Masturbation has been blamed for lots of ailments throughout history, including blindness, fertility problems, and hair loss [1-2]. But even though these myths are still around in the 21st century, they’re not based in fact.
There’s no scientific evidence to suggest that masturbation causes hair loss. While some people worry that masturbating increases testosterone levels and causes protein loss, inadvertently leading to the development of male pattern baldness, it doesn’t work like this in reality.
Here, you’ll learn all about the link between masturbation and hairfall, including:
No, masturbation won’t cause hair loss. Regardless of how often you masturbate, it won’t impact your hair.
Male pattern baldness is actually caused by a combination of genetics, hormones, and ageing. While masturbation may cause a short-term rise in your testosterone levels, this is unlikely to have any long-term impact on your hair [3].
There are two main theories behind the myth that male masturbation causes hair loss:
While there is some fact within these theories, it’s not possible that masturbation actually causes hair loss. Here’s why.
DHT is the male sex hormone responsible for male pattern baldness. DHT is produced when a naturally-occurring enzyme in your body — the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme — converts testosterone to DHT.
Studies have shown that testosterone levels may rise for a short time after masturbation, before returning to normal levels [3-4]. But this small, temporary rise isn’t likely to raise your DHT levels consistently enough to result in hair loss. Testosterone levels will return to normal long before they have a chance to convert to DHT.
In addition, it’s important to consider other questions raised by this theory. If ejaculation causes hair loss, sex would also be linked with pattern baldness. But there’s no indication that sex causes hair loss either.
In addition, a small study also found that abstaining from masturbation and sex for three weeks may actually raise your testosterone levels [5]. If higher testosterone levels are also linked with not masturbating, it’s unlikely that masturbation leads to greater DHT production in the body.
Learn more about DHT and hair loss:
It’s true that lack of protein can result in hair loss [6]. It’s also true that semen contains some protein. But the protein lost through masturbation isn’t enough to cause hair loss in itself.
Let’s do the maths. Semen protein content ranges from 20 to 60 mg per millilitre [7]. Every time a man ejaculates, he releases approximately 5 ml of semen. Assuming this contains the maximum protein content of 60 mg per ml, he loses 300 mg of protein each time he masturbates.
By comparison, men should eat 55 g of protein per day on average [8]. This is more than 180 times the amount of protein expelled when you ejaculate. So assuming you’re eating a reasonably balanced diet, you’ll easily replenish any protein lost through masturbation.
Learn more about the link between protein and hair loss:
Research suggests that 8.3% of men masturbate more than they want to [9]. But no matter how often you masturbate, this won’t result in hair loss. One study found that average ejaculatory frequency was the same regardless of the extent of participant hair loss [10].
As discussed above, frequent masturbation won’t raise your testosterone levels high or long enough to increase DHT levels that lead to hair loss.
Additionally, even masturbating four or five times a day will only result in just over 1 gram of protein loss. This is easily replenished by your diet, so it’s very unlikely that this will contribute to balding.
Hair loss isn’t related to sexual activity, so if you’re going bald, there’s another cause behind it. Some of the most common hair loss causes include:
Ultimately, while there are many contributing factors to the development of male pattern baldness, masturbation is unlikely to play a role. Instead, look at the other elements of your lifestyle (such as diet and stress levels), as well as other family members who may have lost their hair. This can help you better understand why you’re going bald.
If you’re not sure if you have male pattern baldness or another type of hair loss, it’s best to check in with a trichologist. They can diagnose your hair loss and recommend the most appropriate treatments to restore and retain your hair.
No, there’s zero evidence that masturbation will affect your beard growth. If you’re growing a patchy beard, there’s likely to be another cause. This could be:
Speak to a trichologist if you’re unsure what’s causing your beard hair loss.
While it’s unlikely that masturbating will have any real impact on hair growth, it does have certain benefits that may inadvertently contribute to hair health. This includes:
Many other myths about masturbation and health problems also persist. However, there’s no evidence that masturbating will cause or contribute to:
If you’re experiencing any of these health problems, it may be a sign of another underlying medical condition. So it’s important to seek advice from your GP.
There are several treatments out there designed to treat hair loss and thinning hair. These range from over-the-counter treatments to surgical interventions.
If you’re not sure what’s causing your hair loss, it’s important to speak to a trichologist. They can examine your hair and scalp, assess your lifestyle, and even perform hair loss blood tests to get to the bottom of your hair problems.
Taking into consideration the cause and extent of your hair loss, specialists may recommend some of the following treatments.
Minoxidil is a popular topical hair loss treatment designed to promote hair growth by encouraging the flow of blood and nutrients to the hair follicles. It’s available in varying concentrations and strengths.
Finasteride is a drug used to treat male pattern hair loss. It comes in both topical and oral forms. In many cases, Finasteride can safely be used alongside Minoxidil to enhance the hair loss promoting effects of these drugs.
Dutasteride is a powerful DHT blocking drug used to treat progressive and advanced male pattern hair loss. It works in a similar way to Finasteride, by inhibiting activity of the enzyme that causes testosterone to convert to DHT.
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a treatment in which light of a specific wavelength is targeted at the scalp over several sessions. This helps to promote hair growth in many types of alopecia.
In platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, the patient’s blood is extracted and placed in a centrifuge to separate the platelet-rich plasma. The PRP is then injected into targeted areas where there is hair thinning or hair loss, stimulating cell proliferation in and around the hair follicles
Hair transplants offer a permanent solution to hair loss. Those looking for surgical hair restoration can choose between either a follicular unit transplantation (FUT) or a follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant.
The Wimpole Clinic has been awarded the Hair Transplant Clinic of the Year award for the past four years. We are proud to offer the very best in patient care and hair restoration services. Take a look at our hair transplant gallery to see many of the high-quality hair restorations we’ve created.
If you’re concerned about hair loss, you don’t need to worry about your sexual practices. There’s no link between masturbation or sex and hair loss, so you’ll need to examine other causes and risk factors for your balding.
Our trichology team can assess and diagnose any type of hair loss, then offer an array of effective treatments to help you manage this. From non-surgical hair restoration options like Minoxidil and PRP hair therapy to surgical interventions, you’ll get the best advice and care at the Wimpole Clinic.
Book a consultation with the trichology team at your closest Wimpole Clinic location to learn more about how we can help you on your journey to hair restoration.
Hair loss myths around masturbation date back to the 1700s and 1800s. Swiss physician Samuel-Auguste Tissot was particularly well-known for associating masturbation with conditions including blindness and hair loss. In fact, he wrote a treatise called Onanism; Dissertation on Diseases Produced by Masturbation.
In 1830, Le Livre Sans Titre was published to warn against masturbation [2]. This book featured a series of graphic illustrations showing the effects of masturbating, including one with a heading which translates to:
his beautiful hair falls out as in old age;his head is stripped before its time.
This is essentially a description and depiction of what we now know as male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia.
Modern science has proven that this is a hereditary hair loss condition driven by hormone levels and androgen receptors in the hair follicles, rather than masturbation or anything related to your sex life.
No, masturbation doesn’t cause hair loss in women. As with men, there’s no evidence linking masturbation with any kind of alopecia.
If you’re a woman experiencing hair loss, take a look at the best female hair loss treatments to find out how to tackle this.
No. Just as ejaculation via masturbation won’t cause hair loss, nor will sex. Any apparent link is down to other factors besides sexual intercourse.
There’s no evidence for this either. While sex may temporarily increase your heart rate, pumping more blood around your body, this effect is relatively short-lived. So as with masturbation, you’re unlikely to see any serious improvement in your hair growth after sex.
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