Hair loss is one of the common side effects reported in patients who have recovered from Covid-19. According to doctors, the reason is simple: just like any other illness, Coronavirus also put immense physiological stress on the body. So, hair loss is nothing but body’s way of coping with the stressful situation.
The body has to survive no matter what. Body cells are intelligent and know this. So, whenever the body faces extreme conditions, such as an illness like Covid, it shuts down the not-so-essential bodily functions like producing hair and focuses more on vital body functions that help to keep alive.
And Covid comes not with just physiological stress; it gives a lot of mental trauma too. Even people who did not contract Coronavirus reported hair loss.
This is due to the excessive anxiety, stress, worries, and other such mental conditions. People lost their jobs. People were locked up in homes. The virus instilled fear and insecurity amongst the humans.
All these took a toll on your hair.
And there is more…
The constant worry of what will happen next, grief of losing a dear one to the virus, insecurity and shock that came with a loss of job or shutting down of business, being locked inside a home with a spouse with whom you have an estranged relationship, the constant bombardment of negative news on TV, and so on…
Can you expect your tresses to be lovely and healthy in such circumstances?
No wonder doctors reported receiving a flood of post Covid hair problems and hair loss issues.
Post Covid hair loss type
Generally, hair experts observed that the hair loss people experienced post Covid was telogen effluvium. Experts still receive such hair loss cases. Post pandemic anxiety is still prevalent among the population.
Telogen effluvium is characterized by increased shedding of hair. In this condition, follicles shut down or go dormant. This is a coping mechanism of the body, as mentioned earlier. So, until things become normal, the brain gives a signal to follicles to stop producing hair, as the body has to focus on survival.
That’s the reason telogen effluvium type of hair loss is temporary. Once the physiological and the psychological stress ease, follicles get the signal to become active again.
Usually, such kind of hair loss normalizes within 6-10 months.
How to deal with post Covid hair loss
Because it is stress-induced hair loss, the first thing to do is remove the cause, i.e., stress.
To help the body recover faster, eat a nutritious diet. Let a dietician create a customized diet plan for you. This will give your body the required nutrition and will combat the physiological stress.
For the psychological stress, the following tips can help:
- Meditate for 10-15 minutes daily.
- Do yoga. It balances energy chakras, fastens recovery, and remove stress. Certain yoga asanas help to improve blood circulation to scalp to encourage hair growth.
- Practice gratitude. The Coronavirus may have snatched your job, your loved one, your own health, or did some other harm, but say “thank you” for the things you have. Thank the Almighty that you survived the pandemic.
- Have faith in yourself and God and believe that something wonderful will happen now. Try it, this works.
- Do things that you like, such as pursuing your hobby.
Post Covid hair care
Before you begin any treatment for hair loss, you must follow the above tips to reduce physical and mental stress. This is because, as hair experts say, if you continue to be stressful and negative, your hair loss treatment won’t work properly. The continued stress will keep your follicles in dormant condition.
Once you have begun to work on your stress, it’s time to work on your hair. Do this:
- Invest in a good sulfate-free, hair loss shampoo and conditioner.
- Handle hair gently. No rigorous rubbing of strands, jerking, or pulling.
- Massage scalp with warm coconut oil every week.
- Have lots of protein in your diet.
- Stay away from salon treatments for a while. Keep your hair as natural as possible.
People are picking up the pieces of their lives. The need of the hour is to be positive. If the humankind can survive such a monstrous pandemic, then we can certainly revive our mane, can’t we?
