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Men living in polluted areas are more likely to go bald than those breathing cleaner air, a new study suggests.

The ground breaking research, by academics at the University of London, has linked the onset of male pattern baldness, to environmental factors, such as air pollution and smoking.

The scientists believe toxins and carcinogens found in polluted air can stop hair growing by blocking mechanisms that produce the protein from which hair is made. Baldness is known to be hereditary, but the new research suggests that environmental factors could exacerbate hair loss.

It raises the hope that scientists may be able to develop treatments for balding men, with topical creams that are able to combat the effects of pollution on hair follicles.

Mike Philpott, from the school of medicine at Queen Mary University of London, said: “We think any pollutant that can get into the bloodstream or into the skin and into the hair follicle could cause some stress to it and impair the ability of the hair to make a fibre.

“There are a whole host of carcinogens and toxins in the environment that could trigger this. It suggests that if you stop smoking or live in an area with less air pollution, you may be less predisposed to hair loss.”

Full Article: Telegraph

Just when you thought you avoided the baldness gene, the environment gets you. While this study won’t help all bald men, it will help out those who are affected by environmental baldness. If anything else, it gives men more incentive to protect the environment if it can help them retain their hair longer. It should be noted that there haven’t been any in-depth research into this hypothesis, so it may not tell the entire story.