Hair loss is a very common condition nowadays, and both modern men and women suffer from it to a great extent. Hair loss brings tons of negative emotions and stresses to almost everyone who has to face this problem. There are a great number of causes of hair loss, specified by experts and scientists. Those include insufficient diet and a lack of certain nutrients, genetic factors, hormonal shifts, stresses and psychological pressure, improper hair care and using certain hair styling types, taking some medications, and many more. Recently, it was found out that such factor as wearing wigs can also result in hair loss in women.

According to the findings of the study carried out by a group of specialists at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, wearing decorative wigs which is a very common practice for female Irish dancers, is linked to increased chances to suffer from traction alopecia, a type of hair loss connected to constant pulling on the hair follicles. Along with bright crocheted dancing costumes, most of professional Irish dancers (including teenagers and young girls) all the time use special extravagant ornamental wigs with ringlets, which are pretty heavy and can cause permanent alopecia.

Specialists underline the seriousness of the problem. Doctor Aoife Lally, a medical practitioner and senior consultant in St Vincent’s Hospital, and Dermatology Doctor Sally Jane O’Shea, say that recently, a number of teenagers in Ireland looked for help and came to consult with the specialists after noticing their thinning hair caused by using special wigs for Irish dancing. These wigs are usually very tightly fixed to the hair, that is why pulling is caused and hair loss is triggered. This pulling can injure the tissues and result in scarring causing very serious problems, which can grow into permanent alopecia.

Irish experts analyzed the situation and family history of the girls who were “avid Irish dancers” and came to the hospital complaining about rapid hair loss caused by wearing wigs. It was found out that the girls have very clear patches of hair loss, which, however, can be restored as soon as the wig is not used anymore. At the same time, there was no family history of female hair loss or related problems. Therefore, early hair loss linked to wearing wigs for Irish dancing should be prevented by not using wigs or using them as rare as possible. For more details about this study and this phenomena, check out the latest issue of Hospital Doctor of Ireland, a scientific magazine published by MedMedia.