Hot comb alopecia

September 1968 in “ Archives of Dermatology ”

P. LoPresti

TLDR Using hot combs can cause permanent hair loss on the scalp's crown.

The document described a condition known as hot comb alopecia, which occurred in Negro women who used hot combs to straighten their hair. This condition was characterized by irreversible hair loss that was incomplete and confined to the crown of the scalp. The use of hot petrolatum with the iron led to chronic inflammation around the upper segment of the hair follicle, causing degeneration of the external root sheath. Over time, this resulted in the destruction of the entire follicle, which was replaced by a band of dense collagen, forming a follicular scar.

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