Traction Alopecia

A 28-year-old woman of African descent presents with progressive hair loss along the frontotemporal hairline over the past 2 years. She reports wearing tight braids and cornrows regularly for cultural and aesthetic reasons. On examination, the area marked **A** in the diagram shows a characteristic band of hair loss with a retained fringe of short vellus hairs at the periphery. Dermoscopy reveals small keratin cylinders around the hair shafts. Which of the following best describes the pathophysiology of hair loss in this patient?