COVID-19 has truly turned all our lives upside down. It is one heck of a disease that can cause major problems even months after you’ve recovered. One of these issues is radical hair fall and hair loss. It’s normal to lose up to 100 hairs a day and if that’s what’s been happening to you for the majority of your life, you’ll know when it changes. You might find that after surviving COVID-19 that your hair fall has drastically increased and has led to significant thinning of your hair.

Well, if you’ve come here with a hunch that that’s what’s going on, I’m here to tell you that you are totally not crazy! It’s no joke to experience this illness and if you’ve survived it, congrats on kicking Corona’s butt! This virus affects everyone differently and it can take a long time to fully recover from its effects. Hair loss is just one of the many ways it can manifest itself still in your body. Let’s go into that a little more and find out why that is.

Hair Loss as a COVID-19 Symptom

Hair loss isn’t exactly a COVID-19 symptom but more like an aftermath of it. COVID-19 targets existing comorbidities and the immune system. It significantly weakens the body and you can suffer from the effects of it long after you’ve tested negative for the virus. Along with a mild cough, mild difficulty of breathing, and weakness of the muscles, hair loss is one of the things that COVID-19 leaves behind. You’re probably not going to experience much of it during your sick period but you can expect it to manifest after you’ve passed the quarantine period and your more severe symptoms.

Hair Loss Due to Stress

You may have already heard about the amplification properties of COVID-19. It basically just targets your whole Immune system and amplifies whatever illnesses or weaknesses you already have, if you do have any. It is the same thing with hair loss. It’s not going to necessarily be the cause of major hair loss, but it does amplify the main cause: stress. Evidently, the body goes through a significant amount of stress when you contract COVID-19 and that takes a toll on your overall health even after you’ve recovered from the initial symptoms.

The scientific term for hair loss caused by extreme stress is telogen effluvium. And this is basically what happens in the subsequent months after your COVID stint. Telogen effluvium is commonly caused by stressful life events such as major surgery or even giving birth. Lately, cases of telogen effluvium have greatly increased due to the extreme stress the body goes through during and after contracting COVID-19. So no, it’s not just you! Hair loss after COVID-19 is a real thing and there are more and more people experiencing it.

When You’ll Start to Notice

Interestingly enough, the major hair loss doesn’t start when you are in the midst of your worst COVID-19 symptoms. The hair loss is an aftereffect of all the stress your body went through and will usually start a few weeks or up to 3 months after the stressful event. So if you experienced COVID-19 a while ago and are just now starting to notice the excessive amount of hair fall, it’s actually pretty normal. This is just the typical timeline of telogen effluvium with COVID-19 and with any stressful life event for that matter.

What You Can Do

Take Your Vitamins

We all already have an idea of how COVID-19 can take a toll on the immune system. A lack of vitamins and nutrition on a normal basis is already very bad for the hair and the effects of COVID-19 are even worse. Taking your vitamins is an important step in general, but it is essential in the months during your COVID-19 recovery period. This will not only help bring back your strength and immune system, it will also help your scalp and hair absorb the nutrition they need for healthy hair growth.

A Helping Hand

If the hair loss is getting a bit too much and you want a fast and effective solution, you can always use a helping hand in the form of hair products that are specifically formulated and designed to boost hair growth. This will ensure that you have the speediest possible recovery from telogen effluvium. Check out:

Mayraki Hair Growth Ulti-Nutra Laser System

Hair Growth Serum Intense with Copper Peptide GHK-Cu

Hair Growth & Anti Hairloss Shampoo Kit

Take Extra Great Care of Your Hair

Your hair will be even more vulnerable in a state of malnourishment from the COVID-19 aftereffects. It is crucial that you give it a lot more TLC in the coming months after your isolation. That means more vitamins, more nourishing treatments, and just being a lot gentler with your hair. Be sure to switch over to organic products that contain 0 harmful chemicals that could damage your hair, avoid heat styling, and always put on a heat protectant.

Wait It Out

The thing about telogen effluvium is that it has an expiration date. It may feel like the hair loss is just way too much and is lasting way too long, but it usually will go away on its own eventually. Hair will start to regrow and hair loss will decrease after about 6 months. I know it can be frustrating, trust me, I’ve been there (literally)! But just be patient and keep taking good care of your hair.

This Too Shall Pass!

If you came across this article to find out if you are the only one experiencing this, well, I’m here to tell you that you are most definitely not alone. Hair loss is a completely normal thing to experience after having such a extremely stressful life event like contracting COVID-19. Don’t stress yourself out even more over it. The hair loss will go away on its own once your body has recovered. Till then, take your vitamins, elevate your hair care with hair growth boosting products, and take time to calm down and destress.