How to manage sudden hair loss

Afro hair in the Black community holds a deep and treasured significance. We don’t play about our hair, so when you start losing hair suddenly, it’s worrying and rings alarms bells.

It’s easy to speculate on various causes  (which can waste precious time), so we’ve tapped our BSD listed expert Trichologists for their advice so that hair loss concerns can be tackled swiftly.

Dr Ingrid Wilson from Crewe Hair and Skin Clinic tells us,

-The first thing to do is to immediately stop using the product and rinse it out thoroughly. Keep the remaining product and make a note of the batch number and expiry date if it is available. Then contact the retail outlet you purchased the product from to let them know your concerns.

- Also photograph your scalp to show the areas of hair loss under good lighting. If the hair loss is ongoing take serial photographs and document any other symptoms you notice start at the same time e.g. itching or burning.

Trichologist Eleanore Richardson from Fulham Scalp and Skin adds,

- When hair shedding does occur there is roughly an 8 week delay between the trigger taking place and the hair actually shedding out.  To help identify the trigger of the hair shedding you need to consider your circumstances two months prior to noticing the shedding, to help identify a possible cause.”

- Be open to the reality that lots of different things can trigger hair shedding and these may be present at the same time as product use.

Finally, both experts agree that visiting a GP, Dermatologist or Trichologist for a diagnostic consultation is important to get to the route cause and type of hair loss.