Man buns are making young men go bald, say experts

Dermatologists are seeing it happen 'once or twice a week'

(@manbunmonday)

Your man bun, darling though it is, might be causing something called traction alopecia.

“It’s really, really common,” dermatologist Sabra Sullivan told Mic (which has some graphic photos of the effects). “I see it probably once or twice a week.”

A revelation set to send shockwaves through east London, the condition creates baldness around the forehead and temples, a direct result of hair being scraped back over a long period of time.

A photo posted by @manbunmonday on Sep 7, 2015 at 11:40pm PDT

“They’re putting traction on the hair follicles that the hair is not really meant to take,” Sullivan added, saying that the hairstyle could lead to irreversible follicle death and permanent scarring. “Traction alopecia in men is becoming more common,” she warned, agreeing that man buns were partly to blame.

Traction alopecia isn’t new, but particularly pertinent now given the trend for the bun style.

Dr. Albert H. Slepyan wrote almost 60 years ago: “In spite of the repeated admonitions, the pony tail in recent years has enjoyed unusual fascination and popularity among our younger females”.

A photo posted by @manbunmonday on Aug 31, 2015 at 11:38pm PDT

“It is clear that those who wear the pony tail longer and more tightly drawn are considered more accomplished in the eyes of their contemporaries. It is the prolonged pulling of the hair backward and upward into a smoothly compacted corded hair bundle that has caused loss of hair in many of these persons.”

The condition isn’t specific to men, and overly tight hair pulling can cause problems regardless of gender.

“Once you damage the hair follicle, it will not grow back,” Dennis Zuniga, a high-end stylist at New York’s Donsuki Salon, told Mic.

It might be time to let your hair flow as a glorious mane.