Trichologist Dr Shahid Shamsher talks about the impact of rising heat on hair loss.
1. How does the summer heat affect hair loss?
It particularly affects a certain type of people who have a hot constitution, known as “pitta”. Such people often react adversely to hot surroundings. And we see in everyday life as well. Some people have more sweating and oil secretion on the scalp as compared to others. This group invariably ends up with more itching and scratching on the scalp and associated increase in hair loss.
2. So does itching and scratching lead to more hair fall?
As the heat levels increase, some degree of itching is inevitable and in fact quite normal considering the circumstances. But some people have a higher than normal itching on the head. Scalp examination in such cases will often reveal that these people also have scalp infections, which contribute to the greater than normal scalp itching. Such people then have associated hair loss due to the scalp infections.
3. What precautions can one take here?
The first thing to do is keep the scalp very clean. For some people the scalp sweat-sebum secretion is so high, that they need to even wash their head twice a day, and at these circumstances there is nothing wrong with that. If you are using a helmet quite a bit, then wear a cotton (not polyester) scarf inside the helmet, which should be washed everyday.
Dr Shahid Shamsher is India’s leading certified Trichologist
and can be contacted at Dr Health Clinics on 42067474 to 75
or http://www.drhealthclinic.com
For outstations patients: Skype id- drshahidshamsher.
Hello doctor, my name is chaithra, i stay in mysore. I read yr article in vijaya karnataka this thursday. I am 19 yrs old. I hav problems faced by dandruff. Although it is heridity, i loose my hair during winter season which none of my ancestors faced. My scalp becomes more or less bald during this season. Meanwhile my scalp is too itchy and i have my scalp releasing oil more often. I saw you mentioning about fungal infetion in yr article in which you told the release of sebum attracts fungus and thus the hair loss starts. I feel the same is happening to me. Suggest me the solution or do u expect me for a direct treatment?