Could stress be the cause behind your hair loss? In this article, we’ll break down how stress can affect your locks and what you can do to stop it.
Could stress be the cause behind your hair loss? It’s true that there are a few types of hair loss that can be caused by or related to stress. Hair loss itself can be a burdensome and stressful situation, so the cycle can be rather vicious if the stress is not managed.
In this article, we’ll break down how stress can affect your locks and what you can do to stop it.
Simply put, stress is anything that causes our bodies to react and adjust due to emotional, environmental, or physical stressors.
This bodily reaction often causes a chemical change and can throw a wrench into our homeostasis.
Stress can last a short period of time if you’re in a perceived emergency or danger, or stress can be a chronic situation, lasting for long periods of time.
Chronic stress is where stress can cause a whole host of issues, one being stress-related hair loss.
Yes. Being chronically stressed or in a state of significant stress can cause hair loss. (Although, not all hair loss is stress-related)Any hair loss can be tied to a disruption to the hair cycle. This might be caused by hormones, genetics, or you guessed it, stress.
One type of hair loss that is related to stress is called telogen effluvium.
This occurs when stress pushes hair follicles into the resting phase. These resting hairs will eventually shed and fall out, as this is the next step in the hair cycle. These hairs might more easily fall out when you’re washing or styling your hair.
When it comes to hair loss, significant levels of stress can cause an abnormal amount of hair follicles to fall into the resting stage of the hair cycle. This can cause sudden hair loss.
Telogen effluvium might also be caused by hormonal changes.
If your hair loss is caused by stress it’s very likely the hair will grow back once the stress has subsided. This type of hair loss is considered temporary.
The rate this hair will grow back is different for everyone. If you think your hair loss is stress-related, the best thing to do is to try to get your stress under control to try to reverse the effects of stress-induced hair loss.
Stress management might incorporate exercise, talk therapy, meditation, breathing techniques, yoga, or spending time with people you love.
If you’re dealing with stress-caused hair loss, it’s also best to be as gentle as you can with your hair. While your follicles have been pushed into the resting stage, your hair can more easily fall out. Be gentle when styling, or brushing your hair, and avoid the use of damaging dyes and products.
If you’ve recently gone through a traumatic event or a tragic loss, and are experiencing hair loss, it might be due to emotional stress.
It’s difficult to know for sure what kind of hair loss you’re dealing with unless you speak with a hair doctor.
However, if you have suffered a shock, a recent loss, severe illness, a difficult life situation, or a distressing emotional event and feel it correlates with hair loss -- you might have temporary stress-induced hair loss.
If effects persist, or you feel you’d like hair loss treatment, there are many topical and oral treatments available to you.
Remember that diagnosis can only be handled by a doctor. If you’re dealing with sudden hair loss, it’s best to speak with a doctor to figure out how best to treat the issue moving forward.
There are many reasons why hair loss can occur, and diagnosing the cause is the first step to effective treatment.
If you’d like to speak with a certified medical hair loss team for a consultation about your hair loss, StrutYours.com offers free online consultations.
We offer affordable prescription hair loss medications like Minoxidil, Finasteride, and Spironolactone which may help you get your locks back to their healthiest state.
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