Does cholesterol causes hair loss?

With the increasing age, hair loss and high cholesterol affect people. Rarely, these two are interlinked. If you’re hearing this relation for the first time, then let me tell you that according to a lot of hair experts, excess levels of cholesterol in the blood can lead to hair loss.

How cholesterol causes hair loss?

One of the significant reasons for the thinning of hair on the scalp is the rise of the cholesterol and the production of sebum on the scalp. Over time, this formation reduces the opening of the follicle. As a result, the hair gradually stops growing and ultimately fall out. As per the theory presented by American hairloss.org, the cholesterol drugs can trigger hair loss. Among the many medicines available for reducing the cholesterol level, statin is one such which contributes to the problem.

Cholesterol is essential for human hair. It builds up many vital hormones such as testosterone, aldosterone, progesterone, estrogen, and cortisone. All these hormones together are responsible for many important biological functions from controlling blood pressure to carbohydrate metabolism. The use of statin can lower the cholesterol level up to 50%. As such, the cholesterol cannot reach the hair properly and hence, interrupts its growth and maintenance process. This is a simple equation – the lower the level of cholesterol, the poorer the growth of the hair. To say directly, hair loss is directly proportional to the right cholesterol level in the blood.

According to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, there is some connection between hair loss and cholesterol. They proved this statement by conducting a study which shows that bald people generally become a heart-attack victim easily as well as the chemical effect of cholesterol in the body exciting other bodily chemicals that results in falling out of the hair.

Though the above –mentioned role of statin drugs in hair loss is not yet scientifically proved, yet if you think that you are losing your hair at a rapid rate after switching to statin, then it’s better to consult this concern with your physician. Till date, only 1% of people have reported hair loss due to statin. Most of the time, there are other underlying factors which accelerate the shedding of the hair. Definitely, medicines also have some side-effects. But, in this case, if it was so much common, then we would have heard many other complaints.

Instead of lowering the cholesterol level with medicines, you should switch to a healthy diet and exercise. It does the same job while does not have any negative impact on your body. You can opt for hair transplantation if the loss you think is severe.