We’ve been through a lot the past few years. And while we all seem to have communally decided that Covid is over (here in South Africa at least), the long-term effects are still with us – hair thinning, for one. Google searches for ‘hair loss’ have spiked, and doctors and dermatologists worldwide report an uptick in patients complaining about clogged drains and slimming ponytails. A 2021 headline in The New York Times just called a spade a spade: ‘You’re not imagining it: the pandemic is making your hair fall out.’
Before you freak out (stress won’t help), keep in mind that most of us lose between 100 and 150 hairs a day. That’s normal. Shedding more than that, however, is referred to as telogen effluvium, and it all has to do with the stages of hair growth.
Normally, 90% of the hairs on your head will be in the anagen (growth) phase, and 10% will be in the telogen (resting) phase. Telogen lasts
