That mentioned, any styling ritual that consists of intense warmth and harsh chemical compounds in your scalp and hair—utilizing curling and flat irons, getting frequent perms, chemical straightening procedures, or enjoyable therapies—can harm the follicle and, worst-case situation, trigger everlasting hair loss.
What you’ll in all probability discover
Trichorrhexis nodosa often entails a mixture of hair loss and modifications in texture: Your hair would possibly look frayed, with small bead-like nodes alongside the strands, and really feel brittle to the contact.10 “You may additionally discover elevated breakage and shorter, uneven strands,” Dr. Mitchell says. “In additional extreme instances, there is likely to be patches of thinning or an total discount in hair density.”
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5. Extreme dandruff
There’s dandruff after which there’s its extra extreme cousin, seborrheic dermatitis: A pesky pores and skin situation characterised by a rash (which will look darker, lighter, or redder than the encompassing pores and skin), in addition to itchy and flaky patches that arrange store in spots with quite a lot of oil glands, together with your scalp. “It’s pushed by an inflammatory response in opposition to organisms that stay on our scalp—particularly Malassezia yeast colonies,” Dr. Lo Sicco says.11
These flaky patches, mixed with the oil that’s produced by the scalp, can clog your follicles, finally impairing the hair’s nutrient provide and weakening its construction (to not point out the following harm—and shedding—that may occur whenever you always scratch your head).12 In the meantime, the inflammatory response disrupts the conventional hair development cycle and may set off telogen effluvium, Dr. Mitchell explains, the place, once more, your hair follicles go on strike for an prolonged interval, solely to later shed in bulk.
What you’ll in all probability discover
Apart from the entire infected scalp factor, the sort of hair loss isn’t often related to dramatic balding, however with a gradual discount in hair density—significantly within the type of elevated shedding wherever the seborrheic dermatitis is supplying you with essentially the most bother. “The hair itself might also grow to be finer and extra fragile because of the inflammatory processes disrupting the expansion cycle,” Dr. Mitchell says.
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6. Infected hair follicles
Folliculitis is a pores and skin situation that strikes when hair follicles grow to be infected—say, from bodily irritation (shaving, traction, wigs) or an an infection (bacterial, fungal)—which compromises the integrity of the follicles.13
There are two principal sorts of folliculitis: superficial and deep. The previous entails solely a part of the hair follicle and can probably heal inside a couple of days, whereas the latter consumes your entire follicle and tends to be extra extreme and long-lasting.
“Because the follicle turns into infected, harm can occur to the encompassing tissues that disrupt the conventional hair development cycle,” Dr. Mitchell says. “In extreme instances, the an infection might result in scarring, inflicting everlasting hair loss.”
What you’ll in all probability discover
The actual sort of folliculitis you expertise will depend upon the underlying trigger (friction or an infection), however “it usually presents as small acne-like bumps or pustules surrounding the affected hair follicles,” Dr. Mitchell says. “These could also be itchy, tender, or painful, and in some instances kind clusters that resemble a rash.” Because the situation progresses, you would possibly begin noticing the encompassing pores and skin turning into irritated and darker, lighter, or redder too.