I often hear from people who are experiencing thinning, balding, or shedding.
One question that I'm commonly asked is some variation on "will cutting my hair help to keep it from thinning out so much?" Sometimes, people wonder if perhaps the additional weight of longer hair is stressing the follicles and causing the hair to thin or fall out.
It's true that traction alopecia does occasionally come into play.
But, this is typically in cases where the person has very long hair that is pulled back quite tightly for long periods of time in braids, buns, or ponytails.
Most people who contact me are just talking about longer hair versus shorter hair and how this affects the rate of hair loss.
I will try to address these concerns in the following article.
Hair That Is Healthy And Deeply Rooted Will Usually Not Fall Out Because Of The Weight Of Longer Hair: I know that some folks may disagree with me about this, but people with healthy long hair generally don't worry that the weight of it is causing their hair to thin.
People who aren't suffering from hair loss usually have to pull their hair quite hard to get it to pull out.
(This is often why dermatologists will do a hair pull test to see how actively you are shedding or thinning.
) Taking this into consideration then, you can hopefully see how unlikely it is that the mere weight of the hair is what is causing it to fall out (unless the hair is unusually long or is being pulled back unusually tightly.
) Instead, there is usually a hair loss condition like androgenic alopecia (AGA) or telogen effluvium (TE) at play.
When I explain this to folks they will often say things like "But, I notice that every time I get my hair cut, I see less hair shedding and thinning in the days following this.
If the length of my hair doesn't contribute to my hair loss, then why does this happen?" I have to admit that I've also noticed this.
But my theory on it is that the stylist brushes, pulls, and manipulates your hair much more than you do.
When your hair is thinning or shedding, you often learn to treat it very gently.
You shampoo, comb, and style very carefully because you are trying to spare as many hairs as is possible.
But your stylist doesn't do this.
So, the manipulation of your hair during the cutting and trimming will usually coax out a lot of the hairs that would have fallen out in the days to come.
Getting A Trim Or Hair Cut Can Make Thinning Hair Look Thicker: With all of these things said, it can be a decent idea to trim or cut your hair.
If you typically see less hair fall after a cut, then the days following your trip to the stylist will often be a relief.
And, hair that is cut more bluntly can look more thick.
Plus, having shorter hair can offer relief from long hairs falling all over your clothes when you're shedding.
You sometimes have to be careful though if you have any severely thinning or balding areas.
Yo don't want to get the hair so short that the scalp is showing through it.
Sometimes, strategic areas will need longer hairs to be used for camouflage.
But, hair that is too long can look very stringy and unhealthy as well.
One question that I'm commonly asked is some variation on "will cutting my hair help to keep it from thinning out so much?" Sometimes, people wonder if perhaps the additional weight of longer hair is stressing the follicles and causing the hair to thin or fall out.
It's true that traction alopecia does occasionally come into play.
But, this is typically in cases where the person has very long hair that is pulled back quite tightly for long periods of time in braids, buns, or ponytails.
Most people who contact me are just talking about longer hair versus shorter hair and how this affects the rate of hair loss.
I will try to address these concerns in the following article.
Hair That Is Healthy And Deeply Rooted Will Usually Not Fall Out Because Of The Weight Of Longer Hair: I know that some folks may disagree with me about this, but people with healthy long hair generally don't worry that the weight of it is causing their hair to thin.
People who aren't suffering from hair loss usually have to pull their hair quite hard to get it to pull out.
(This is often why dermatologists will do a hair pull test to see how actively you are shedding or thinning.
) Taking this into consideration then, you can hopefully see how unlikely it is that the mere weight of the hair is what is causing it to fall out (unless the hair is unusually long or is being pulled back unusually tightly.
) Instead, there is usually a hair loss condition like androgenic alopecia (AGA) or telogen effluvium (TE) at play.
When I explain this to folks they will often say things like "But, I notice that every time I get my hair cut, I see less hair shedding and thinning in the days following this.
If the length of my hair doesn't contribute to my hair loss, then why does this happen?" I have to admit that I've also noticed this.
But my theory on it is that the stylist brushes, pulls, and manipulates your hair much more than you do.
When your hair is thinning or shedding, you often learn to treat it very gently.
You shampoo, comb, and style very carefully because you are trying to spare as many hairs as is possible.
But your stylist doesn't do this.
So, the manipulation of your hair during the cutting and trimming will usually coax out a lot of the hairs that would have fallen out in the days to come.
Getting A Trim Or Hair Cut Can Make Thinning Hair Look Thicker: With all of these things said, it can be a decent idea to trim or cut your hair.
If you typically see less hair fall after a cut, then the days following your trip to the stylist will often be a relief.
And, hair that is cut more bluntly can look more thick.
Plus, having shorter hair can offer relief from long hairs falling all over your clothes when you're shedding.
You sometimes have to be careful though if you have any severely thinning or balding areas.
Yo don't want to get the hair so short that the scalp is showing through it.
Sometimes, strategic areas will need longer hairs to be used for camouflage.
But, hair that is too long can look very stringy and unhealthy as well.