Why spring can make hair, including eyelashes, fall out…

The season changes, the sun and longer days are a welcome change, but spring’s return has a sting in its tail for lash extension wearers: you’ll lose your winter hair and that includes your eyelashes!  So this means the lash extensions will not last as long as usual, because we need the natural (donor) lash to hold the extension.

Why does this happen?

In fall/autumn and spring most humans experience increase in hair loss more than their usual. This is due to a combination of biological changes that take place mostly in the environment that affect our internal body response, things like changes in the intensity exposure to daily sunlight and more.

Although seasonal shedding may be noticeable to you, the entire process is perfectly normal and no cause for concern.  Seasonal hair loss is common amongst all mammals, including humans, although it is not restricted to Autumn. Women may also experience slightly higher levels of hair loss during the Spring, although the autumnal loss will be more noticeable.

What can you do?

Unfortunately as a lash technician there is not much you can do to help with your client’s retention during this time.  The natural lashes are shedding and renewing themselves so it’s nothing to do with what adhesive you are using, the weather conditions or how the client is maintaining them (although for some clients it could as well!)  My only advice is to offer an infill slightly earlier than usual and to use extensions that are slightly lighter (.15’s or .12’s) so that you can use the baby natural lashes during this time.  As a little extra, for my regular clients, I usually provide extra time at their infill appointments.

Some more useful information!!!

‘Seasonal hair shedding is not the only cause of unexpected hair loss.  It can even forewarn you when there are no other symptoms of illness because we don’t need our hair for survival, so if it’s a choice between your hair growing or keeping blood going to the vital organs, the former will suffer’, explains Dr Hugh Rushton, honorary senior lecturer in trichological sciences at the University of Portsmouth.

If your client’s suffer from unexpected hair loss

Here are some possible causes that could help with your clients…

MEDICATION
A number of medications can trigger hair shedding.  It is thought certain drugs switch more hairs from the growing into the resting phase, and these hairs are then shed a few months later.

IRON DEFICIENCY
Most of the iron stored in the body is bound to ferritin — a protein which helps in the production of hair cells and guards against hair shedding.  Good food sources of iron are red meat, egg yolks and green, leafy vegetables. Vitamin C helps with the absorption of iron, so have a glass of orange juice when eating.

POLYCYSTIC OVARIES
The second most common cause of hair loss in premenopausal women is polycystic ovarian syndrome, leading to excessive amounts of testosterone.  This can trigger excessive body hair — but hair loss on the head.

SKIN CONDITIONS
Pityriasis amiantacea — basically adult cradle cap — can cause hair loss.  It’s linked to eczema, and may be confused with psoriasis.

CRASH DIETING
Crash dieting, particularly low-carb diets, can cause hair loss.  You can eat as much protein and iron as you like, but without any energy your hair will suffer.  That’s because if the brain or other vital organs are desperate for energy, it will often be taken from non-essential sources, such as the hair and nails.

THYROID PROBLEMS
A thyroid problem can affect the normal timing of the hair cycle.  Usually, hair will ‘rest’ before falling out. With a thyroid problem, the hair will have a tendency to fall out sooner, before growing to a normal, reasonable length.’

CONTRACEPTIVE PILL/HRT
All oral contraceptives contain progestogens, synthetic hormones that produce similar effects to the natural hormone progesterone — needed to help prevent a fertilised egg being implanted. Some of these progestogens are good for the hair; others less so.  That’s because the protestogen used can have a male hormone-like effect on hair.

BEING CHUBBY
Being overweight increases the risk of metabolic syndrome — essentially a precursor to type-2 diabetes.  This is where insulin levels are higher than they should be.  ‘The problem is that a high insulin level in women can trigger a higher testosterone level — and increase the risk of baldness.’

STRESS
Stress can lead to a type of hair loss called teleogen effluvium —forcing the hairs into the resting state before their time.  Chronic stress might also push the immune system into overdrive so that it makes white blood cells attack the hair follicles.