No, your scalp does not need to breathe oxygen in the traditional sense because it gets oxygen and nutrients directly from your blood stream. The oxygen it receives from your blood nourishes your hair follicles promoting and regulating your hair growth cycle. While oxygen is needed by the scalp, the air we breathe has a negative effect on scalp health because the gunk in the air can irritate your scalp and even lead to hair loss.
We need to breathe oxygen to live, but when it comes from the air to our scalp it can cause reactions with bacteria, sebum, and fungi that are all part of the natural microbiome on your scalp. These reactions can cause oxidative stress, which may turn into progressive cell damage that leads to inflammation and dandruff in mild cases, or premature graying and even hair loss when more extreme.
But before you go walking around in one of those air-tight medical suits, you should know that proper grooming habits like knowing how often you should wash your hair can help control oxidative stress. And using hair oils with antioxidant properties like vitamin E oil or coconut oil can help maintain the healthy state of the little environment that lives on your scalp.
Also, you don’t need to cover up with a cap when you’re out and about playing sports, going for a run, or enjoying another fun activity. Hats won’t block out air or oxygen no matter how tight the fit. And hats and other head covers cause friction which causes your hair’s cuticle layer to stick up leading to more tangles, split ends, and broken hairs.
Instead of a hat to hold your hair, go with lower-friction spiral hair ties or headbands to keep your hair back, and use one of the hair oils that help maintain a healthy scalp while keeping your hair moisturized as the sun and heat can dry it out.
Although your scalp does need oxygen, it doesn’t need to breathe it in through the skin. It gets plenty from your bloodstream. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to the TELETIMES blog for more just like it.
