Whilst there are several common causes for hair loss in men and women, a surprisingly common root cause for female hair loss is the hairstyles they choose to wear.
Ponytails and buns that are pulled back tightly have been around since the era of Marlene Dietrich, although over the last two decades, it has received the somewhat inelegant nickname of the “Croydon facelift” for the way the tight ponytail pulls back the skin as well.
After receiving a rather unexpected revival in the early 2020s thanks to people like Bella Hadid, it is time once again to warn that an exceedingly tight hairstyle can cause a type of hair loss known as traction alopecia.
This is caused by the pressure on a hair’s root when it keeps being pulled, eventually breaking down the keratin in the hair and pulling the hair out completely.
A lot of people who regularly wear a tight ponytail find that their hairline rapidly recedes, and if the hair follicles have scarred over, that hair loss cannot be reversed.
However, there are ways to enjoy this fashionable look safely, and the key to it is moderation.
Make sure that for every day you wear a tight bun, braids or a ponytail, you wear a more relaxed style or let your hair down to give your hair a chance to recover.
As well as this, don’t wear the ponytail in the exact same place, and use a softer hair band or bobble to hold your hair in place rather than a tight elastic hair tie.
Try to choose either extensions or a tight hairstyle. Wearing both can compound the amount of pressure on your follicles.
Finally, trust your body’s reaction to a hairstyle. If it starts to hurt or you get a headache by having the style that tight, then it is probably causing you enough long-term damage to make you think twice.