Ronaldo, Hair Care and Potential Hair Loss

Ronaldo showcases his 'first-half' style on the pitch during Euro 2012

Anyone who followed Euro 2012, and particularly the progress of the Portuguese team, will not have failed to have noticed Cristiano Ronaldo. Whether this is down to his mesmeric footballing skills or his remarkable self assurance is debatable, but one thing is for certain Ronaldo’s hair has been overshadowing his ball skills on Twitter, if not on the pitch.

Every match played by the striker featured two completely different hairstyles for each half of the game. Millions of viewers across the world noticed that Ronaldo seemed to favour a slicked-down style for the first half, followed by a spikier affair for the second. Many observers started to wonder whether Cristiano was actually listening to the half-time team talk at all, or whether he was too busy updating his hairdo instead!

Hair over care?

Obviously it is essential to take good care of hair to prevent hair loss, but is it possible to overdo it in the style stakes? Can certain hair care regimes actually be causing damage, and even ultimately result in hair loss?

In general, human hair is fairly resilient able to withstand many chemicals, extremes of temperature and other stresses. However, many hair treatments do indeed place hair at risk.

Tension from hair styles

So far, Ronaldo’s hair choices seem to involve simple styling, using gel or wax to slick his hair down or spike it up. None of these common men's hairstyles should place undue stress on his follicles, but if Cristiano’s tastes shift towards more complex styles like braids or cornrows, his scalp health could be in danger.

Tightly braided styles place the follicles under a great deal of strain, which often results in a receding hairline. If hair follicles continue to be stretched in this manner, they eventually deform, causing the attached hair to fall out and place future hair growth in doubt. Hair loss of this type is known as Traction Alopecia.

Heat treatment

Another potentially damaging hair treatment is the use of extremely hot hair straighteners. Again, Ronaldo does not appear to favour the use of such devices, but whether this will remain the case is yet to be seen.

Hair straighteners are known to generate temperatures in excess of 200 degrees Celsius not good when human hair can only safely withstand 180 degrees before damage occurs. If Ronaldo is serious about maintaining the health of his hair for as long as possible, extreme heat styling should be avoided.

And if Ronaldo’s hair starts to fall out…?

In the event that Ronaldo notices his hair is beginning to fall out, his first port of call should not be a stylist, but a a hair loss specialist.

There are clinically-proven, MHRA-licensed and FDA-approved male pattern hair loss treatments available that have been shown to stabilise shedding and promote hair growth, as well as preventing baldness when used as part of a long-term plan to manage this permanent, genetic condition.