Does alcohol cause hair loss?

Maybe you're the kind of person who enjoys a glass of wine (or two) with dinner every night. Or maybe the local bar is your favorite place to meet up with friends after work. Either way, if alcohol has become a regular part of your daily or weekly routine, recent news reports on how even a little alcohol may harm your health and this Advisory report on alcohol and the risk of cancer may have you feeling a little wary as to whether it's good for you.

While there’s still some debate as to the health effects of occasional or moderate drinking, when it comes to excessive alcohol consumption or binge drinking, the evidence is clear -  it negatively affects your mental and physical health, including your hair health!

How does alcohol affect your health?

Alcohol doesn't just impair your judgment; if consumed regularly and especially in excessive amounts, it can also have negative effects on nearly every aspect of your health, from your mood to your immune system.

Long-term effects of alcohol on the body include:

• Increased risk of anxiety & depression

• Increased risk of high blood pressure & stroke

• Increased risk of cirrhosis & fatty liver disease

• Increased risk of certain cancers, including liver cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer

While recent news reports have indicated that the "safe" levels of alcohol consumption may be much lower than we previously thought, we know without a doubt that consuming more than 8 drinks/week for a woman and 15 or more drinks/week for a man puts you at significant risk for all the health issues above.

How does alcohol cause hair loss?

There’s a direct link between regular alcohol consumption and brittle hair or certain types of hair loss. This is due to a variety of factors that often accompany heavy drinking, including nutritional deficiencies, dehydration, increased levels of cortisol, impaired thyroid function and social smoking. 

Nutritional deficiencies

While alcohol doesn't directly cause thinning hair, it does block the absorption of certain nutrients that promote healthy hair growth. Over time, poor nutrient absorption leads to nutritional deficiencies that can cause hair thinning or even patchy hair loss.

These nutrient deficiencies include:

• Zinc deficiency

• Folic acid deficiency

• Vitamin B12 deficiency

• Copper deficiency

• Thiamin or Vitamin B1 deficiency

• Iron deficiency

All these vitamins are either directly or indirectly responsible for healthy hair growth. Thiamin, for example, helps your body to metabolize protein, which is essential for maintaining a full, strong head of hair.

Dehydration

Water is essential for just about every bodily function, including hair growth. Alcohol intake leads to dehydration, and when you’re chronically dehydrated, your hair will show it, becoming thinner, brittle, and more prone to falling out.

Increased stress hormones

Alcohol consumption, especially excessive drinking or binge drinking, has been shown to increase the amount of stress hormone (cortisol) in your body.

Elevated cortisol levels can cause your hair follicles to shrink, which leads them to produce thinner hair that's more prone to hair breakage. Over time, these affected hair follicles can stop growing hair altogether.

Hyper- or hypothyroidism

There’s a relationship between alcohol consumption and thyroid function. While you've likely heard of the thyroid, you may not know what exactly it does.

Your thyroid gland controls the hormone levels within your body. When your thyroid isn’t functioning correctly, it throws your hormone levels out of balance, causing you to have too much or too little of certain hormones. Low thyroid or estrogen levels in women, for example, can lead to a receding hairline and/or hair thinning along the frontal scalp or along the part line.

Other bad habits

A night out on the town (especially one that involves excessive alcohol intake) can also involve some less-than-healthy lifestyle choices with social smoking being the biggest one.

While alcohol damages hair indirectly by affecting other systems associated with hair growth, tobacco smoke actually directly damages your hair. A meta-analysis as recently as 2024 showed a direct link between smoking and male pattern baldness, graying hair, and even poor hair growth after a hair transplant. This is because smoking shrinks blood vessels, which disrupts blood flow to your hair follicles. Without healthy hair follicles, you cannot have healthy, full hair.

Symptoms of alcohol-related hair loss

People with alcohol-related hair loss often notice that, over time, their hair becomes thinner and more brittle. Maybe they notice more hair collecting around the shower drain, on the pillow or more split ends.

Some people also notice changes in their scalp health, noting more dandruff than before.

In severe cases, especially those that involve prolonged periods of heavy alcohol consumption, people may even experience certain types of hair loss, where hair falls out in patches or recedes back from the hairline.

If you're ever concerned your drinking habits are having any kind of adverse effect on your health, please consult your doctor. They can get a full picture of your health profile and help you identify potential treatment options, both to curb your alcohol intake and improve your overall health.

Will moderating or quitting alcohol improve my hair health?

Yes. If alcohol is contributing to poor hair health, cutting back or quitting altogether will help increase hydration status, improve nutritional profile and rebalance your hormone levels, which will all help to improve hair growth.

If your type of hair loss is caused by genetics, making healthier lifestyle choices like quitting alcohol may not prevent hair loss completely, but it can help to significantly slow the process

Recommended alcohol intake

While recent studies and reports have shown that even moderate alcohol consumption and the occasional glass of wine or beer can affect your health, the CDC recommends that men drink 2 or fewer drinks per day (no more than 15 per week) and women drink 1 or fewer drinks per day (no more than 8 per week).

It also recommended to avoid binge drinking, which for women is 4 or more drinks in one occasion and for men is 5 or more drinks in one occasion.

Other lifestyle habits to support hair health

Along with curbing your alcohol intake or eliminating it completely, there are other healthy lifestyle choices you can make to improve your overall hair health, including diet, your choice of hair product, styling techniques, incorporating hair masks and adding hair-supporting supplements into your weekly or daily routine.

Eat a balanced diet

You are what you eat, after all. Eating a diet that's rich in protein, folate, healthy fats, iron, and biotin won’t only help you to manage your weight and improve your energy levels, but it will also help to give your hair the vital nutrients it needs to grow fuller and thicker.

Foods that contain these key nutrients include:

• Eggs & lean meats

• Leafy greens

• Sweet potatoes

• Avocados

• Nuts

• Berries

Avoid over-styling

Using heated styling tools like blow dryers and hair straighteners on a regular basis can dry out your hair, leading to hair that's more brittle and has more split ends.

Be gentle with wet hair

When your hair is wet, it's more delicate and prone to falling out. For this reason, avoid brushing your hair vigorously or wearing a hat while it's wet.

Choose the right shampoo

Ingredients like sulfates, parabens, and certain artificial dyes can strip your hair of its natural oils, causing it to become thinner and more brittle.

Take a look at all your hair care products to make sure they’re free of these ingredients and if they aren't, make a switch. The good news is many hair products now advertise being sulfate- or paraben-free right on the bottle, so it's easy to spot!

Don't skip the conditioner

If you aren't conditioning your hair, please start. Even people with short hair can benefit from the extra hydration it provides - just be sure to avoid those sulfates and parabens we mentioned above!

Get 7-8 hours of sleep

You'd be surprised how certain lifestyle factors, like the amount of sleep you get, affect your hair health, but they do!

Studies show that people who don’t get adequate sleep are prone to thinning hair or even temporary hair loss.

Manage stress

We already mentioned how alcohol use can increase your stress hormones, which can then impact your hair growth cycles, but of course, there are plenty of other lifestyle factors that can increase your stress, too.

Whatever is causing your stress, if you’re feeling on edge more often than not, meet with your doctor to discuss how you can get your stress levels under control. Every aspect of your mental and physical health will improve (not just your hair health!).  

Furthermore, seeing excessive amounts of hair loss can cause distress. As I tell my patients, the worst thing to do is stress about the hair loss! Go in to see a board certified dermatologist as early as possible to get a diagnosis and treatment plan as the earlier detected, the higher likelihood of regrowth.

Try a weekly hair mask

Weekly hair masks are a great way to increase your hair hydration and repair damaged hair, especially hair that's been damaged due to heavy drinking, heated styling tools, or time in the sun.

Take hair-supporting supplements

If you live somewhere where it’s cold in the winter, taking a Vitamin D supplement can not only help keep your bones healthy and strong, but also your hair!

For year-round support in all climates, consider a supplement that's specifically formulated for hair growth, meaning it contains essential nutrients that hair needs to grow such as biotin, folate, Vitamin A, and Vitamin B-12.

Wellbel for Hair Health

Thinking it's time to make some lifestyle changes when it comes to alcohol consumption? Wellbel is a line of hair supplements designed to nourish thinning hair and promote fuller, thicker hair growth.

These clinically proven dietary supplements are formulated by a triple-board certified, Harvard-trained doctor; in addition, they’re also 100% vegan and free of GMOs. Read their story and see the results for yourself. There are special formulas for men, women, and women over 45, and they can all be shipped directly to your home.