Long Island 
Even when they are out of season and in a place that makes no sense, Christmas trees usually make people smile. There is something light-hearted and cheerful about them, even in July. However, there is one place no one wants to see a Christmas tree – on their head.
Christmas tree pattern hair loss, sometimes referred to as an Olsen pattern, is a form of hair loss most often associated with female pattern balding… but it can also happen as a result of holiday stress and hair loss.
Is Holiday Hair Loss Real?
Yes, holiday hair loss is real, but do not blame the holiday. It is the stress of events that causes people to lose their hair, not the event itself. Christmas, Hannukah, Diwali or whatever winter holiday you celebrate does not cause you to shed more hair but worrying about getting the holiday perfect might.
Doctors at Mount Sinai suggest there might be other explanations as well. Others claim it might just be the time of the year.
“Seasonal hair loss does appear to be a real thing. While we do not fully understand why it happens, there are multiple theories that have been suggested. One theory is that seasonal changes, possibly due to hormonal fluctuations or variation in nutrition, can cause a spike in the resting phase of hair growth, also known as the telogen phase.”
In short, your hair might be following the same pattern as Mother Nature with Winter being a time of rest – much like the telogen phase as the time your hair needs to rest after its active growth cycle. In that analogy, Summer would be the anagen (or growth) phase and Autumn would be the catagen phase, when your hair transitions from active growth to resting.
The exogen phase best correlates to Spring. That is when the hair finally sheds and new growth begins in the hair follicle. Like many plants in spring that grow mostly beneath the soil, the hair growth that occurs in the exogen phase is mostly invisible – taking place in the scalp.
The issue then of holiday stress and seasonal hair loss is that it happens out of phase. When your hair is supposed to be resting, it should not be falling out. But excessive stress, changes in diet, mental health and even your medications can change that. Causing hair to fall out early and creating what is called telogen effluvium.
In some cases, like female pattern hair loss, your genetics play a role in where that hair loss is most likely to occur. Generally speaking, women with pattern hair loss see it along the part in the hair along the top of the scalp, not as a receding hair line. When the hair loss is extreme, the thinning or balding patches can adopt the Olsen pattern and look a bit like a Christmas tree.
What Months Do Seasonal Hair Loss Happen?
Typically, seasonal hair loss is at its worst in October and November, but can also peak again in April or May, similar to shedding cycles for our pets. Holiday hair loss, excessive shedding triggered by holiday stress and perhaps by the seasonal differences surrounding the winter holidays, tends to peak two to three months after the holiday. If holiday stress caused your hair loss, it might be its worst in February.
The good news is that holiday hair loss is almost always something from which you can recover. With many extreme events that cause hair loss (like profound stress), once the negative influence is removed then your hair can “reset” into its normal patterns of growth, transition, rest, and shedding. But that does require the stressor to be eliminated.
The best treatment for holiday or seasonal hair loss is often just time. However, extreme seasonal hair loss combined with winter damage to your hair, can be an indicator that it’s time to see a professional about your hair loss.
LA FUE Hair NYC Identifies and Corrects Seasonal Hair Loss
With the range of time that holiday and seasonal hair loss can strike, identifying it and differentiating it from continuing excessive hair loss can be difficult, but LA FUE Hair NYC can help you prevent or correct that scalp Christmas tree. Our experts in hair restoration will help you identify the cause of your hair loss and recommend the best solutions to get your hair back to holiday photo standards.
Whether it is topical treatment, stress reduction, or hair restoration therapies, LA FUE Hair NYC has the expert treatment you need and you deserve. Book with us today.