• Traya Health’s study of 1,66,460 Indian men across all states identifies dandruff as the primary cause of hair loss in 54 percent of cases, followed by genetics at 21.2 percent and nutrition at 10.1 percent.
  • Every single case in the study traced to an identifiable and actionable root cause, challenging the widespread belief that male hair loss is inevitable or purely genetic.

Hair loss in Indian men has long been attributed to genetics, hard water, or hereditary fate. A new study by Traya Health, released during Hair Loss Awareness Month, offers a more specific and more actionable picture. Assessing 1,66,460 Indian men between June and August 2026 across every state in India, the study identifies dandruff as the primary root cause of hair loss in 54 percent of all cases, making it by far the most prevalent driver of male hair loss in the country.

The findings are significant for several reasons, not least because dandruff is a treatable scalp condition. The mechanism behind dandruff-linked hair loss involves Malassezia, a fungus that overgrows on the scalp and creates persistent inflammation. That inflammation pushes hair out of its growth phase prematurely, causing shedding that accelerates over time. Standard antidandruff shampoos address the visible flaking but not the underlying overgrowth, which is why the condition often persists despite regular washing. Internal health factors including gut function, nutritional gaps, and disrupted sleep can aggravate the overgrowth further, making dandruff a condition that sits at the intersection of scalp health and whole-body balance.

Genetics emerged as the second most common primary root cause, identified in 21.2 percent of cases, representing over 35,000 men in the study. The key insight here is not that genetics is irrelevant but that it is not a fixed sentence. DHT, the hormone that shrinks hair follicles in genetically susceptible men, does not act in isolation. Overall health, gut function, metabolism, and nutrition all influence how aggressively DHT sensitivity progresses. Addressing those variables does not change the genetic predisposition but can meaningfully slow its expression, particularly when intervention begins early.

Nutritional deficiency accounted for 10.1 percent of cases, with hair follicles requiring consistent protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin D to sustain healthy growth cycles. When these fall short, the body redirects resources to vital organs, and hair is among the first casualties. Unlike genetic or dandruff-linked hair loss, nutritional hair loss presents as generalised thinning rather than patterned recession, and it reverses when deficiencies are identified and corrected.

Together, sleep, digestion, and metabolism were identified as primary root causes in over 23,000 men, reinforcing the founding principle of Traya Health: that hair loss is a symptom of deeper systemic imbalances, not a standalone condition.

The regional data reveals a climate-driven pattern. Dandruff rates run highest in humid coastal states, with Kerala recording 65.3 percent, significantly above the national average of 54 percent. Drier northwestern states show lower but still dominant dandruff prevalence, with Punjab at 47.4 percent. Crucially, dandruff ranked first in every single state in the study, regardless of climate. Nutrition-linked hair loss follows the opposite geographic pattern, peaking in Jammu and Kashmir at 13 percent and falling to 5 percent in Kerala.

Saloni Anand, Co-Founder of Traya Health, said the month of hair loss awareness should move beyond acknowledgement of the condition to identification of its cause, because every root cause identified in this study can be acted upon. For India’s haircare professionals, the study reinforces the growing case for diagnosis-first approaches to hair health, where scalp analysis, lifestyle assessment, and root cause identification precede any treatment recommendation.