Irish dancing wigs can cause baldness experts warn

Irish dancing wigs can lead to baldness according to Irish doctors

Irish dancing wigs can cause baldness, two Dublin doctors have warned. The warning came after they dealt with a severe case of alopecia (baldness) in a young woman and eventually traced the cause to wearing a wig for Irish dancing.

The medical name for the condition is traction alopecia and happens when hair is bound too tight or from fitting wigs tightly on the head for an activity like Irish dancing.

Dermatologist  Doctor Sally Jane O'Shea and senior consultant Doctor Aoife Lally who practise in St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin have now highlighted the issue after treating a patient with the condition.

They first reported the case in the medical journal Hospital Doctor of Ireland.

At first they were baffled that bald patches on the 16-year-old’s head kept reappearing after hair grew back but eventually traced it to her passion for Irish dancing.

They believe many other young women diagnosed with the condition also suffer it because of Irish dancing.

They were able to trace the bald patches to the exact spot where the young woman pinned the wig to her hair.The doctors stated that permanent scarring or badness could develop over time. 

They said the "unusual case" should be noted by young girls everywhere on the dancing circuit if any of them suffer from temporary baldness.

Originally published in 2011.