'Extensions caused my hair to fall out': Writer, 23, describes being left with bald spots all over her head after wearing synthetic locks
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For 10 years, Maria Fischer loved wearing hair extensions.
The 23-year-old first loaded up her head with clip-in blonde locks when she was 14 years old and never looked back.
But that all changed in April 2016, when Fischer was horrified to notice a patch of her hair was missing.
Panicked, she took photos of the back of her head to further investigation, and eventually realized her extensions were making her hair fall out.
The New Yorker, who wrote about her transition back to natural hair for the Revelist - including wearing a wig - isn't the only person to suffer hair loss from extensions.
In fact, medical and cosmetic dermatology expert Dr Francesca Fusco said over the past decade she has seen a wave of women wearing extensions and suffering major consequences.
Maria Fischer, 23, said she wore hair extensions for 10 years before she noticed they were making her hair fall out. She visited a dermatologist who told her she had traction alopecia
The New Yorker said she first started wearing extensions when she turned 14 (pictured left at her high school prom). She eventually noticed the damage after seeing a photo that revealed a small bald spot last April (right)
WHAT IS TRACTION ALOPECIA?Traction alopecia is hair loss due to extreme pulling or traction on the hair.
The strain on the hair follicle causing it to stretch to a point where the hair falls out.
Traction alopecia is entirely in the control of the person and can be prevented.
Hairstyles, such as cornrows, braids, tight bun s and ponytails, dreadlocks and extensions, can result in hair loss.
If caught early, the damages of the condition can be reversed with time and no further strain on the follicles.
However, if the follicles are too damaged, no hair will grow back in the certain areas.
Hair transplants may be the only option to restore growth.
Fischer said she wouldn't go anywhere without wearing her clip-in extensions, including to the gym and on fast food runs.
After seeing a picture that highlighted a small bald patch of hair, the writer extensively examined her head and determined that it was in fact thinning.
She said there were so many hairless spots, the extensions couldn't cover them all.
Fischer immediately we nt to a dermatologist who told her that she had traction alopecia, which can cause permanent damage to hair follicles and prevent hair regrowth.
Now Fischer has sworn off extensions for good and has spent the last year getting her hair back to a healthy state, including returning to her natural brunette color.
Although meant to enhance one's beauty, extensions can often lead to disastrous side effects including blinding headaches, burning sensations and precious locks falling out.
The combination of weight and tension places strain on the wearer's hair follicles, which are stretched to a point that the hair simply falls out.
Dr Fusco doesn't advise her patients against wearing extensions but advocates for their maintenance.
Hair extensions are synthetic or real hair that is attached to a person's existing hair or scalp by weaving, gluing, sewing or clipping the fake hair on.
It is highly popular in Hollywood where women seemingly change their looks daily.
Dr Fusco contributes the trend's popularity among regular people to the accessibility that clip and glue extensions have.
Now Fischer has sworn off extensions for good and has spent the last year getting her hair back to a healthy state, including returning to her natural brunette color (left and right)
However, the expert said many don't realize the upkeep isn't as simple as it seems.
Dr Fusco advises clients to be careful on what you are signing up for because extensions need regular maintenance and cleaning to protect both the synthetic and natural hair.
The dermatologist added: 'I always recommend a breather of a few months after a year of extensions.'
She also advocates for women to regularly see their stylist in order to have the glue changed out and/or the extensions rotated.
This is so the extension isn't bound to the same group of hairs and subject to same tension every time.
This will cause less damage to the follicle and decrease the risk of hair falling out.
Even stars aren't immune to the wreckage extensions can cause.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has sported dozens of different styles throughout her career and it left her with visible bald patches.
She opened up about her struggle to the Evening Standard and said: 'I do take more care of my hair now, because I lost all of it with extensions. I am more careful and I do different things.'
Even supermodel Naomi Campbell isn't immune to the damage fake hair can cause. She has sported dozens of different styles throughout her career and it left her with bald patches
The damage of traction alopecia can be irreversible without surgery, said Dr Ball, of The Maitland Clinic in the UK.
He said: 'The persistent traction, or pulling, can cause inflammation around the follicle,' he explained.
'This can cause scarring which will permanently damage the follicles and lead to long-lasting loss of the hair.
'If you catch traction alopecia early enough then some hair loss may be reversed.
'But in many cases it is an irreversible process and once the hair has fallen out the only option is a wig or hair transplant.'
For extreme cases of traction alopecia, hair transplants may be the last resort to get lost hair to grow back.
TYPES OF HAIR TRANSPLANTSThere are currently two main methods of transplant surgery.
Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) or 'strip' surgery involves removing a thin strip of hair-bearing skin from a permanent area of the scalp, where hairs are genetically programmed to continue growing for life.
This is the 'donor area', and it's done under local anaesthetic. Using high-po wered microscopes, healthy hair follicles are harvested from this piece of scalp tissue and transplanted into an area of hair loss, the 'recipient area', using very fine forceps.
The whole process can take between 4 and 12 hours. The newly-implanted hairs will begin to grow through after around four months.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) can restore hair loss without removing a thin strip of hair, therefore avoiding a linear scar.
This method extracts individual follicular units directly from the scalp, leaving only tiny dot scars.
The surgeon next makes microscopic slits in the patient's scalp, and the individual grafts will be implanted.
Like FUT, only local anesthetic is required for FUE. A typical FUE treatment would involve extracting up to 2,000 grafts and could take 10 hours.
The new hairs will begin to grow approximately four months after surgery, and will continue to grow through for the next 10 to 15 months.
Source: 'Extensions caused my hair to fall out': Writer, 23, describes being left with bald spots all over her head after wearing synthetic locks
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