Dr. Robert Leonard exposes the truths and myths surrounding hair loss in men and women
CRANSTON, Rhode Island – Just in time for summer, Dr. Robert Leonard, chief surgeon and founder of Leonard Hair Transplant Associates, is setting the record straight on the top 10 myths of summertime hair loss in men and women:
1. Myth: Wearing a baseball cap or hats will cause thinning hair and loss of hair.
Dr. Leonard’s truth serum: Hats off to this myth! No matter what your mother has told you, wearing a hat does not cause hair to thin or fall out.
2. Myth: Exposure to chlorine in swimming pools will cause hair loss.
Dr. Leonard’s truth serum: Another dive in the truth department…chlorinated water can affect the hair shafts by drying them out and making them more brittle, but does not cause hair to thin or fall out. Also, watch out for bleached hair—it has been known to turn green with exposure to chlorine!
3. Myth: Applying sunscreen to the scalp will cause hair to thin and fall out.
Dr. Leonard’s truth serum: No! If you have thinning hair, it is very important to use sunscreen on your scalp to prevent burn and worse. In fact, one of the first hints that a person is losing his or her hair is, indeed, sunburn.
4. Myth: Swimming in saltwater will cause hair to dry out and fall out.
Dr. Leonard’s truth serum: Keep surfing! No, any saltwater activity, including swimming, does not affect your hair loss. Genetics is the root cause (sorry) of 98 percent of hair loss.
5. Myth: Overexposure to sun and heat will cause hair to become brittle and fall out.
Dr. Leonard’s truth serum: No again. The main concern with overexposure to the sun is sunburn of the scalp-and it hurts a lot! Growing more hair, either with medical treatments or with modern hair transplantation, are great options to consider if your hair is thin enough to get burned.
6. Myth: Braiding your hair at an exotic beach stand will cause your hair to fall out. Dr. Leonard’s Truth Serum: Short term braiding is fine; it is true, however, that certain hair styles, such as long term, tight corn-row braiding can permanently destroy follicles and cause hair loss. This is a preventable condition called traction alopecia.
7. Myth: Sexy summer activities cause less hair to fall out.
Dr. Leonard’s Truth Serum: Too bad for this one, huh?!? There is no truth to the idea that the more sex you have, the less hair you’ll lose. But the good doctor still thinks it’s worth trying to bust this myth!
8. Myth: Blow drying wet hair after a day at the pool or beach will cause hair to fall out.
Dr. Leonard’s Truth Serum: The truth is that there is no evidence that hair dryers cause thinning hair. However, too hot or too much drying may lead to brittle hair.
9. Myth: Smoking cigarettes causes hair loss.
Dr. Leonard’s Truth Serum: Let’s face it; cigarette smoking is medically
BAD for everything, including your hair. Recent studies have found sufficient evidence to claim there is a significant link between smoking and hair loss. It’s still uncertain whether the connection is due to the effects of tobacco toxins, but it is probably due to the fact that nicotine constricts blood vessel throughout the body, including those directly affecting individual hair follicles.
10. Myth: Standing on your head during summer workout sessions will help your hair to grow.
Dr. Leonard’s Truth Serum: Although increase in the microcirculation to the follicles does help to decrease hair loss (as is affected by low level laser therapy), standing on your head does makes blood flow to the head, but it has not been shown to be of any benefit with hair loss.