Is Stress Causing Your Hair Loss
Too much stress on the body can result in hair loss, a condition known as telogen effluvium. Find out how to reduce stress to regain your healthier, fuller head of hair.
When you’re under stress, you may notice a lot of physical symptoms feeling anxious or exhausted, having trouble concentrating, and even getting sick with a headache or upset stomach. Stress can also be a cause of hair loss. When stress has you pulling out your hair, as the expression goes, you could be literally doing just that.
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Telogen Effluvium: Understanding This Cause of Hair Loss
Telogen effluvium is the term for hair loss that occurs temporarily as a result of some trauma, stress, or shock to your body. Telogen hairs are one type of hair, characterized by the end of the hair being shaped like a bulb, and effluvium means to flow out.
Some hair loss is normal, but telogen effluvium results in excessive hair loss due to a disruption in the natural growth and rest cycle of hair. Generally, between 80 and 90 percent of hair follicles on the scalp are actively growing, with the other 10 to 20 percent in the resting phase. Many events can disrupt this balance and result in temporary hair loss, typically seen as hair that falls out in clumps when you brush, wash, or style your locks.
Stress is known to be a trigger for telogen effluvium and risk factors that can cause this type of stress include:
Stopping Telogen Effluvium
Reduce Stress to Reduce Hair Loss
What Is The Link Between Hair Loss And Stress
In general, hair loss is very important to pay attention to. Hair loss makes the life of the person annoying in general. For this reason, hair loss is increasing even more. The question of whether stress causes hair loss is also wondered. In general, stress causes hair loss. The point of hair loss is very curious. In addition, being in a stressful environment increases hair loss even more. Stress is generally known as the bodys reactions. These reactions reveal certain causes in the body. Hair loss is also common among the causes. Stress and anxiety generally cause hair loss.
The Surprising Connection Between The Coronavirus And Hair Loss Explained
by Michelle Crouch, AARP, February 9, 2021| 0
En español | About three months after she recovered from COVID-19, Beckie Bean-Cummings hair started falling out in clumps.
“It’s crazy, said Bean-Cummings, 61, of Galesburg, Illinois. I’ll be in the shower and it comes out by the handful. I’ve probably lost about 30 percent of my hair since the middle of December.
Hair loss, it turns out, is yet another consequence of coronavirus infection one that typically shows up two to four months later.
For the latest coronavirus news and advice go to AARP.org/coronavirus.
Among members of Survivor Corps, an online support group for COVID-19 survivors, about a third say they’ve had hair loss, said Natalie Lambert, an associate research professor in biostatistics at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis who conducts surveys of the group. A study published in The Lancet found that more than 1 in 5 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were still losing hair six months after discharge.
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Supplements That Cause Hair Loss
Yes. Supplements can cause hair loss in some people, and it is usually related to the dosage. It is very important to follow the recommended dietary allowances for each supplement and discussing with your doctor the addition of a supplement to your routine.
Even though vitamins, minerals, and some herbs are very beneficial to your health, there are plenty of natural sources for them and it is difficult to calculate how much you are really ingesting of a particular nutrient. For example, if you are supplementing with zinc, you need to be careful about the orange juice and other zinc-enriched products you might be consuming too.
The most common supplements to trigger telogen effluvium include:
- Vitamin A RDA 700-900ug
- Vitamin E RDA 3-4 mg
What Can You Do If You Have Hair Loss From Medications
Discuss with your doctor if your dosage can be adjusted or if you can switch to another medication that also helps your condition without the hair loss side effect. Never do this without the strict supervision of your doctor.
In most cases, hair loss from medication will stop a few weeks after you discontinue the drug. However, new hair growth can take a while and might not return to its original texture or volume.
If you have been taking the medication for a long time, you might also develop chronic telogen effluvium. That means you might continue losing hair even after stopping the medication. Chronic telogen effluvium can last up to 7 years.
Discuss your hair loss with your doctor. Discontinuing the drug is not always the only solution. Sometimes, adjusting the dosage or adding a supplement can help a great deal.
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Hereditary Hair Loss And Stress
While stress alone is unlikely to be the trigger of hereditary hair loss , being under significant emotional stress can cause existing hair loss to accelerate.
Hereditary hair loss primarily involves gradual and consistent thinning of the hair in certain areas of the scalp, while stress-induced hair loss usually manifests in high levels of shedding.
Experiencing both shedding and thinning at the same time can have a serious effect on self-esteem, and even make it look like youre losing your hair at a more alarming rate. If youre suffering from both, its important that you address your stress levels and seek treatment for hereditary hair loss too.
If you are looking for medicinal treatment options, remember to always talk to your pharmacist or healthcare professional first.
Stress Can Cause Hair Loss
A recent study conducted by the US University of Indiana, found that stress is a major factor in several different types of hair loss.
Stress is far more problematic than many people think, and is certainly something that many people suffer through, especially in todays fast-paced world. Stress can have very severe effects on your health and can also cause stress-related hair loss.
According to research from 2014 by UK hair care and salon brand Percy & Reed, 50 percent of men and 75 percent of women blame work stress for their thinning hair. Another study from the same year carried out by LOreal found that women are losing their hair earlier than ever, with a sixth of those polled saying they had experienced hair loss before turning 30.
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Stress Can Cause Temporary Hair Shedding
Even if you never developed a fever or COVID-19, you may still see hair shedding. Emotional stress can also force more hairs than normal into the shedding phase. And who isnt feeling more stressed and anxious during the pandemic?
Again, the hair shedding begins about two to three months after the stress starts.
While seeing your hair fall out in clumps can add to your stress, its important to try to de-stress. Only when the stress ends will the excessive hair shedding stop.
You Have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome is another imbalance in male and female sex hormones. An excess of androgens can lead to ovarian cysts, weight gain, a higher risk of diabetes, changes in your menstrual period, infertility, as well as hair thinning. Because male hormones are overrepresented in PCOS, women may also experience more hair on the face and body.
Treating PCOS can correct the hormone imbalance and help reverse some of these changes. Treatments include diet, exercise, and potentially birth control pills, as well as specific treatment to address infertility or diabetes risk.
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Avoid Foods That Are Low In Calories
A low calorie diet usually causes your body to lose a lot of the vitamins, nutrients and healthy fats necessary to work and maintain healthy hair growth. In addition, rapid weight loss can cause physical stress, which can cause hair loss. It is important to eat healthy, always provide the body with the necessary nutrients. If you are trying to lose weight, you should do so by doing more healthy, complementary nutrition and regular exercise.
You Lost A Lot Of Weight Very Quickly
Sudden weight loss is a form of physical trauma that can result in thinning hair. This could happen even if the weight loss is ultimately good for you. It’s possible that the weight loss itself put unnecessary stress your body, or that not eating right can resulted in vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Loss of hair along with noticeable weight loss may also be a sign of an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.
This type of hair loss, too, will correct itself once after a while. “Sudden weight loss seems to shock the system and you’ll have a six-month period of hair loss and then it corrects itself,” says Dr. Hammonds.
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Does Stress Increase Dht
Stress causes the increase of androgens thereby, increasing the secretion of hair-loss related chemical called DHT .
Wrapping Up
Hair loss related to stress usually falls in the categories of telogen effluvium, trichotillomania and alopecia. Topical medications, good diet, stress management and a good hair care routine restores hair loss caused due to stress.
How To Fight Back
First and foremost, take active steps to reduce your anxiety levels. If you are not currently undergoing anxiety treatment, the professionals at Destination Hope can help you understand the root of your anxiety and provide treatment options so you can live a healthy life.
With your anxiety and stress reduced after receiving treatment, your hair may begin to grow back on its own. A healthy diet and exercise can help also provide the nutrients needed for hair growth. Hair growth is a long process and your hair may not come back for months, so its important to be patient and continue working on monitoring your anxiety.
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Hair Shedding Common After Major Health Event
Hair loss after COVID-19 probably isn’t caused by the virus attacking hair follicles, doctors say. Instead, they think it’s most likely a reaction to the physiological and emotional stress brought on by the disease.
“Anytime you have a shock to your system, it can shunt the hair into a shedding phase, said Shoshana Marmon, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology and director of clinical research in the Department of Dermatology at New York Medical College.
The technical name for the condition is telogen effluvium. It usually resolves on its own about six to nine months after it starts, Marmon said.
Lauren Ploch, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in Augusta, Georgia, and Aiken, South Carolina, said hair loss is common in patients after other stressful events such as major surgery and childbirth. As with COVID, it usually shows up a few months after the inciting event.
“The reason this happens is that our bodies, when under stress, devote resources to functions that are physiologically more important, Ploch said. Your body is focused on healing and repairing itself, and not focused on hair growth.
In the most severe cases, patients lose as much as a third of their hair, Ploch said.
Dermatologists are tracking COVID-19 survivors who continue to have symptoms, called long-haulers, to find out for sure if what they are experiencing is telogen effluvium or something related to ongoing illness or inflammation.
Hair Loss Due To Stress Will It Grow Back
The good news is that hair loss induced by stress is mostly temporary, and the hair tends to grow back once the stress levels are under control. The correct treatment options, combined with relaxation techniques and a healthy, balanced diet, are the best way to address stress and get it under control. This will not only impact your overall well-being but will also help grow your hair back!
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Not All Hair Loss Is Anxiety Related
It’s also important to note that not all hair loss is anxiety related, but the two may occur at a similar period of time. Some people that start to suffer from hair loss are at an age with many other stresses, like kids, work, and finances. Because they happen at the same age they may seem related, but are technically different conditions.
Furthermore, some people start to feel anxiety**_ because_** they’re experiencing hair loss. In a way, hair loss is their anxiety trigger, and they experience greater levels of anxiety because they are so worried about losing their hair.
Finally, sometimes those with anxiety simply see more hair loss where it doesn’t exist, because of their fears. It’s not uncommon for hair to look exactly the same but anxiety plays tricks with the mind to make it seem or feel like more fell out than usual.
While anxiety can absolutely cause hair to fall out – in some cases in very large clumps – anxiety is not always the problem. Sometimes the problem is simply that your anxiety causes you to think more and care more about your hair than necessary, giving the impression that the two are related.
Losing Hair From Stress What You Should Know About Hair Loss And Chronic Stress
2 Minute Read
Medically Reviewed by Primary Care
If youre finding more strands of hair than usual on your pillowcase and in the shower drain, you may be wondering if anxiety is to blame.
Youve probably heard about a possible link between stress and hair loss, but is there any truth to that claim? Whether youre feeling frazzled by work or are overwhelmed by emotional events such as divorce or a death in the family, its natural to feel concerned about how stress can affect your body. Heres what you should know about stress and hair loss.
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Can Depression Cause Hair Loss: Common Related Condition
If your hair is getting very thin or is falling out a lot, you are probably very worried about why is this happening. Due to depression, genetic or other causes? The answer is yes to all three. But this time, lets explore one specific cause: Depression. Can depression cause hair loss? Depression can strongly affect the volume of the hair. If our physical and psychological state is bad, it can all leads to hair loss, so some factors such as depression, stress, or lack of sleep can really make the hair significantly fall out.
So how depression is linked with hair loss and what is the way it affect each other? In this article, you will be given some common information about hair loss because of depression.
Hair loss is now a popular issue with adults
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When To See A Doctor For Stress
Stress does cause hair loss, but it isnt the only cause. If youre experiencing sudden and ongoing hair loss, visiting your family doctor is a good first step. Your doctor can evaluate the hair loss, review your medical history, and refer you to a dermatologist if necessary.
You might think of a dermatologist as just a skin doctor, but this doctor also specializes in problems of hair and nails. Visiting a doctor sooner, rather than later, can improve your outcome.
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Hair Loss Differs From Hair Shedding
Hair loss occurs when something stops the hair from growing. The medical term for this condition is anagen effluvium. The most common causes of hair loss include:
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Hereditary hair loss
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Hairstyles that pull on the hair
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Harsh hair-care products
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Compulsion to pull out ones hair
If you have hair loss, your hair will not grow until the cause stops. For example, people who undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatments often lose a lot of hair. When the treatment stops, their hair tends to regrow.
If you suspect that a treatment or drug is causing your hair loss, talk with your doctor. Serious side effects can occur if you immediately stop a treatment or drug.
Other causes of hair loss may require treatment. Many people who have hereditary hair loss continue to lose hair without treatment. A woman who inherits the genes for hereditary hair loss may notice gradual thinning. Men who have hereditary hair loss tend to develop a receding hairline or bald patch that begins in the center of the scalp.
Treatment helps many people who have hair loss, but not everyone. A dermatologist can tell you what to expect.
Hair Loss And Anxiety
Furthermore, it’s important to note that not all hair loss is caused by anxiety, but when you have anxiety it’s easy to worry more about your hair. Many people with anxiety pay too much attention to things that occur naturally, believing that they must all be caused by anxiety. It’s even possible to convince yourself you’re suffering from hair loss when in fact there is no hair loss at all.
So keep that in mind as well. Even though anxiety affects hair, many people that worry about their hair may misinterpret issues that happen naturally.
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Other Hair Loss Factors
There are other factors that can also cause hair loss, including but not limited to:
- Chemotherapy
- Nervous habits
- Pregnancy, childbirth, and birth control pill usage
If your hair is thinning, or youre experiencing baldness and it seems abnormal its a good idea to see your doctor in order to determine the cause.
Also, if youre concerned that stress is the culprit, its always a good idea to cut down on lifestyle stress and find some effective coping techniques for the stress that remains. Specifically, the following resources can help.
