Do not brush with baldness
Hair-raising Israeli research proves combing causes baldness
August 2009
Does combing cause balding, or does it strengthen hair? Considering how often this question has been asked, it is perhaps surprising few scientific studies have looked into it.
However an Israeli researcher has done just that, and his findings are grim - frequent combing conclusively contributes to hair loss.
Dr. Alexander Kiderman, of the Family Health Department at Hebrew University, recently published a study on the matter in the Journal of Dermatalogical Treatment. The research was conducted over the course of a month, with a group of 14 women.
"We asked them to count the hairs on a comb after every combing session. One week, they combed twice a day, the next week once a day, and so on every month," Dr Kiderman said. "It's a very simple experiment, very primitive, you could say, not high-tech. The question is a bit embarrassing, but we thought we needed to be sure."
Once the lost hairs had been counted and the data had been calculated, a clear connection between the combing frequency and the numbers of hairs lost emerged, said Kiderman.
"When we compared the results of a twice-daily week to those of the once-daily week, we found the twice-daily cause the loss of almost 30 percent more hair," he said.
Kiderman's conclusion is straightforward - stop messing with your hair. "If a woman feels she is shedding hair, she should ask herself whether she combs too much and whether she puts too much strain on her, with a tight ponytail or a thick comb."
An adult person loses on average 100 to 200 hairs every day. According to Kiderman, hair loss is one of the most common reasons for young women to seek dermatologic advice. "But in most cases there's little we can do," he said. "Dermatologists say they can treat about 0.5 percent of hair loss cases. Hair loss is attributed to hormonal changes that are difficult, if not impossible, to change. But what you can do is not to stretch your hair when it's not necessary."
Hair-raising Israeli research proves combing causes baldness
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