• ​People who have recovered from COVID-19 are sharing about an effect of the disease—hair loss.  

• Does the physical and emotional stress that accompanies a case of COVID-19 lead to a reversible hair loss condition called telogen effluvium?

• The laser technology of Theradome can help restore hair to a healthy state.

Thought I’d show you what #Covid19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously. #WearADamnMask#LongHaulerpic.twitter.com/H0wCmzYswV

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 9, 2020

As we close out August (which is National Hair Loss Month), we’re left wondering… with the COVID-19 pandemic, could 2020 be National Hair Loss Year?

Millions are stressed out because, well, pandemic life is a lot to handle. With anxiety rising, and our immune systems challenged by loss of sleep and sometimes unhealthy diets, our bodies might respond in unexpected ways, including increased hair shed.   And one of the side-effects of becoming infected with COVID-19 could be hair loss.

Actress Alyssa Milano revealed her own struggles with hair loss, sharing a photo of a clump of hair in her hand, and  saying, "I just wanted to show you the amount of hair that's coming out of my head as a result of COVID.”

In an interview on Healthline.com, Dr. Dendy Engelman, a dermatologist at Manhattan Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, said she started seeing an uptick in patients with hair loss about 6 weeks after the initial stay-at-home orders were implemented in New York in mid-March.

“There’s been at least a 25 percent increase in people coming in with hair loss, and that’s from a place of already being busy dealing with hair disorders,” said Engelman. “It’s not yet documented on major medical sites as a symptom, but patients show me their positive test results.”

Treatments to stimulate the scalp and bulb of the hair (and promote healthy hair growth) include the Theradome invented by former NASA scientist, Tamim Hamid.

The Theradome helmet uses laser hair regrowth treatment known as Laser Phototherapy (LPT), the most powerful and effective treatment for hair loss. Unlike Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) devices, the Theradome laser light targets the stem cells at the base of hair follicles. This allows the formation of a new photonic pathway that can restore hair to a healthy state.

Easy-to-wear at home or at the office, the helmet contains 80 laser diodes, cool airflow and auto-scalp detection in a full coverage helmet.

FDA-cleared, the helmet is recommended by four out of five hair loss experts such as Bosley, Hair Club and other prominent medical clinics from all around the world, according to the company. 

Actress, influencer and biomedical engineer, Megan Pormer says, “Tamim basically picked up the best technologies for hair regrowth, mixed them together and invented this product. It’s been proven that cool laser works for skin resurfacing, scalp and hair growth.”

Pormer has been treating a bald spot since February and has seen a drastic difference since using the Theradome.

“When you combine that technology with concentrated light therapy that goes directly to your hair follicles; I think that is the fastest option for people to regrow their hair,” she added.

Tamim was one of the key scientists behind Digital Cinema Technology, which helped bring Pixar’s “Toy Story” to the big screen. At NASA, he worked with various types of lasers and did not originally set out to invent a hair loss laser solution. But he struggled with his own hair loss and eventually discovered the Theradome laser.

“I figured out that the laser would be a really good application for hair loss,” he says.  “I could put a lot of lasers inside a helmet with no heating. Heat is the worst thing that you can do. As most hairstylists and chemistry people know, when you apply heat to any ingredients, it changes what we call ‘state of the device.’ You don’t ever want to change the state of your hair.”

Celebrity colorist Denis De Souza has been using his cool laser technology device during the quarantine time. “It makes my hair grow faster and I feel it’s a little thicker as well.”

Whether it’s for beauty or medical purposes, lasers are a big part of the future and the technology is evolving. Tamim says he’s also working on a new laser product that could be revolutionary for the skincare industry. Watch this space!