Beyoncé Loses Hair: Weaves and Extensions Swapped For Pixie Crop

She's known for her love of extensions, and has favoured a blonde look in recent years, and was often pictured in wigs and weaves earlier in her career, but mega-star Beyoncé has ditched her long locks in favour of a pixie crop. As she surprised her fans by posting images of her new super-short style on her Instagram, people wondered why the singer had gone for the chop.

Perhaps she was inspired by fellow popstar Rihanna, who also debuted a short style this week, but there's also a number of other reasons Beyoncé may have felt it necessary to stop wearing her hair long. First off, it may be that years of dyeing it, particularly bleaching, has damaged her tresses.

Pixie Perfection

For those worried about hair loss, dyeing hair should not result in permanent damage, and the new hair the grows after the dyeing process should be healthy and normal. A rare exception would be when chemical burns or allergies occur on the scalp as a result of hair dye, though these can be avoided by careful use of home dye kits (be aware of the timing) and using the patch test technique before applying the dye.

There is, however, forms of hair styling that can cause permanent damage to the hair, and which Beyoncé has been known to favour in the past. Tight braids or ponytails and other forms of 'up-dos' along with weaves and hair extensions/wigs can all cause a condition called traction alopecia.

Traction alopecia occurs when undue pressure is  placed upon the hair follicles on account of extra weight or tension being applied. Styles that apply constant pressure or a large amount of weight, such as corn-rows or clip-in extensions may be worse than individually attached extensions, but there is no entirely safe way to wear any of the potential traction alopecia-causing styles.

Queen Bey's Good Hair Day

When hair loss from traction alopecia occurs, it's important to cease using the hairstyling techniques or additions that caused it. When this is done, hair should grow back by itself, however if styling techniques are used over a relatively long period of time, this form of hair loss in women may require treatment to regrow.

For traction alopecia, Belgravia have found that their high strength minoxidil cream has proven particularly effective at treating traction alopecia. Minoxidil is a topical treatment that works by stimulating new hair regrowth, and is applied twice a day in a matter of seconds.

Minoxidil is most effective when used as part of a comprehensive hair loss treatment plan that contains a variety of hair growth boosters, which help to maintain and improve the condition of hair, from the FDA cleared LaserComb to the nutritional supplement Hair Vitalics.