Personal hygiene is one of our clearest bets for beating the coronavirus, which is leading many to wonder if the same hardcore washing routine implored for our hands needs to be applied to our hair.
With a large portion of the working population currently under lockdown at home, the world economy possibly is heading towards a deep recession. This is eliciting fears of job loss and pay cuts, hence feeling stressed out is quite natural.
The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be deeply stressful for people around the world across all dimensions. An unintended victim of this stress can be your hair. Hair loss due to COVID-19 pandemic may seem incredulous. But it is a proven phenomenon that pandemic stress is causing hair loss as well.
Here’s what we know right now about your hair’s potential involvement in the spread of COVID-19, along with some tips for how you can take extra care of your hair (and ultimately, yourself) during these challenging times.
CAN THE CORONAVIRUS LIVE ON MY HAIR?
The short answer is yes. Or at the very least, probably. Scientists’ understanding of COVID-19 is evolving in real-time, so there isn’t a definitive ruling on how long the virus could stay locked onto your locks or how common hair has been as a mechanism for its moving from one person to another. Still, hair is a surface of some sort. And thanks to the “don’t touch your face” direction, we’re all pretty aware of how easy it is for us to make incidental contact with our head and hair.
How to take care of your HAIR during the pandemic?
Here are a couple of quick tips to promote healthy hair growth that will leave hair soft, silky, and full of gorgeous shine, even during this time of duress.
- DO: Use a hydrating shampoo and conditioner.
You want to keep your hair hydrated and moisturized (yes, those are two different things) during this time of duress.
- DO: Consider adding a serum to the mix.
If you’re stepping up your shampooing frequency to be extra safe during the coronavirus pandemic, you might want to add in an additional product to help maintain moisture levels.
- DON’T: Wash your hair in scalding hot water
This will result in dehydrated hair and increase frizz and static. It’s alright to begin by rinsing with warm water, which will open your hair’s cuticles and allow products to sink in and do their job. But before you rinse them out, you want to switch to colder water to seal those cuticles back up with all the benefits your products provide locked inside.
- DON’T: Lather in the shampoo on the ends of your hair.
This will only further dry out the ends. Instead, experts recommend starting your lather at the nape of your neck and working your way up to your hairline. To really get the most out of your cleanse, section your hair into parts and spend a few minutes scrubbing each section of your scalp.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our familiar world. The threat of infection has been compounded by the loss of jobs and recession. Hair loss has been a collateral damage in this episode.
Research has shown that COVID-19 hair loss is a real phenomenon. Hair loss due to coronavirus is mainly caused by the hormones produced by the body to cope up with the anxiety and stress.
However, coronavirus pandemic hair loss can easily be countered by regular hair care and managing your stress level. Hair loss because of stress would automatically come down once your anxiety level drops.