Man buns might be linked to hair loss because science is mean

In non-Pope news, man buns may or may not be linked to hair loss.

In a recent interview with Mic, a dermatologist says that traction alopecia is on the rise among men, and she places partial blame on the increasingly popular, Samson-esque hairstyle.

“They’re putting traction on the hair follicles that the hair is not really meant to take,” Dr. Sabra Sullivan of Jackson, Miss., told the site.

Traction alopecia, or centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, is a kind of balding that results from hairstyles that permanently damage hair follicles by pulling at the scalp like braiding, weave, and tight ponytails.

These styles have historically been most popular among women, particularly black women. A 2011 CNN report on black women and hair loss found a link between hairstyles that tug at the scalp and traction alopecia.

Dr. Sullivan does offer a solution for those men who don’t want get rid of their unnecessarily gendered buns: “The idea is not to pull so tight…You don’t want to have to go for hair transplants later.”

UPDATE, Sept. 28: Fusion reached out to Taylor Franklin, the owner and operator of the @manbunmonday Instagram account, who assured us that this story does not signal the end of “bundaddies.”

“This isn’t ‘BREAKING NEWS,'” Franklin told Fusion in an email Sunday. “This fact about wearing your hair in a tight ponytail from front to back being damaging to your hair and edges is no secret. I’m no hair specialist, but, being an African American woman who’s experimented with braided corn rows, individuals, full-head weaves, partial sew-ins, etc. (the works, lol) since I was a young kid, I’ve known this.”

“DO YOU, AND LIVE YOUR LIFE!” Franklin concluded. “It’s just a matter of recognizing that wearing a tight ponytail everyday, all day might not be a cute look for you and your edges later on down the road when you’re on a date with someone as hot as Brad Pitt or Kerry Washington who can’t stop staring at your receding hairline.”