Is hair loss a side effect of COVID-19?

If you have set in my chair this year you will see a question I ask of every client before their appointment. Yes I ask the question of how they are feeling and if they have been in contact with anyone with COVID-19. But the question I recently added is if they have had COVID since their last appointment. I am hearing more and more comments about hair loss and it’s relation to the illness and now want to ensure everyone is forewarned or prepared for what can come.

And it’s not just a few clients or hairstylist boards I’m seeing this possible side effect. Cleveland Clinic, CBS News, Prevention, Today.com and YourTango.com, who have reported from 25% to 65% of COVID-19 survivors experience some hair loss. Even actress Alyssa Milano has been documenting her post-COVID-19 hair loss on Twitter.

“It makes sense that people are experiencing hair loss, known as telogen effluvium, after COVID-19 for several reasons,” Reynolds explains. “Usually, we shed around 100 hairs a days. But when you’re sick and/or stressed, the body becomes more sensitive to inflammation, which accelerates hair loss—sometimes up to several hundred hairs per day. The problem is that the hair loss itself often leads to more stress, which leads to more loss. In addition, hair loss can be a common side effect of drugs that are used to treat COVID-19, like steroids and remdesivir. The good news is that we expect this hair loss to be temporary and to resolve within six to nine months.” From Jared Reynolds, company founder and president at Zenagen, and a biochemist specializing in hair loss research.

So what can you do to combat this thinning? I offer Zenagen Revolve shampoo and conditioner which help to prevent hair loss proactively.