A question I see asked frequently online is, does hot water kill hair follicles? In this article, I’ll look at the potential health effects of hot water on your hair and skin, including whether or not it can kill your hair follicles.
If you’re concerned about the normal amount of hair loss in the shower and protecting your hair follicles from heat damage, you may be wondering if hot water will kill them or if hot water loosens them from the scalp. The answer to both of these questions depends on how hot the water is and how long you keep it on your hair. While you don’t have to worry about your shower’s temperature killing or loosening hair follicles, prolonged exposure to hot water can damage your hair and weaken the follicles to cause thinning, breakage, and split ends.
How does heat affect your hair
Heat is a major concern for anyone who styles their hair. The quick fix is to not use heat—but that’s not realistic. Instead, you can take some steps to protect your hair and lessen damage from styling tools: Use a heat protectant before applying any heat tool (blow dryer, flat iron, curling iron). Heating tools damage and affect your hair by opening up its cuticle, but using a protectant allows you to apply more heat without doing so.
Condition your hair regularly (weekly at least). Rinse with cold water when you’re done; use it as an opportunity to reset and close your cuticle again. It won’t completely negate heat damage, but it will help. You should also make sure you choose conditioning products that are free of alcohol—it dries out hair even further and only exacerbates problems with damaged strands.
Be gentle when brushing or combing wet hair. When wet, strands are more fragile because moisture causes them to swell a bit; if brushed too aggressively or tangled into knots, they snap easily and break off at both ends. Also be aware of whether your brush has natural or synthetic bristles—the latter tend to be stiffer and harsher on wet strands than natural brushes.
How heat kills hair follicles
Heat is something you can use to your advantage if you have a curling iron, but if it gets too hot for too long, you can damage hair follicles. Extreme heat or heat over an extended period of time causes stress and fatigue in your hair follicle; thus, weaken them. You might notice that once your hair has been curled with a curling iron that it falls flat more quickly than normal [1].
This is because those tight curls actually pulled on individual hairs, loosening them in their follicle and potentially causing breakage when they relaxed back into position. This also contributes to weaker hairs that are more prone to breakage from other factors like brushing or styling. It’s probably best to limit using hot tools as much as possible if you want healthy hair!
How does hot water kill hair follicles
With a healthy scalp, your hair grows strong and healthy. But, what about when you wash your hair with hot water? Does hot water kill your hair follicles? Let’s talk about what actually happens when you wash your hair in hot water. First of all, warm water can be very beneficial for your hair. It helps to open up your pores, which allows for deeper cleansing than cold water.
Warm water can also help to eliminate dandruff; it improves circulation and stimulates blood flow around your scalp so that nutrients are delivered more effectively to keep your hair looking its best. However, washing your hair in boiling hot or extremely hot temperatures is not recommended for long periods of time since it can affect both how quickly and how well you grow new strands of beautiful locks on top of that already awesome head of yours!
No matter how much hair is gone — it CAN come back.
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WATCH NOWRelated: do hot showers cause hair loss
Why does heat damage hair
There are several ways heat can damage hair, from drying it out to changing its shape. The structure of hair is made up of keratin proteins, and repeated exposure to heat can cause these proteins to misalign, leading to weakened strands and breakage. In addition, even brief exposure to high temperatures (like when you’re blow-drying) can leave your hair in less than ideal condition. Heat styling is also believed to loosen hair follicles and reduce scalp circulation, which could lead to thinning or balding.
When heat loosens hairs
When water is hot enough to loosen hairs, you’re dealing with a temperature range of 115–120 degrees Fahrenheit. This can loosen hair from its follicle, resulting in temporary breakage that should regrow once temperatures go back down. If your skin isn’t sensitive, and you use hot water for short periods of time (e.g., when washing dishes or taking a shower), you may not even notice any negative effects. That said, repeated exposure to heat can cause permanent damage over time—particularly if heat is applied directly to an area like your scalp or face.
Medically Team reviewed by Dr. Ljuba Zsolnai and updated. With professional help, Anthony research and only provide content that delivers results. The name "Stages of Balding" accurately reflects the blog's purpose: to provide practical solutions and guidance without requiring extensive research on the reader's part.
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