I think perhaps that a poisonous effluvium is emitted from the luminous substance.
There are two different types of alopecia, medically known as anagen effluvium and Telogen effluvium.
Tinea capitis (ringworm) affects an estimated 10 percent to 20 percent of susceptible children, and although the demographics are sketchy, telogen effluvium is the most common type of alopecia in both children and adults.
Telogen effluvium, another common cause of hair loss, affects both children and adults.
In telogen effluvium, there is a physiologic basis to the hair loss; something happens to interrupt the hair's normal growth cycle and to drive many or all of the hairs into the telogen phase.