thought i’d show you what #covid19 does to your hair. please take this seriously. #wearadamnmask #longhauler pic.twitter.com/h0wcmzyswv
— alyssa milano (@alyssa_milano) august 9, 2020
“society and medicine haven’t taken hair loss seriously because it’s not life-threatening,” spencer kobren, the founder of the american hair loss association, told the washington post . “but it’s a disease of the spirit that eats away at a person’s self-esteem, and the social ramifications, especially for women, are profound.”
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more than half of canadian women will feel the effects of this type of hair loss at some point in their lives, according to the canadian hair loss foundation . the group pins the blame on heredity and the normal presence of testosterone, which can cause sensitive hair follicles in some women to grow thinner over time. the condition can begin as early as the teenage years, but fully manifests itself by the age of 40.
and it can be undeniably painful, as evidenced by ayanna pressley, a u.s. congresswoman who went public with her alopecia diagnosis earlier this year (she did not specify what form of the condition she has). she told the root that she felt compelled to retreat to the safety of a bathroom stall after wearing a wig to an impeachment vote.
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while it may be too early to determine the full effect covid-19 has on hair loss, it’s a safe bet the virus is only making things worse, as it tends to do to everything it touches. when the body is battling an acute disease, less important biological functions, such as hair growth, are put on the back burner. the flood of stress that accompanies a dire medical diagnosis only makes matters worse, but the condition is usually temporary for covid sufferers, sonya cook, a toronto dermatologist, told ctv news .
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