Quarantine and hair loss

THERE’S a hit tweet that shows the image of a hand holding many strands of hair that had fallen. The tweet reads: Me every time I touch my hair.

The reason why that tweet resonated with so many people is because falling hair beyond normal levels (50 to 150 strands a day) is a manifestation of quarantine anxiety for so many people. Sleepless nights thinking of our livelihood, being alone or trapped in a house with people, friends getting sick and dying, the danger of getting Covid-19 and what would life be after all this are probably responsible for people losing so much hair.

When you put something like this out on social media, people will respond. Friends were helpful. Someone sent out a shampoo and conditioner from a very expensive brand and while it helped a little, using them after the gift was consumed wasn’t really feasible or practical. Others offered advice, such as rinsing the scalp with apple cider vinegar or shampooing less often. Someone suggested that anemia could be the cause.

Another friend offered to send a product she was distributing. It’s a hair thickening serum, called Hairreve. We are reviewing this product after being given a bottle. Our review is objective and based on results after using it for two to three months (this is how long the bottle will last if you use it once a day as advised). Hairreve is an Fda-notified hair thickening serum that claims to “moisturize, nourish and revitalize hair and scalp.” It is to be used once a day on a clean scalp and comes in a nonaerosol spray bottle.

The ingredients include water, denatured alcohol, glycerin, sodium metabisulfate (an antioxidant used as a preservative for pharmaceutical formulations), glycine (a structural protein that promotes strength and elasticity in the skin), larix europaea wood extract (a humectant), zinc chloride (a disinfecting agent), camellia sinensis leaf extract (which helps stimulate blood circulation and improves hair growth), Ricinoleth-40 (an surfactant and emulsifier), propylene glycol (a humectant) and rosemary (believed to promote hair growth and reduce hair loss).

Hairreve’s claim is that it activates the bulge or ORS stem cells to initiate new hair growth in the anagen phase, the first and longest phase of hair growth. This is based on the assumption that hair loss occurs when the number of growing hairs is less than the number of falling hair.

So here are the pros and cons of using Hairreve:

PROS

n Easy to use (we apply it in the morning).

n There is a tingling sensation on the scalp after application, which is probably because of the alcohol.

n We did see some hair growth after three months of use. The growth was visible in “problem” areas along the hairline.

n Hairreve did lessen dandruff, as it claimed it would.

n It’s not oily and it doesn’t have a strong scent. It’s also colorless.

CONS

n At P1,400 per bottle, the price could be expensive for most people.

n For Hairreve to work, the user would need to be consistent in applying it every day.

n It takes time for the product to work. The earliest average time in which you’d see results is six weeks so patience is needed.

n Like most products, Hairreve might not work for some people, so do your research about the ingredients.

You can get Hairreve at selected Mercury Drug, Shopee and Lazada.