You might love a man bun, but men's follicles certainly don't. According to a health specialist, any hairstyle that creates constant tension along the hairline puts the wearer at risk of acute baldness. That includes the man bun.
Called Traction alopecia, it's caused by putting undue force onto your hair, causing it to - over time - both thin, and scar. 'It's really, really common,' dermatologist Sabra Sullivan told Mic, somewhat worryingly. 'I see it probably once or twice a week. They're putting traction on the hair follicles that the hair is not really meant to take. Traction alopecia in men is becoming more common'. She also agreed that man buns were partly to blame for this, but another culprit affects women way more than men, and that's the humble weave or tight ponytail.
'It's an epidemic,' Seandee Gayden, a licensed braider in Las Vegas, said in a recent interview. She added that she often treats women of color with weaves and braids so tight they require ibuprofen to mitigate the resulting migraines. 'Tight equals baldness,' she says in a recent video that's gone viral about the effects of Traction alopecia. 'The weave does not last longer because it's tight, it's going to make you bald.'
On the plus side, you can still totally have weaves and braids, just on the proviso that they're not pulled so tight you're getting migraines. Hair should never give you migraines. 'I have braids. I'm all over my page. I don't have baldness at all,' Seandee said. 'There is nothing wrong with wearing braids, as long as the person applying them is doing it the correct way. '
Same with man buns - make sure you tell all your male friends to opt for the sexy, loose kind if they're interested in keeping all of their hair.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.