Tight turbans Can Cause Premature Baldness

According to Sikh religious laws, the turban is required to cover a man’s long, uncut hair, which is wound into a knot, along with a turban, on top of the head. Ironically, the long hair required by Sikhs to create the ‘rishi’ knot is being put at risk by the practice itself, as the knot pulls on the hair, resulting in hair loss.

Male Sikhs start to wear their hair wound into a knot from as young as 5-years-old, which then continues when they begin to wear a turban. Permanent removal of the turban is then forbidden. Accordingly, most Sikhs wear this style for 24 hours a day, leading to noticeable premature hair loss – particularly in the frontal scalp area. The turban is steeped in 400 years of history, meaning that the majority of the 10 million male Sikhs worldwide aren’t aware of the problems that can arise from wearing one.

They need to loosen the turban as apparently more Sikh men, as young as 20, are seeking hair transplant treatment for this type of traction alopecia and it can also be caused by hair braiding, hair extensions, tight ponytails and wearing tight fitting hats.