Is Rihanna's Extreme Styling Causing Hair Loss?

Rihanna in New York last month - her hair was showing signs of strain with a thinning patch above her forehead

Singer Rihanna has joined the long list of celebrities paying the price for constant restyling, having developed a distinctive thinning patch above her forehead. The raunchy star hit the headlines in August last year when it was revealed that she was spending £14,000 per week on hair styling - but it would appear that her costly addiction is catching up with her.

Between November 2010 and August 2011, Rihanna managed to model upwards of 14 different hair styles, ranging from a simple red dye, to a huge afro hairdo. Since 2005, her hair has been dyed blonde, black, brown and red, with a selection of unusual styles and cuts.

The curse of “extension addiction”

Although recent photographs show Rihanna sporting tumbling black locks, when examined closely, her own hair looks to be thinning and unhealthy - regardless of how impressive her hair extensions may appear.

Rihanna is just one of many celebrity women whose attachment to hair extensions has caused potentially lasting damage to their own hair and scalp health. Katie Price, Lindsay Lohan and TOWIE’s Jessica Wright have all shown signs of hair loss caused by wearing hair extensions permanently.

Traction Alopecia or poor haircare?

Hair loss such as that seemingly demonstrated by Rihanna is usually a result of a condition called Traction Alopecia. Traction Alopecia is caused by hair being pulled tightly, stretching hair follicles out of shape and causing the attached hair to fall out. Eventually the hair follicles are deformed to such an extent that hair fails to grow at all - resulting in patchy baldness.

Like many Afro-Caribbean women, Rihanna’s methods of styling may have given helped instigate hair loss. Cornrows and tight braids are also known to exert unhealthy levels of tension on hair follicles, again potentially causing Traction Alopecia.

The photographs suggest that Rihanna’s own hair may be in less than peak condition surprising for someone spending £2,000 per day on their hair maintenance. It is therefore possible that there is another underlying cause which is causing her hair to appear fragile and prone to breakage. This could be down to stress or even a nutritional deficiency.

Getting it sorted

Clearly Rihanna needs to act now if she is to prevent further hair loss and regrow the strands which has already fallen out. Although being a fashion icon requires frequent and drastic style changes, she also needs to consider the long term impact of future hair treatments.

If her stylist is unable to assist, Rihanna’s next port of call should be to visit a hair loss specialist like The Belgravia Centre who can advise as to the cause of the hair loss, and how best to reverse it.

We would encourage anyone concerned about symptoms of hair loss to get in touch call us on 0800 666 7777, or contact us online to organize a free, no obligation consultation. If you want The Belgravia Centre’s help, but can’t make it into our clinic, you can fill out our online diagnostic form, which enables us to offer advice and home use treatment programmes to people across the globe.

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