MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A hair and beauty salon owner and a hairdresser in town are extremely perturbed about all the people they are seeing and reports they are receiving about hair loss.
They say that because of Covid-19 and all the stresses and strains it has caused, people's bodies are in a state of "fright or flight" constantly.
Blood flow is going mainly to the vital organs and people's skin and hair are in a bad condition as a result of this. Scalps are in a bad condition, hair texture has deteriorated and people have bald patches, where the hair is not growing back.
Salon owner Dinette Wessels and hair stylist Lynn Honiball complain that hairdressers are giving people bad advice. Both of them are active on several social media platforms.
Honiball says: "I have been contacted by people from all over South Africa and even Zimbabwe, complaining of hair loss.
"Now is not the time for hairdressers to punt their products," she says.
Honiball has sent more people to doctors for injections to remedy alopecia areata than ever before.
The problem is rife all over the world, she says.
She points out that the main symptom of Covid-19 is that one does not get enough oxygen. Many people are battling with psoriasis and eczema as well.
Usually people's bodies are able to rectify themselves within about a year and hair grows back, but because Covid-19 and its associated stresses of job loss and financial challenges are continuing, the body remains in a state of stress and cannot correct itself.
Grieving
Many people are grieving the loss of loved ones owing to Covid-19 and other causes currently. This also puts strain on the body.
Honiball notes: "There has also been an increase in the incidence of auto-immune diseases."
People's bodies are attacking themselves because of stress. Being deprived of touch - the usual hugging and shaking hands - because of Covid-19, also affected people negatively, Honiball said.
She studied the effects of the Holocaust and found that people who were in concentration camps and also who survived the Holocaust suffered from hair loss and the other conditions people are suffering from now.
Honiball says people are not recognising the trauma they are suffering. "Stop wondering if it is trauma and stress that is causing your condition," Honiball urges. "Know that it is trauma and go and see your hairdresser for help."
Honiball says she would welcome calls on 079 283 7116 from people who are suffering from hair loss. "Women are frantic because of their hair falling out," she says.
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