Your hair hurts, your scalp hurts, and it isn’t your imagination — hair pain is real, say doctors. Luckily, the pain is usually benign and simple to repair, but you’ll have to determine what’s causing the ouch before you’ll be able to banish it. Here, experts shed some light on why hair hurts, why scalps feel sore, and what you’ll be able to do about it.

• Debra JalimanMD, is a board-certified dermatologist in Recent York City.
• Lars Skjoth is a product developer and founding father of Harklinikken.
• Brian Mitchell GrosbergMD, is a board-certified neurologist and director of Hartford Healthcare Headache Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

• Why does my hair hurt?
• What are some causes of hair and scalp pain?
• How can you relieve hair and scalp pain?

What exactly is occurring when your hair seems like it’s hurting? Hair pain starts within the scalp, so it’d feel like your hair hurts right at the basis. “Inflammation coming from blood vessels within the scalp floods the nerves within the hair follicles and causes them to ache,” says Debra JalimanMD, a board-certified dermatologist in Recent York City. “The pain within the follicle is indistinguishable from the strand, so it truly seems like your hair is hurting.” Causes of this inflammation include the next.

Tight hairstyles can pull and even damage follicles, resulting in hair pain, says Lars Skjoth, a product developer and founding father of Harklinikkena Denmark-based brand that focuses on products to assist hair loss and thinning. He suggests wearing tight hairstyles not more than a pair times every week, and while you do, not to go away them in all day and night.

In case your hair or scalp hurt and also you are likely to wear tight hairstyles, “listen to this sort of hair pain — it may be a warning about coming hair loss,” cautions Skjoth. Dr. Jaliman agrees and says there’s an official term for it, “traction alopecia,” which is gradual hair loss that could be brought on by damage to hair follicles from tight hairstyles. She recommends that patients liable to hair pain use soft cloth hair ties, like Slip Scrunchieswear loose styles as an alternative of anything that pulls on the scalp, and refrain from sleeping with hair tied up or setting hair overnight.

Dry shampoo may cause hair pain when it’s overused, says Dr. Jaliman. Using it to increase the lifetime of a blowout or buy an additional wash-free day every now and then is effective. But using dry shampoo as a daily alternative for laundry your hair may cause residue to cake into follicles. “Most individuals use way an excessive amount of and spray all of it within the scalp as an alternative of on the strands, too,” says Dr. Jaliman. Bacteria can then thrive, especially in the event that they mix with sweat, potentially causing inflammation, itching, and pain.

Shampooing your hair too often can throw off your scalp’s pH balance — and that could be one other reason behind painful hair. Each day cleansing can dry out the scalp and will even induce a flaking condition like seborrheic dermatitis, which is a chronic state of inflammation, explains Dr. Jaliman. If you could have to scrub your hair day by day or if you could have a sensitive scalp, she recommends using a mild baby shampoo, like Mustela 2 in 1 Hair and Body Washwhich accommodates glycerin and avocado extract.

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That is something Dr. Jaliman knows about firsthand. “I had premature graying very young, and after so a few years of coloring, I developed an intolerance and my hair would hurt every time I got a touch-up,” says Dr. Jaliman. Now she has her colorist mix a Sweet’N Low packet into the dye to vary the pH level to raised suit the scalp without affecting the colour, and she or he not feels the burning during a color sensation. This works well with dye, but not bleach which can even irritation, especially when it’s left on too long, says Dr. Jaliman. She has prescribed topical steroids to calm patients’ scalps once they are sore after bleaching.

Hair pain is definitely more common for many who get frequent migraines because of a phenomenon called allodynia that affects as much as two thirds of migraine victims, in keeping with Brian Mitchell GrosbergMD, a board-certified neurologist and director of Hartford Healthcare Headache Center in Hartford, Connecticut. With allodynia, normally nonpainful stimuli — like brushing your hair, wearing a hat or a loose ponytail, and feeling water wash over your hair within the shower — change into painful. Lying down in your side during a migraine could make the scalp feel especially sore and tender, too. “It’s the results of the repeated firing of nerve cells within the brain which can be involved within the strategy of migraine,” says Dr. Grosberg. Tight hairstyles can actually be a primary contributing step to migraines, though hair that hurts can even occur individually, as a part of a migraine attack that’s brought on by other triggers.

Data has shown that one of the best probability of giving migraine victims relief with triptans — a category of migraine-specific medications — is taking them early within the attack, before the strategy of allodynia becomes established, says Grosberg. And in case your hair hurts while you get a migraine, it is best to tell your doctor since it’s a risk factor for developing more frequent attacks, he adds. Grosberg advises working with a headache specialist (yow will discover one by searching the Migraine Research Foundation) who can create a treatment tailored for the style of migraines you’re having.

Whether your hair pain is brought on by styling, cleansing, or migraines, Dr. Jaliman recommends giving your hair a break — from tight styles, from coloring, even from shampooing for a day or two — as often as possible.