth. Regular showers should be enough to correct some of the problems caused by hats.

That's just my opinion.

If you wear a hat/helmet/cap, you shouldn't worry about it.

I have started a similar thread in the past. I don't wear helmets regularly, but I'd like to buy a motorbike one day and be able to ride without thinking about my hair... Not that I have much hair

 

[Avery]

Hats don't cause baldness, it's just that bald guys tend to wear hats.

 

[somone uk]

the myth started by people talking about --->good blood circulation = thick hair, bad blood circulation = thinning hair
which is kinda true, you can't grow hair if your scalp has no blood but you would have to try pretty hard to stop your scalp from circulating enougth blood to grow thick hair so it is a myth
maybe a very unlikely cause is that a hat could cause traction alopecia if it gets caught in your hair + pulls it, but in that case it does regrow like normal

 

[Cassin]

myth

otherwise every sports player would be bald.

 

[longtime]

myth

 

[karl_h]

Wearing a bike helmet or a baseball cap is not going to cause you to lose your hair. This is one of the more popular hair loss myths out there.

I know that if you are losing your hair you don't want to do anything that you feel might be contributing to your hair loss. Feel free to wear a bike helmet or a baseball cap anytime.

 

[anntaylor]

why not wear helmets? instead of caps?

 

[Cassin]

why not wear helmets? instead of caps?

what?

 

[cuebald]

well, here's an anecodal, I had a mate who would always wear a beanie (or a works baseball cap) and you'd never see him without it. He had longer hair growing "around" it but I assumed that because he always wore a hat that his crown must be seriously thin.
One of my other friends had a similar thought, and took his hat off. Very thick, sandy blonde NW1 hair. If hats cause hair loss, it didn't with this guy.

I only started wearing hats once I hit an advanced NW3 - before then I had worn one about 5-10 times ever, that I can remember. I still seldom wear one now (they don't fool anyone)

 

[bigentries]

well, here's an anecodal, I had a mate who would always wear a beanie (or a works baseball cap) and you'd never see him without it. He had longer hair growing "around" it but I assumed that because he always wore a hat that his crown must be seriously thin.
One of my other friends had a similar thought, and took his hat off. Very thick, sandy blonde NW1 hair. If hats cause hair loss, it didn't with this guy.

I only started wearing hats once I hit an advanced NW3 - before then I had worn one about 5-10 times ever, that I can remember. I still seldom wear one now (they don't fool anyone)

I also had a friend my last years in college that I started to suspectwas going bald because you never saw him without his baseball cap, he also had long hair.
One day he just took of his cap in class and he looked like rockstar.
I suppose guys with good thick long hair wear caps because its easier to keep it neat that way

 

[sonero9]

The hair cannot breathe comfortably inside covered by the cap.

 

[jeffmarsh]

Since the period there has been a lot of talks, that people who wear helmets or caps over a long time are probably to experience hair loss, even with no genetic probability of baldness. The condition is called “traction alopecia,” and it occurs when people put on helmets or caps repeatedly and allow the helmet to pull on the hairs and loosen the roots from the scalp.
Research has found there are two ways that helmets and caps affect hair loss. First, is the repeated use of helmets and caps themselves, and the second is bacteria that naturally gathers on the scalp surface, which can be exacerbated by helmet or cap use.
Often, helmet use is for sports or recreational activities outdoors in the elements. Whether you are riding dirt bikes, playing football or baseball, or enjoying a day on a beach, your cap or helmet gathers sweat from your head, dirt and other foreign matter from the environment and keeps those pollutants near your scalp until you take it off. While you may wash your hair and scalp, it is not uncommon to forget to wash your helmet or cap with regularity. Every time you wear a helmet or cap without washing, the bacteria that was there has a greater chance to spread. Not surprisingly, this bacteria then infect your scalp, increasing the chance of stunted hair growth and ultimately resulting in hair loss.
Now, the hat or helmet itself.
As hairs get pulled by a hat or helmet, eventually follicles aren’t able to anchor into the scalp and fall away over time.
One suggestion to combat hair loss is to spray an anti-bacterial solution inside the helmet or cap and let it dry thoroughly, or give it a complete wipe-down with anti-bacterial cloths or towels between wears. The idea is to eliminate dirt, sweat and any other pollutants from getting into your scalp; this is because your scalp is similar to your skin in that it has pores or holes where the hair grows, and those pores have to be clean in order to keep the hair growing.