Telogen effluvium: a clinically useful concept, with traction alopecia as an example.
April 1978
in “
PubMed
”
Telogen effluvium traction alopecia club hairs microscopic examination childbirth febrile illness surgical operations anesthesia anticoagulant drugs psychological stress crash diets traction hair styling practices braids rollers ponytails telogen conversion papillary blood flow hair loss hair shedding stress-induced hair loss postpartum hair loss hair thinning hair breakage
TLDR The study concludes that traction alopecia, caused by hair styling, can help understand telogen effluvium, a condition of excessive hair loss.
The 1978 study by W.D. Steck discussed Telogen effluvium, a condition characterized by excessive loss of normal club hairs. This condition could be diagnosed through microscopic examination of the shed hairs, which have uniform shaft diameter and normally shaped, pigment-free bulbs. The causes of Telogen effluvium were identified as childbirth, febrile illness, surgical operations and anesthesia, anticoagulant drugs, psychological stress, crash diets, and traction. The study also discussed traction alopecia, a type of hair loss often resulting from certain hair styling practices like braids, rollers, and ponytails. Traction alopecia was usually not accompanied by inflammatory changes and had an excellent prognosis if the causative styling practices were discontinued. The study suggested that traction alopecia could serve as a model for studying telogen conversion, which may be caused by interference with papillary blood flow.
