Can Drinking Wine Cause Women's Hair Loss?

Can Drinking Wine Cause Women's Hair Loss? - Image by Brady Prentice on Unsplash

There's no direct medical link between drinking wine and hair loss in women. Especially if you only have one or two glasses of wine a month.

The connection between drinking alcohol and hair loss in women changes rapidly when consuming eight or more glasses of wine per week.

It might be hard to know how much wine is too much. Especially if you're a woman and wine seems harmless to you.

What Is The Definition Of Moderate Drinking For Women?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), women who drink eight or more alcoholic beverages per week are heavy drinkers.

If you have two glasses of wine every night with dinner, that's equivalent to 14 glasses of wine per week or 56 glasses on an average month.

Can Drinking Wine Cause Women's Hair Loss? Image by Elle Hughes On Unsplash

Some studies show that women develop alcohol-related problems sooner and at lower levels than men. One glass of wine per day is considered moderate for women compared to two glasses for men.

While drinking one or two glasses of wine with dinner once or twice a week will probably have no noticeable impact on your hair, drinking eight or more glasses per week will put you at risk for accelerated shedding.

Why Can Drinking Wine Cause Women's Hair Loss?

Although a few glasses of wine a week for dinner, a Happy Hour after work, or Winedown Wednesday are probably harmless for most women, the more wine you drink, the most hair loss risks you face.

Can Drinking Wine Cause Women's Hair Loss? - Image by Kelsey Knight - Unsplash

Wine consumption may lead to high levels of acid in your body that depletes protein stores. This creates a ripple effect on other health-related issues.

Excessive or binge drinking of wine taxes the liver. It's also linked to disruptions in your hormones, specifically for your thyroid. A malfunctioning thyroid is a common cause of hair loss.

Alcohol consumed in high quantities has a dehydrating effect resulting in dry skin, brittle nails, and increased hair shedding. In the case of binge drinking, you can experience extreme dehydration, which will ultimately dry out your hair follicles and, over time, cause hair thinning.

Why Do Women Drink Wine In The First Place?

Jen Seiter - Wine Cravings Coach

According to a 2019 survey by Statista, 43.2 percent of female respondents chose wine as their favorite alcoholic beverage. This is compared to 39.3 percent of male respondents.

There are many reasons women drink wine rather than beer or hard liquor. Every woman is different and has a wide range of reasons. Many believe wine is more sophisticated, elegant, trendy, and healthier than liquor or spirits.

This is especially true of resveratrol-infused red wines, which have been promoted as much healthier than other alcoholic beverages. In 2008, a team of scientists found that the red-wine chemical can keep heart tissues young and delay aging, even at concentrations found in an average day's worth of wine.  

Wine, Women, And Hair Loss Issues

Red wine might be healthier in moderation, but it also becomes a hair loss risk when consumed in high quantities.

According to wine cravings coach and busy mom Jen Seiter, who had her own former struggles with wine, "many women get instant relaxation or a feel-good buzz with that daily glass of wine."

Jen, whose coaching practice focuses on women and super stressed moms who want a healthier relationship with wine, explained, "women drink wine because they have chronic life stress or unresolved emotional issues."

Telogen Effluvium Related Hair Loss

Can Drinking Wine Cause Women's Hair Loss? Does It Trigger Telogen Effluvium?

One of the known causes of diffuse alopecia (hair loss), is telogen effluvium (TE), triggered by a range of conditions including, but not limited to, consistent emotional or physiological stress, which alters the normal hair growth cycle.

Any time the hormones, thyroid, or liver are impacted, there can be delayed TE-related shedding.

If you suspect or your hair expert confirms you have TE-related hair loss, will your lost follicles grow back? In most cases, if you remove the cause of the hair loss, strands will eventually return to their original lushness.

Summary

Was this true for Jen Seiter? "When I stopped drinking wine every day, my hair, which had stalled out, started growing again and was much healthier."

Does this mean you have to totally stop drinking wine forever if you have related hair loss? Although all women are different, complete abstinence may not be necessary to regrow your hair.

Jen, who has a very busy coaching practice, helps women to understand their wine cravings. She helps them to establish a healthy relationship with wine and drinking that may not be related to traditional 12 Step Methods.

She believes "you can minimize wine-related hair loss by backing off your current consumption."

More About Jen Seiter And Developing A Healthy Relationship With Wine

Does that mean going cold turkey? Maybe initially to give your body a rest, but you can probably drink wine again in the future in moderation. In the meantime, work on addressing your underly emotional and chronic stress-related causes.

To learn more about developing a healthy relationship with wine, you can read more about Jen Seiter and her journey, along with her experiences with hair loss. To speak with Jen personally, you can schedule an initial discovery consultation to discuss your ongoing relationship with wine.