Why are many famous athletes bald? Answered by a doctor

trichologist, dermatovenerologist at the European Medical Center

Is it possible to go bald because of sports? Why are many athletes bald?

Many athletes, including world stars, can’t boast of thick hair. These include Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Michael Jordan and, of course, the famous soccer referee Pierluigi Collina. Some of them simply prefer the shortest possible haircut, while others have faced the problem of hair loss. In the near-sports environment, there is even an opinion that it is loads that provoke alopecia (hair loss). How are things really?

For this reason, hair can fall out in both men and women. The sensitivity of hair follicles to the hormone is genetically determined and does not depend on the intensity of sports or types of physical activity.

How stress and baldness are related

Sports, victories and defeats, tension during competitions – it is really a great stress. One of the mechanisms of adaptation to it is an increase in the production of cortisol, which is so called – “stress hormone”. Its increased levels lead to hair loss, and if sports are associated with constant stress for you, it can cause hair loss.

How sports supplements and baldness are linked

Some amateur athletes start injecting testosterone on their own to grow muscle mass (and international sports organizations prohibit such injections). In this case, if the sensitivity of hair follicles to the hormone is increased, such actions may lead to alopecia.

Other supplements can affect the condition of hair both positively and negatively. Hair is sensitive to vitamin deficiencies, so athlete’s nutrition and vitamin complexes should be balanced as well.

How water, ultraviolet, cold and baldness are related

Not all athletes train in the hall: many competitions are held outdoors, as well as in the pool. It is with this that the following myth is associated: it is believed that chlorinated water negatively affects the hair and leads to hair loss. This opinion is often confirmed by how many swimmers shave off their hair.

But in fact, they do not do it because the state of their hair is bad. It has long been thought that the lack of hair (and swimmers get rid of it not only on the head, but all over the body) reduces water resistance and increases speed over distance. Researchers who conducted experiments have found that it does increase speed, but it does not have a decisive effect on the result.

In general, in order to keep thick hair for a long time, the recommendations for athletes are the same as for ordinary people – it is necessary to wear a headdress in summer, so that the hair does not suffer from ultraviolet radiation, and in winter, to protect it from cold and temperature changes.

So sports may be one factor that will accelerate baldness, but hardly the main one. Choose the type of exercise to your liking and, of course, do not neglect the general rules of hygiene.