Does Dehydration Cause Hair Loss?

Drinking enough water is essential for maintaining a healthy human body and hair health. But does dehydration cause hair loss? And if so, can hair loss from dehydration be reversed?

Roughly 60 percent of your body is made up of water. And while your hair strands may hold a smaller percentage of water than your organs and other tissues, it’s no less important for hair care to make sure you’re getting the right amount of water each day.

We don’t currently have any scientific evidence linking low water intake to male pattern baldness, but dehydration may indirectly play a role in other forms of hair loss.

We’ll explain how dehydration impacts the health of your hair, along with why and how staying hydrated can keep your hair thick, full, and strong at any age and in any environment.

If you’re starting to develop thinning hair, it’s probably not because your daily water intake is too low. But while dehydration isn’t a cause of male pattern baldness, dehydration can weaken both hair roots and the hair shaft. And the resulting dryness could make your hair more vulnerable to breakage and split ends.

Will not getting enough water cause male pattern baldness? No.

Will hair fall out if you don’t drink enough water? That’s more complicated because chronic dehydration can take a serious toll on your health.

Even mild, temporary dehydration might cause everything from dry skin to feelings of tiredness and dizziness. When severe, it can cause fainting, confusion, and in extreme cases, life-threatening health problems.

It doesn’t — per se. But dehydration may affect the supply of nutrients to your hair. 

Research shows that even mild levels of dehydration can reduce blood flow to your skin — and, thus, your scalp. This could restrict the supply of blood to hair follicles and potentially affect hair growth.

Hair needs a balanced diet and adequate water to continue replenishing its supply of biotin, amino acids, and other essential nutrients. Water helps deliver these things to the scalp and serves as a building block for hair follicles and the skin around them.

Your skin is 64 percent water, and the moisture content of your skin plays a key role in allowing it to function as a protective barrier. When you’re dehydrated, you have a higher risk of dry, cracked skin, which can lead to dandruff and other problems.

This means certain forms of hair loss, such as hair loss from tinea capitis (scalp ringworm), might become a bigger risk if you’re frequently dehydrated. 

Dehydration can happen as a result of sweating, urinating frequently, or illnesses that cause vomiting or diarrhea. Simple things, such as forgetting to drink water often, can also cause you to become dehydrated. 

Common signs of dehydration include:

• Intense feelings of thirst

• Xerostomia (dry mouth)

• Feelings of tiredness and fatigue

• Sweating less than normal

• Infrequent urination and dark-colored urine

• Dizziness

• Dry skin

If you’re severely dehydrated, you may experience confusion, complete lack of urination, rapid heartbeat, or rapid breathing. Extremely severe dehydration can affect the supply of blood and oxygen to your organs, potentially causing shock.

Extreme dehydration can be life-threatening. Seek emergency medical help as soon as you can if you develop any of the symptoms of severe dehydration listed above.

Most hair loss in men is androgenetic alopecia — the clinical term for male pattern hair loss. This type of hair loss happens because of a combination of genetic factors and the effects of an androgen (male sex hormone) called dihydrotestosterone (or DHT for short).

DHT can bind to receptors in your hair follicles and cause them to miniaturize, or shrink. Over time, this can result in a receding hairline, a bald spot around the crown, or almost total baldness.

Our guide to DHT and male pattern baldness goes into more detail.

Although androgenetic alopecia is the most common form of hair loss in men, it’s definitely not the only one. Other types of hair loss include:

• Telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium happens when physiological stress moves hair follicles out of their normal hair growth cycle. It can be caused by infections, illnesses that result in fever, stress, surgery, nutritional deficiencies, harmful styling products, and other issues.

• Anagen effluvium. Anagen effluvium occurs when the hair follicles are exposed to certain chemicals. It often causes complete, rapid hair loss that develops over the course of two to three weeks.

• Alopecia areata. Alopecia areata hair loss shows up in small, round patches across the scalp and other parts of the body. It’s linked with autoimmune diseases such as vitiligo, lupus, and thyroid disease.

• Scalp fungal infections. Scalp fungus like tinea capitis can cause hair shedding. When severe, fungal infections can damage hair follicles and cause permanent hair loss.

Hair loss from chronic or severe dehydration should be reversible once you correct the issue. As you maintain healthier hydration levels and new hair grows, your body will naturally shed damaged follicles, and you’ll see newer, healthier hair emerge.

Achieving hair restoration and restoring general hair health calls for good hydration habits.

You may have heard of the 8x8 rule — eight glasses of water per day with eight ounces per glass. This is a good target for most people, although if you’re physically active or live in a hot, humid area, you may need to drink more water.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends a total daily water intake of 3.7 liters (125 ounces) for men and 2.7 liters (91 ounces) for women.

Making a few simple changes to your habits can make it easier to keep your body, skin, and hair properly hydrated.

Use the following tips to stay hydrated and healthy:

• Keep water by your side. One easy way to increase your water intake is to carry a water bottle when you’re out and about or working. Try filling it up before you leave in the morning and sipping it throughout the day.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables. Whole fruits and veggies aren’t just packed with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients — they’re also full of water. In fact, many fruits are more than 90 percent water by weight. Cucumbers and watermelon are a couple of excellent options if you’re aiming for proper hydration and wellness.

• Prioritize water over sugary drinks. Soda, fruit juices, and other sugary drinks can keep you hydrated, but they’re packed with simple sugars that can affect your well-being and contribute to overweight or obesity. Whenever possible, pick water over sugary beverages.

• Drink a glass of water whenever you eat. One easy way to keep yourself hydrated is to drink water with your meals. Prepare a tall glass of water whenever you serve food at home.

• When you’re sick, use an oral rehydration solution. What about electrolytes and hair loss? If you have vomiting or diarrhea, you’ll usually lose more water than normal. This makes it vital to drink extra water to keep yourself hydrated. Oral rehydration solutions contain electrolytes and other ingredients designed to quickly improve hydration.

Staying hydrated is a critical part of keeping yourself healthy. However, if you’re starting to notice the early signs of male pattern baldness, increasing your water intake isn’t likely to have any preventative effects on hair thinning.

The good news is that proven, science-backed options are available for slowing down, stopping, and even reversing hair loss caused by male pattern baldness. 

Currently, the two most effective options for treating male pattern hair loss are the medications finasteride and minoxidil. 

• Finasteride. This oral prescription medication works by stopping your body from converting testosterone into DHT. It’s highly effective, with research showing that it can lower DHT levels by 70 percent and slow down or completely halt hair loss.

• Minoxidil. This over-the-counter topical medication is available as a liquid solution or foam. It works by moving hairs into the anagen, or growth, phase of the hair growth cycle and increasing blood flow to the scalp.

Finasteride and minoxidil work well on their own, but they’re especially effective at treating male pattern baldness when used together.

In one study published in the journal Dermatologic Therapy, roughly 94 percent of balding men who took finasteride and minoxidil together for 12 months showed improvements in hair growth.

In comparison, 80.5 percent of the men who used finasteride by itself and 59 percent of those who used just minoxidil displayed improvements.

Does dehydration cause hair loss? Here’s what to remember:

• Dry, dehydrated hair might look and feel slightly less healthy than usual.

• However, getting a little dehydrated every now and then likely won’t contribute to male pattern baldness — or have any long-term, noticeable effects on your hairline.

• Still, being dehydrated isn’t good for your skin, cardiovascular system, or overall health and well-being.

• If you feel like your body’s water content is getting low, use the techniques above to increase your water intake and keep yourself hydrated and healthy.

• As for hair loss, the key to stopping it from getting worse is to act quickly.

We can help with that. We offer finasteride, minoxidil liquid solution, and minoxidil foam online. Finasteride is available after a consultation with a healthcare provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate. 

You can also access finasteride and minoxidil together in our Hair Power Pack, along with other science-based products to support thick, healthy hair.