Excessive sugar intake is unlikely to directly cause hair loss, but it may indirectly affect hair health, thanks to its effects on inflammation, metabolic health, cortisol levels and nutrition. So it’s important to keep your sugar intake levels low to reduce the risks to your hair and overall wellbeing.
Here, we explore the evidence behind sugar and hair loss, discuss practical ways to reduce sugar consumption, and offer several proven options for promoting hair growth.
Key takeaways
Sugar is unlikely to be a direct cause of hair loss. While research has identified associations between high sugar intake and conditions such as androgenetic alopecia, there isn’t enough evidence to prove that sugar directly causes hair loss.
A high sugar diet may indirectly affect hair health. Excessive sugar consumption can contribute to inflammation, metabolic syndrome, raised cortisol levels and nutritional deficiencies — all of which can influence hair growth or quality.
Reducing sugar intake to less than 30 g per day can support healthier hair and overall health.
Treating the underlying cause of hair loss is more important than simply cutting out sugar, as genetics, hormones, stress and other factors are generally more significant drivers of hair loss.
If you’re experiencing hair loss, the Wimpole Clinic can help diagnose the cause and find the right treatment. Book a consultation to get a hair loss assessment and start your journey to long-term hair restoration.
We know that diet plays an important role in hair health. So will your hair really suffer if you consume too much sugar?
In most cases, eating too much sugar won’t cause your hair to fall out, especially if it’s an occasional indulgence rather than an ingrained dietary habit. But some research has suggested a link between sugar intake and hair loss, particularly androgenetic alopecia [1-2].
One study compared the volume of sugar-sweetened drinks among men with male pattern baldness and those unaffected by hair loss [3]. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was much higher in those with male pattern baldness, leading authors to conclude there may be a link between sugar intake and hair loss.
However, this study stops short of proving that eating more sugar actually caused hair loss. Many other factors have a much greater impact on the development of male pattern baldness, including genetics and hormone sensitivity. So if you’re losing hair, there are probably much bigger triggers than sugar in play.
Although there’s very limited direct research into the relationship between sugar and hair loss, we can draw some conclusions about the potential risks to your hair from excessive sugar intake. Let’s take a look at how sugar can affect hair health.
High sugar intake is a major risk factor for developing metabolic syndrome [4-5]. Metabolic syndrome has been linked with androgenetic alopecia (AGA), with one study finding that 53% of men with AGA also had symptoms of metabolic syndrome, compared to 17% of controls [6].
Metabolic syndrome may be diagnosed if you have markers such as a large waist circumference, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, high blood pressure, or insulin resistance. Many of these symptoms can be controlled or lowered by reducing your sugar intake, depending on how advanced they are.
High sugar intake can increase low-grade chronic inflammation, potentially leading to scalp conditions like psoriasis [7]. As well as being directly linked with this scalp disorder — which may lead to hair loss in severe cases — inflammation is also a marker of many common hair loss conditions, including pattern baldness and alopecia areata. One study suggests that a high sugar diet could increase the severity or likelihood of developing autoimmune conditions like alopecia areata [8].
Decreasing your sugar intake over time may help reduce inflammation, which may in turn have positive effects on your hair. However, there’s not yet any direct evidence to this effect.
Cortisol is a hormone often associated with stress, but research has shown excessive sugar consumption can also lead to higher cortisol levels over time [9]. Cortisol spikes can dysregulate the hair growth cycle, leading to temporary hair loss known as telogen effluvium [10]. It’s one of the reasons why stress can cause hair loss.
Telogen effluvium isn’t usually permanent, but it can be several months before your hair starts to regrow, depending on when the underlying issue is resolved. Reducing sugar intake can help regulate and lower cortisol levels, promoting more consistent hair growth.
Research shows that overconsumption of added sugars may lead to nutritional deficiencies in obese populations [11]. That’s because sugar holds no nutritional value beyond adding calories, and sugar-rich foods may replace nutrient-dense foods in high sugar diets.
Certain nutritional deficiencies have been linked with specific types of hair loss. For example, iron deficiency and vitamin D deficiency have been associated with pattern baldness, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium [12-14]. Vitamin supplements for hair growth may help, but only where a true clinical deficiency has been identified. Clinical nutrient deficiencies are rare in the UK.
High sugar intake may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes [15-16]. Diabetes has been linked with hair loss through several mechanisms, including inflammation, autoimmunity, and microvascular dysfunction.
People who are affected by microvascular dysfunction have reduced capillary blood flow. If scalp blood flow is impaired, it can mean reduced oxygen and nutrient supply for the hair follicles, which can impede hair growth.
Hair glycation is a process in which excessive sugar in the body binds to proteins in the hair. A lab study has shown that this process may increase the fragility of hair, with the glycation process reducing the hair’s protein content by 56% [17].
These results haven’t yet been replicated outside of lab studies, but they suggest that sugar may impact your hair’s strength and appearance, even if it doesn’t cause hair loss.
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is the main hormone involved in the development of male pattern baldness. DHT binds to receptors in the hair follicles, causing them to shrink. Over time, they stop producing hair.
Some research suggests that a high sugar diet can lead to reductions in testosterone and DHT, with one study finding it could even lead to erectile dysfunction [18-19]. Reduced DHT is actually beneficial for tackling male pattern baldness — but it’s not always that simple. If you’re genetically predisposed to high DHT sensitivity, changing your sugar intake is unlikely to do much to stop or trigger hair loss.
Despite the theoretical links between sugar intake and hair loss, it’s unlikely that sugar is directly causing you to lose hair. While diet can have a significant impact on hair health, there are usually much more significant factors in play, such as your genetics, hormones, and stress levels.
Additionally, many of the links are correlative, not causative — so while there may be an association between sugar intake and hair loss, it hasn’t been established that sugar actually drives hair loss.
That means reducing sugar intake for a few weeks won’t magically make your hair regrow. But sustained healthier diet habits can reduce inflammation, regulate cortisol levels, and reduce metabolic syndrome risk factors, potentially leading to healthier, stronger long-term hair growth.
Even if sugar isn’t directly responsible for hair loss, eating less sugar may help maintain healthy hair. But cutting down isn’t always easy, with some researchers even suggesting sugar can be addictive [20].
Slow, sustainable habit shifts are usually the best approach — so here’s what you can do to reduce your sugar intake for the good of your hair:
If you’re experiencing hair loss, reducing your sugar intake to healthy levels is just one way to help promote hair growth. But for faster results, you’ll probably need to take a more active treatment approach. Here’s what you can do:
These techniques and medications are most likely to be effective in the early stages of hair loss. But if you have more extensive or advanced balding, all is not lost. Clinic treatments like platelet-rich plasma hair therapy and FUE and FUT hair transplants can offer strong hair restoration results for eligible candidates.
The Wimpole Clinic is one of the world’s leading hair transplant clinics. Established in 1975, we have more than 50 years’ experience tackling hair loss and restoring hairlines at our award-winning hair transplant clinic. So if you’re worried about your worsening hair loss, we can help.
Book a consultation at your nearest Wimpole Clinic branch to find out how we support our patients to achieve lifelong hair restoration results.
Discover more about the link between sugar and hair loss in these frequently asked questions.
Probably not. Other hair loss triggers are generally more impactful than sugar intake. So it’s unclear if cutting out sugar would really result in permanent hair regrowth.
Additionally, cutting out sugar is very difficult, as sugars occur in many foods, including healthy produce like fruit and vegetables. It’s preferable to reduce your sugar intake to a clinically-recommended level, typically no more than 30 g per day [21].
Many vitamin deficiencies can cause hair loss, including iron, vitamin D, zinc, biotin, vitamin E, folate, vitamin A, and riboflavin. The only way to tell which ones you’re affected by is with hair loss blood tests.
Note that true nutritional deficiencies are rare in the UK and the Western world, but inadequacies are fairly common. You’ll need tests to establish if you have a clinical nutrient deficiency.
There’s some indirect evidence that sugar may worsen male pattern baldness, though this isn’t yet conclusive. One study has linked severe male pattern baldness with metabolic syndrome, which can be driven by sugar intake (alongside other factors) [6].
If you generally have a high sugar diet, it’s best to cut down for your overall health. Your hair may improve as a result.
Hair loss is more likely to be driven by genetics, hormone levels, hormone sensitivity, and stress than sugar intake. Sugar may affect your hair, but this is more likely to be the cumulative effect of a long-term high sugar diet.
Wimpole Clinic Services:
Hair Transplants, Beard Transplants & Eyebrow Transplants.
Talk to a specialist
Dr Chirag Gadhia (GMC: 7926627) is one of our specialist FUE hair transplant surgeons, focusing on restoring natural-looking hairlines and enhancing hair density by combining the artistic nature of hair transplants with advanced surgical techniques. Dr Gadhia trained at our prestigious Wimpole Training Academy and has had experience working from our elite Wimpole Platinum service, where he gained and refined his knowledge to advance his hair restorative surgeries.
Dr Gadhia completed his medical degree at the renowned University of Pavia, Italy. He then honed his skills in various NHS surgical departments in Oxford, including upper gastrointestinal, bariatric, and colorectal surgery. This diverse experience has shaped his personalised approach to patient care. He takes the time to understand each patient’s unique goals and concerns before recommending a tailored treatment plan.
Dr Gadhia is committed to providing compassionate care and empowering his patients to regain confidence and self-esteem through transformative hair restoration treatments. He is dedicated to staying at the forefront of advancements in the field and ensuring that his patients receive the highest standard of care.
