Sweating is a very natural phenomenon. It happens to cool down our body temperature. Sweating does not cause any specific harm to our body. Sweating is a healthy mechanism of our body to remove toxins from the body. However, as sweat is a mixture of water and chemicals such as ammonia, urea, and sugar, it may impact your hair negatively.
Sweat or perspiration, when released in excess, can make your life uncomfortable. It contains lactic acid and salt, affecting your hair growth, making it dull and weak.
In this article, we will try to understand the relation between sweating and hair growth. We will unearth the answers to some popular questions like – is sweating good for hair? Does sweating make your hair grow faster?
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Is sweat good for your hair?
You may have heard that sweating makes your skin glowing or helps you lose some extra pounds. But none of such theories are true in the case of hair. Sweat is a mixture of water, salt, and some other chemicals. While water is good for your hair and scalp, salt and other chemicals are not.
Excess sweat after your intense workout session could harm your strands. When we sweat, it opens up the pores in our scalp. This opening of pores may help hair follicles in giving them extra space to grow. But these sweat simultaneously mix up with germs and bacterias, which can also clog the pores.
No such research has been done to evaluate the effect of sweating on hair growth. Studies show that sweat can cause the accumulation of bacteria and dust on your scalp, making it a favorable ground for yeast infection. It is not good for your hair in any way. Avoid activities that leads to too much sweat or wash your hair with plain water if possible. This can reduce the chances of bacteria growth and so help your hair.
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How does sweat affect hair?
It is a myth that sweat helps in hair growth. Sweating in no way promotes healthy hair growth. The only possible reason that makes sweat a little help to the scalp is that it unclogs your hair follicles. It may remove dust and bacteria from the root of the hair.
But on the downside, sweat also helps harmful bacterias and dust in sticking to the scalp. It may clog the scalp pores, which eventually impact hair growth negatively. You need to wash your hair to prevent sweat from staying too long on your scalp.
Sweat can cause skin irritation or fungal infection, which can lead to hair fall. Keep on reading to know more about the negative effects of sweating on your hair.
Does sweating cause hair loss?
Did you ever notice the connection between sweat and baldness? It is very common to see people with hair fall issues or baldness. One thing is common in all of them, they all are heavy sweaters. Hair loss is genetic, but excess sweating does contribute to the process.
Studies show that lactic acid in our sweat, when comes in contact with keratin in the hair, can cause damage to your hair. Sweat also mixes with the bacteria on the scalp, leading to fungal infection and so hair loss.
Another reason for sweating to cause hair loss is the lactic acid in it. The lactic acid in sweat is good for hair, but excessive sweating (and so excessive lactic acid) can severely damage your hair follicles.
Lactic acid breaks the scalp’s outer layer, resulting in hair follicles shrinking and become less productive. It also makes hair look frizzy and dull.
Should you wash your hair after sweating?
Sweating is completely normal. We can not avoid sweat after a workout or any physical activity. How much you sweat depends on the body type and genetics. To avoid any harm to your hair, you can reduce the activities that cause you to sweat more.
Washing your hair daily after a sweaty workout is not very ideal for your hair. Daily hair wash can remove the natural oil from your hair. Plus, the daily application of shampoo could also harm your hair health. It can make your hair dry, frizzy, and dehydrated. Excessive hair wash can also make your scalp dry and so itchy.
You can use plain water to rinse your hair if it has excess sweat. You can also use a towel to wipe out any excess sweat from your hair.
Conclusion
Sweating is a normal body mechanism to maintain core temperature. It also helps in removing toxins from the body. However, sweat does not help in maintaining healthy hair or contributes in hair growth. It is an absolute evil for your hair strands. Sweat contains lactic acid and salt, which can damage hair follicles. Wash your hair with plain water if you are getting too much sweat. Frequent washing of hair with shampoo should be avoided. Instead, use plain water or a towel to wipe out the sweat.
