Worried About Your Hair Youre Not Alone
Most of us will only become more stressed out when we realise our hair is not growing like it should. Things escalate when it starts falling out.
But before you start worrying about whether the matrilineal trait of thin hair has finally come to curse you, its important to understand how common this is becoming.
Statistics show that 12 percent of women will experience some kind of abnormality in their natural hair growth before they reach 30 years of old.
Doctors attribute this to the condition we call life. In case you havent noticed, modern life is stressful. Jobs and relationships have always been stressful.
But now theres also the new found pressures to make our lives look perfect on social media. The combination is forcing our stress levels to skyrocket.
But its not the end of the world. Scientists are starting to figure out how stress damages natural hair growth and what you can do about it.
Can Emotional Stress Cause Hair Loss
Ever heard phrases related to hair falling out in reference to someone being really stressed? It turns out this phrase might be more significantly rooted in science than we originally thought
Many people underestimate the effects of stress on the body, brushing it off as a strictly emotional condition. But stress can manifest in the form of serious physical symptoms including increased shedding or hair loss. If youve experienced some form of emotional or physical stress in the last six months, and youve noticed some increased hair shedding or what looks like the beginning of male pattern baldness, theres a chance you could be experiencing stress-induced hair loss.
Solution: Change Your Style
If you are struggling with very fine hair or areas of sparseness, how you wear your hair can help minimise its appearance. In general, if you have finer hair, dont grow it too long, suggests Moodie. The longer it gets, the weaker the hair gets and so it can tend to look lank, straggly and not healthy. Instead, focus on creating layers within shorter styles, to get a bit more height. I wouldnt recommend really short layers though because they can highlight the fineness of the hair.
Less is also more on fine hair. You might assume that using lots of volumising products will help but it can actually show how fine your hair is by lifting it up. Instead, keep styling to a minimum and focus on adding moisture to your regime to maintain the elasticity of each hair. Plus, if you feel youve lost hair, try changing your parting, or use a tinted product, such as Color Wows Root Cover Up, to fill in any gaps.
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How To Prevent Hair Loss Due To Stress
Medication will take you only so far. Treatments will only help recover from the visible signs of hair loss. But lifestyle changes are required to reduce stress and in turn, solve your problems of hair loss further
Stress can be a very silent yet integrated problem in your daily life. Keep stress and anxiety at bay and also allow the early signs to be taken up to an expert for timely resolution. Do not get carried away by home based solutions as they may cause further damage to your hair. All you need is a holistic treatment plan that suits your condition. For more information, visit your Oliva Clinic today!
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Is There A Way To Prevent Telogen Effluvium
Unfortunately, there is no proven way to prevent or stop an episode of telogen effluvium, and it should resolve on its own with time.
However, there are a few things that may help to support overall hair health. Eat a balanced diet, and in particular, consume an adequate amount of protein . Hair is made up of primarily protein , so its no surprise that sufficient protein is vital to maintain and grow hair. Also, be sure to avoid very tight hairstyles, excessive heat styling, or chemical-based treatments, as these can contribute to hair loss or cause hair breakage.
Tending to emotional health and practicing coping strategies, like meditation, may also be helpful to reduce the impact of a stressor.
If you hair loss is chronic, patchy, or associated with redness, itching or pain, seek medical care from a dermatologist.
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Losing Hair From Stress What You Should Know About Hair Loss And Chronic Stress
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.
What Are The Cycles Of Hair Growth
Hair goes through three cycles:
- The anagen phase can last from two years to eight years. This phase generally refers to about 85% to 90% of the hair on your head.
- The catagen phase is the time that hair follicles shrink and takes about two to three weeks.
- The telogen phase takes about two to four months. At the end of this phase, the hair falls out.
Your shorter hairs like eyelashes, arm and leg hair and eyebrows have a short anagen phase about one month. Your scalp hair can last up to six years or even longer.
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How Can Stress Cause Hair Loss
Hair follicle development is a cyclic activity. It is broadly divided into phases that show
growth and hair formation , senescence/shrinkage , and dormant/resting .
Several growth factors govern the transition of hair follicles between these phases. The latest research suggests that molecules produced during stress response also affect the hair follicle development. These molecules either directly interfere or interact with the governing growth factors and impede the smooth transition .
When your body is under stress, there are chances that the stressors push hair follicles into the telogen or catagen phase. They may also alter the gene expression in the hair stem cells. As a result, the hair shafts show poor anchorage, low protein levels, or stunted growth in the hair fibers. Such situations ultimately cause excessive hair fall, thinning, balding, loss of pigmentation, and scalp disorders .
Although researchers are exploring the relationship between stress and hair growth, a few studies link a few prevalent hair fall disorders to stress levels.
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.
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Why Does Stress Cause Hair Loss
Theres a condition called Telogen Effluvium, where large numbers of hairs are lost after a stressful experience, explains Annie Chiu, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in California. Normally, Dr. Chiu explains, hairs only shed when they enter a stage called Telogen, and most hairs are in a constant growing phrase, called Anagen. But when you experience stress or shock, Telogen Effluvium, it pushes growing anagen hairs into telogen, so you will see a ton of hair loss in a short time, she says.
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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Different Types Of Stress
- telogen effluvium when your body tells more hair than usual to stop growing across your scalp
- alopecia areata when you lose large amounts of hair in patches on your scalp
- trichotillomania when you pick and pull out hairs on your head or around your body without realising youre doing it
Tackling Hair Loss Holistically
For those who have had the virus, hair loss has become a common symptom of the recovery process, usually occurring three to four months after getting sick but sometimes experienced sooner. Dr. Jerry Shapiro, a dermatologist at NYU Langone Health who specializes in hair loss, said that while a healthy head of hair usually includes 90 percent anagen, or growing, hairs and 10 percent telogen, or resting, hairs, that ratio can shift up to 50-50 after experiencing a high fever or flulike illness.
For Misty Gant, a 35-year-old wellness coach living on the Lower East Side, the change happened fast. After being infected in March, Ms. Gant started losing handfuls of her long red hair in the shower and began to notice balding at her temples a few weeks after recovering.
It was really hard because my hair is important to me its part of my identity, she said, noting that before it thinned, it was her most complimented feature.
Ms. Gant, who regularly dives into health and wellness research for clients, soon landed in forums full of people who had gone through similar post-Covid-19 hair loss. After doctors confirmed her suspicion that she was suffering from a post-viral inflammatory response, she readied an arsenal of holistic remedies to try to fix it.
I try to do everything the natural way, and as a wellness practitioner, I know that things take time, Ms. Gant said.
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How To Stop Hair Thinning
How to stop hair thinning, which methods are good for thinning, and similar questions are asked quite often. Hair thinning, especially seen in women, means that the hair remains unhealthy and weak. This thinning can occur both in the hair strands and in the volume of the hair in general. Intense hair loss is the basis of volumetric thinning. Thinning of the hair strands can occur due to various heat treatments, chemical products and lack of care. Seeing both in the same situation can cause you to have unhealthy hair that is not completely aesthetic. If this situation disturbs you aesthetically, you can say stop.
You can make your hair gain volume and become healthy by using hair strengthening mens products and womens specific product options. You can also benefit from professional hair strengthening treatments. So, what are the treatments that strengthen the hair? Are there any hair care treatments that are good for hair? What are hair treatments? If you are wondering the answers to these and similar questions, you can be sure that you have come to the right address. Because we have written by researching the detailed answers to these questions for anyone who is curious. Here are all the answers to your questions about the care and treatment of weak hair.
Did you know that stress can result in hair loss? This condition telogen effluvium isnt preventable, but it can be dealt with. Heres how:
Does Emotional Stress Cause Hair Loss
Emotional stress, such as loss of a loved one, work-related pressure, financial troubles or parenting problems, can cause hair loss. These changes in mood can trigger hormonal imbalances, which lead to hair loss, often through telogen effluvium.
During periods of extreme emotional stress, telogen effluvium can cause the hair to fall out. Telogen effluvium is the most common type of stress-induced hair loss but is not permanent. Hair often grows back within 2 or 3 months.
Emotional stress can also trigger a specific type of alopecia, called alopecia areata. This is characterised by sudden bald patches on the scalp, which can spread to cover the entire head. Again, hair loss caused by alopecia areata is not permanent and often grows back, although sometimes treatment is required.
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What Causes Hair Follicles To Go Dormant
A Harvard University study has identified a major stress hormone that puts hair follicle stem cells into what researchers call an extended resting phase, during which they do not regenerate the follicle or the hair. The researchers zeroed in on the specific cell type and molecule in charge of relaying the stress signal to the hair follicle stem cells and showed how the pathway can be potentially targeted to restore hair growth.
Ya-Chieh Hsu, a Harvard professor and senior author of the study, says his lab has the goal of understanding how stress affects stem cell and tissue biology, fueled in part by stories people have shared about what stress does to their skin and hair.
I realized that as a skin stem cell biologist, I could not provide a satisfying answer regarding if stress indeed has an impact and more importantly, if yes, what are the mechanisms, Hsu says. The skin offers a tractable and accessible system to study this important problem in depth, and in this work, we found that stress does actually delay stem cell activation and fundamentally changes how frequently hair follicle stem cells regenerate tissues.
What Are The Types Of Hair Loss
- Androgenetic Alopecia: It is a medical term of hereditary male or female pattern baldness.
- Telogen Effluvium: It is a type of noticeable hair loss after an emotional shock and stress happening when many hair follicles go into telogen phase .
- Anagen Effluvium: It occurs after chemotherapy or radiation therapy exposure during the anagen or growth phase of hair follicles.
- Alopecia Areata: It is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks hair follicles after a stressful event.
- Scarring Alopecias : It is a skin disease in which Inflammation on the skin causes permanent loss of hair. Before a hair replacement surgery, this condition should be fixed. Otherwise the operation will definetely fail.
- Alopecia Universalis: In this type of hair loss, all hair son the body fall out. Hair follicles do not die and can regrow.
- Tinea capitis: It is a ringworm caused fungal infection resulting in a patchy bald spots on the head. Brittle and broken hairs, itchy,red and ring-like bald spots are some of the symptoms of Tinea Capitis.
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How Can You Stop Or Slow Down Stress
The first step seems obvious: relieve yourself from stress. But of course, thats easier said than done. Dr. Chiu recommends yoga, meditation, lavender aromatherapy, drinking chamomile tea before bedtime, and practicing self-care to help to slow down your stress brain waves. Dr. Kogan agrees, saying that combining lifestyle changes with nutritional shifts can be helpful in reducing stress both inside and out. She suggests taking ashwagandha, a botanical that has been clinically shown to help balance stress hormones and build resilience in chronically stressed adults. Additionally, Dr. Kogan suggests avoiding strict diets or cleanses during a particularly stressful time since they could be additional stressors on the body.
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.
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Your Hair Growth Cycle
Your hair goes through specific phases where it is growing or resting . The initial growth phase can last anywhere from 2-7 years before moving to the shorter catagen growth phase which only lasts a few weeks. During this phase the hair growth slows way down, it starts to detach from its blood supply and then gets ready for the telogen phase or resting phase. During this last resting phase, the hair doesnt grow but it sits in the follicle while the new hair below it begins to grow pushing the older hair out and then it is eventually shed. This resting phase lasts 2-3 months.
There are multiple ways stress can impact your hair loss or lack of growth but right at the follicle, a stressful event triggering high cortisol directly impacts this delicate cycle of growth and rest.
