Many women are experiencing dramatic hair loss during the lockdown period, is it a warning sign of degrading health? 

Mahi just stroke her hair and she was shocked to see that amount of hair on her hand. She stood in front of the mirror, brushed her hair and started to question what is happening to her. 

Mahi recently lost her job during the lockdown period. She was worried about her career, the bills she need to pay and trying hard to get a job. Those were really stressful two months for her. 

Mahi said, “I thought if my hair continues to fall at this rate, till the end of this year I would be bald. I never noticed that my hair is thinning and falling at this rate until now.”

Mahi is not the only one who is dealing with this problem, many women noticed dramatic hair fall during the lockdown period. Women all over the world are managing work, home and also taking care of their family for 24 hours every day. Dr. Anita Viegas, Dermatologist and cosmetologist from Pune said, “going out alone is not directly correlated with hair loss, although there are the psychological benefits of regularly going outdoors & being in touch with nature…not going out also means less social interaction, which again affects psychological health & stress…which in turn, worsens hair loss.

Sunlight plays a crucial role in good health of our hair. According to the reports, even though we have abundance of sunlight, because of our lifestyle we are not getting the vitamin D in required amount as a result 70-80% of Indians are Vitamin D deficient. Dr. Anita said, “Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin that most Indians are deficient in, despite being blessed with an abundance of sunshine. Since this lack of sun exposure has continued for almost a year, it has probably played a role in hair loss.”

Mahi was facing the same situation. She said, “I don’t get time to go out. I used to go for a morning walk daily, a walk-in nature, listening to the chirping of birds, colourful flowers, soaking sun rays…it was refreshing. Now I barely go out, which is frustrating. I don’t feel energetic and my sleep cycle is ruined.”

Dr. Anita further said that recent studies have increasingly shown that there is a connection between sleep and various types of hair loss, including the patchy type of hair loss called alopecia areata. One of the factors found to be significant is a small molecule called Substance P which is secreted when there is inflammation in the body. Sleep loss leads to inflammation. It affects the levels of various hormones which in turn cause hair loss.

According to Dr. Anita, to stop further hair loss women should start focusing on their health and should take appropriate diet to get the nutrition their body needs. Along with nutrition stress management -ensuring regular hours of sleep, making time to exercise, meditation is also necessary which will in turn reflect in healthy hair.