Does Masturbation Cause Hair Loss?

Have you ever come across friends or family members discouraging you from masturbating, citing serious side effects, such as blindness, permanent hair loss, growth of hair on the palms, etc.? Well, masturbation is a process whereby a person stimulates their own genitals for orgasm. With sexuality being a taboo topic, masturbation - though a common and natural human activity - has been looked down upon by various religions and sects. As a result, numerous myths have come to be associated with the process, hair fall being one of them.

A prevalent notion suggests that receding hairline, particularly in men, often stems from masturbating too much. It is said that post masturbation the body releases DHT or dihydrotestosterone, which results in patterned baldness. While DHT is often a reason for androgenetic alopecia, the theory that excessive masturbation triggers it is only a myth.

Masturbation in men results in the ejaculation of semen, which is essentially a compound rich in protein. While some people pinpoint this loss of protein from the body as a precursor to patterned hair loss, it must be taken into consideration that protein comprises just 5.04g in 100 ml of semen, which in turn surmount to a meager 3.3ml to 3.7ml per ejaculation. Normally, such amount of protein loss does not cause any disruption in the body's functions and can be easily replenished with a normal diet.

Many people are also of the notion that the testosterone hormone released during ejaculation in human beings is often the root cause of the receding hairline across genders. After masturbation, the testosterone released gets converted into DHT with the help of the alpha 5 reductase enzyme, which ultimately results in hair loss. However, the point to be noted here is that it is never the amount of testosterone that dictates the conversion but the amount of DHT settling on the hair follicles of the receptors.

DHT works by shrinking the hair follicles, making the scalp too oily and unsuitable for healthier hair growth. However, this is predominantly a genetic issue of androgenetic alopecia. It must be highlighted here that the testosterone released during ejaculation is too little to trigger any potentially critical hair loss in human beings.

• Will there be a reduction of protein levels in the body due to masturbation?

There won't be any disruption in the level of protein in your body, post masturbation. As discussed earlier, 100ml of semen ejaculates about 5.04g of protein concentrate, whereas the total amount of protein used by an average human body is 0.8g per kilograms of body weight. Hence, the amount of protein ejaculated each time is too low compared to the protein used by the body for regular functioning to create any adverse impact.

• Does masturbation increase DHT levels in the scalp?

Numerous studies have shown that people abstaining from sex and masturbation have an increased testosterone level in the body, increasing the DHT levels. However, it must be noted that the increase in the level of testosterone in the body due to sexual activities does not amount to any definitive increase in the DHT level that causes pattern baldness.

• Can the prolactin release after masturbation cause androgenetic alopecia?

Masturbation is natural human activity and does not cause any major hormonal upheaval in the body that might have any serious negative impact. Hence, although the body releases a little prolactin during masturbation, it does not contribute to androgenetic alopecia or the loss of hair of any kind.

Furthermore, androgenetic alopecia is a serious kind of patterned baldness experienced across genders. It is essentially a genetic condition that does not have anything to do with minor DHT or prolactin release in the body caused by masturbation.

Androgenetic alopecia is a serious issue that does not have any correlation with any sexual activity, including masturbation. The hormonal imbalance caused after ejaculation or masturbation is among the various biological functions undertaken by the body regularly and does not cater to hair loss of any type.

That being said, if you are experiencing hair loss, making positive changes to your diet and lifestyle might be a good start to combat the same. If the hair loss still does not get better, it is always a good reason to visit a dermatologist or a specialized hair clinic. After all, addressing the root cause of the problem is always the beginning of the solution.