Neurologist Explains Why Your Hair Hurts So Much When You Take It Out Of A Ponytail
Turns out that throbbing scalp pain after pulling out your ponytail isn't all in your head.
Nicole Geri | Unsplash My daughter is constantly telling me her hair hurts every evening when she takes out her ponytail, and we run a comb through it. She describes the feeling as kind of good, but is sure it's her hair that's hurting, and wants me to rub her scalp. "Mommy, why does my scalp hurt after wearing a ponytail?" she'll ask me.
Well, it's a feeling I know very well, as I've felt it when I've had a really tight high ponytail all day. But it doesn't affect me like it affects her. In fact, I don't feel any discomfort when I have my hair up in a normal ponytail or messy bun all day.
My nightly conversation with my daughter always reminds me of my favorite episode of Sex and the City, when Charlotte is talking about how she has been dating since she was 15 and is still waiting for the man of her dreams to sweep her off her feet. Her epic line, "Where is he? My hair hurts," is all too relatable for a different reason. But it brings up the question: Can your hair actually hurt?
We all know when we get a haircut, we aren't in pain, but what gives us the feeling that somewhere between our roots and scalp, we swear our hair can hurt?
Why does our hair hurt so much when we take it out of a ponytail?
Dr. Wade Cooper, a neurologist and former director of the headache and neuropathic pain program at the University of Michigan, says our "ponytail headache syndrome" comes from having a sensitive scalp and is a disorder that doesn't affect everyone.
In an article by Haley Otman for Michigan Medicine, Cooper says that it's "actually a real headache disorder... It doesn’t affect everyone, but a tightly pulled-back hairdo can be really uncomfortable for those it does affect."
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Feeling pain after taking your hair down is a form of allodynia, a normal stimulus that is interpreted as pain.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, allodynia is "feeling pain from things that don’t usually cause pain. For example, a feather could touch your skin and it hurts instead of feeling soft."
“The hair shaft itself and the hair outside of your head is not pain-sensitive, but the scalp they are embedded in has a lot of pain-sensitive nerves around it,” Cooper adds. “If a ponytail pulls back on the hair follicles, it can irritate a sensitive scalp.”
Cooper warns that if you are prone to headaches, your ponytails are more likely to be irritating and cause pain, as explored by a 2004 study.
The best way to prevent irritation is to choose loose up-dos instead of tight hairstyles that can cause headaches. Cooper adds that stress and not getting enough sleep can add to a sensitive scalp.
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If you can take your hair down, even if it's just for a few minutes, you can get relief.
Stephanie Johnson, a licensed hairstylist who specializes in coloring and hair extensions, explains that when we have our hair up, the root is being stretched and "the nerves feel it."
Johnson also adds that if we continue to pull our hair back too tightly or use clip-in extensions, we can cause damage. "Those hair follicles are crying out to you to just give up, and they let the hair go and won't produce more. This is how mechanical damage causes hair loss in some women," she says. It's something we all want to avoid.
So while our hair can't actually hurt, the discomfort we feel on our scalp when someone pulls our hair, when it's up in a ponytail all day, or the headaches we get, are all real feelings. The sensitivity is just coming from the scalp, not the hair itself.
We need to be gentle with ourselves when something is hurting and pay attention, as it's a signal that something is wrong, and our hair is no exception.
Katie Bingham-Smith is a writer and contributor to multiple online platforms, focusing on lifestyle, health, parenting, and relationship topics. She has had bylines featured on Scary Mommy, The Guardian, BBC, The Telegraph, The Hill, MSN, among others.
