Are you losing hair because of your hairstyles?

Did you know that tight hairstyles can cause traction alopecia ? If you have noticed more hair loss lately, some of your hairstyles may be affecting the health of your hair.

Frequent use of buns, braids, or tight ponytails, as well as extensions and dreadlocks , is associated with hair loss . These hairstyles cause constant tension on the hair, reduce blood circulation that reaches the hair follicle and create an inflammatory environment that, in the medium and long term, will cause the loss of the hair follicle.

In this article we will talk about how alopecia caused by tight hairstyles develops, its most frequent symptoms and the treatments with which we can combat it.

Tight hairstyles and traction alopecia

Luckily, this does not mean that if you get a tight hairstyle you will suffer from traction alopecia: initially this hair loss is temporary and will cause another hair to grow back in its place. However, the constant use of tight hairstyles gradually generates an environment of traumatic stress, which can develop into permanent scarring alopecia or traction alopecia .

Learning to recognize hairstyles that can contribute to hair loss and how to prevent it is important to maintaining healthy hair. Additionally, hair loss due to traction can be a very frustrating problem for people who experience it, as it can affect their self-esteem and quality of life.

The effect that tight hairstyles have on our hair is something that was discovered relatively recently. It was in 1907 , when the Austrian dermatologist Trebitsch reported a new form of alopecia among Greenlandic women. Specifically, she noticed that it happened to women who tended to wear a traditional hairstyle tight on the crown, but that it did not affect those who opted for more European hairstyles based on loose hair. He attributed this alopecia to native hairstyle styles and called it "Greenlandic alopecia" , although today it occurs in places around the world and is known simply as traction alopecia .

Symptoms of traction alopecia

Traction hair loss is a health problem that can affect any type of person. However, it is more common in African-American people, due to their curly and dry hair type . Although this type of hair loss can occur in any part of the scalp that is affected by constant tension, it most commonly occurs at the hairline.

Symptoms can vary considerably between people who have the same genetic predisposition to suffer from this type of alopecia. This is because hair weakens in one place or another depending on styling habits.

A study of black adults attending a general dermatology clinic in London, for example, found that traction alopecia occurred in only 1% of cases. Another researcher, however, found that traction alopecia was present in 37% of women who attended a primary care center in Cape Town, South Africa. Finally, another industry study of African women showed that 33% of them suffered from traction alopecia.

In short, and although traction alopecia can cause a wide variety of symptoms, all cases shared these common effects :

How to treat traction alopecia?

It is very important to identify and treat this type of alopecia from the beginning, since in its more advanced stages it can become irreversible scarring alopecia that cannot be resolved through therapy.

In most cases, fortunately, traction alopecia can be resolved through treatment during the early phase of the disease. For this reason, we always recommend being attentive to possible changes in hair loss and spending time caring for your hair.

The key to the treatment is always based on reducing the tension that is applied to the hair shaft, for which we will eliminate tight hairstyles from our daily life . It is also recommended to avoid any type of chemical and thermal treatment of the hair , including the use of dyes and bleaches, waving and straightening processes or the use of irons and dryers.

In the most serious cases and where there is severe inflammation of the hair follicle, medical treatments prescribed by a dermatologist, such as Minoxidil, also help prevent hair loss and traction alopecia. In this case, it is also recommended to follow complementary treatments such as Olistic , which improve the supply of nutrients to the scalp through a 100% natural formula . There are also other chemical treatments, such as Minoxidil, which must be prescribed by a dermatologist.

Finally, and in the event that these medical treatments are not effective or if there is already permanent scarring alopecia, traction alopecia can also be treated with a hair transplant. This type of surgery is based on hair grafting, which replaces lost hair and can encourage the growth of new hair fibers.

Conclusion

Cases of alopecia can be associated with many reasons, but we do not usually relate them to the type of hairstyles we do every day. Traction hair loss is a very frustrating problem for people who experience it, who may even continue to have tight hairstyles without knowing that this worsens their hair loss problem.

However, there are several natural and pharmacological treatments that allow traction alopecia to be treated from the first moment. Although the first changes are simple and you can apply them by simply modifying your styling routine, if you experience any symptoms of traction hair loss, we recommend consulting your dermatologist to obtain an appropriate diagnosis and treatment .