Facts About Hair Loss And Stress
Stress-induced hair loss is something Im sure youve heard of before, most likely from your parents or guardians. We are all told at some point that as children, teenagers, and sometimes even adults that were the reason our parents are losing their hair! But how true is this?
The fact if the matter is that losing hair due to stress is relative unlikely, but still possible. Both physical and emotional stresses take a huge toll on our body and its functioning, and there is no reason why this wouldnt also extend to hair growth and health.
However, in many cases losing hair because of stress will stop once the stress is removed. This process can take a while as hair cycles are long, so you should expect it to take a few months to a year for your condition to reverse.
Despite this, there are things you can do to potentially reduce stress and help this process. Weve created this helpful guide to show you how to do it!
Childbirth May Be A Trigger
Moms-to-be are often very happy that their hair seems much fuller during pregnancy, but they are then disappointed when they experience hair loss after giving birth. Losing hair after pregnancy is not true hair loss and is normal. That’s because hormones and hair loss in women are linked. Hair falls out after women give birth due to decreasing estrogen levels. Some women notice that they lose a lot of hair in a short period of time after giving birth. The good news is that after this shedding period, hair fullness often returns to normal within 1 to 2 years. Many people wonder what’s the best treatment for hair loss in women? For postpartum moms waiting for their full head of hair to return, using over-the-counter volumizing shampoo and conditioner formulated for fine hair can make hair appear fuller.
Ringworm And Hair Loss
Ringworm is a fungal skin infection that causes patches of hair loss. The official medical name for ringworm on the scalp is tinea capitis. The infection starts out as a small pimple that grows larger. Affected areas are itchy, red, inflamed, scaly patches with temporary baldness. The skin may ooze. People may have one or more bald spots. Ringworm is more common in children, but adults can get it, too.
The fungus triggers hair loss by causing hair to become brittle and to break off. The skin often appears most red around the edge of the lesion, with a more normal appearing skin tone in the center. That is one of the reasons the condition is called ringworm. The condition is contagious with skin-to-skin contact. It is also transmissible by infected combs, hairbrushes, unwashed clothing, and surfaces in gyms, showers, and pool areas. Your doctor can treat ringworm with oral antifungal medication. Ringworm on the scalp is one potential cause of hair loss in women that is reversible.
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Causes Of Anxiety Hair Loss
Hair loss is never the only symptom of anxiety. But it is a distressing one.
The key issue between anxiety and hair loss is stress. Anxiety can create long term and persistent stress. While technically these are two separate conditions and long term stress on its own can lead to many of the same symptoms, the reality is that anyone dealing with anxiety is putting themselves under severe mental and physical stress all the time.
Stress can cause many conditions that lead to hair loss. These include:
- Alopecia Areata – Sudden loss of large clumps of hair in areas around your scalp or gradual hair loss that builds over time.
- Telogen Effluvium – This is a condition where more hairs than normal prepare to fall out.
- Trichotillomania – This is a habitual condition caused by stress and anxiety where the person pulls out hairs – sometimes without realizing it.
It’s highly likely that those with mild hair loss caused by anxiety are suffering from either telogen effluvium, or simply stress weakened hair. But the other two are also a concern and affect a smaller percentage of the anxiety population.
Many individuals with anxiety conditions suffer from nutritional deficiencies. Lack of vitamins will develop problems with growing back hair that naturally falls out daily.
Hairs have a growth cycle of two years before stopping and falling out two months later. If your body “tells” more hairs than normal to stop growing, two months later more hairs will fall out.
Hairfinity Detox And De
The HAIRFINITY Detox & De-Stress Antioxidant Booster is a complete hair care system. It works inside out to boost your natural hair growth. HAIRFINITY Detox and De-Stress repairs, nourishes, and protects your hair from root to tip. Made from all-natural ingredients, it cuts down the need to apply any harmful chemicals to your hair. It offers nutritional supplementation to your body that it fails to get from food alone.
HAIRFINITY Detox and De-Stress Antioxidant Booster contains the following ingredients:
- Turmeric root extract
- Zinc
- Vitamin E
Lets have a look at the role that each of these ingredients plays in promoting natural and healthy hair growth.
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Does Stress Cause Hair Loss
Can stress lead to hair loss? Absolutely, and stress related hair loss affects 55% of Americans, according to a 2018 Gallup Poll. Compared to the global average of 22%, its evident that U.S. citizens are stressed out. Daily stress creates a cycle of compounded damage: stress leads to physical symptoms, and in turn, these symptoms generate more stress, and can lead to hair loss due to anxiety and stress.Chronic stress leads to hair thinning, breakage, and loss. Whats more, stress appears in many forms. While one woman can experience stress-related hair loss from a demanding job, another can experience it from a death in the family. There is no strict yardstick for whom stress-related hair loss effects. What we do know for sure is that repeated and ongoing stress triggers send the hypothalamus into overdrive and result in hair loss for many people.
Be Mindful Of Birth Control Pills
Birth control pills are a form of contraception that works by suppressing ovulation and/or making it more difficult for a fertilized egg to implant into the lining of the uterus. Hormonal hair loss in women may occur when women start or stop taking certain kinds of contraceptives. The hormones that make birth control pills effective may also cause hair thinning in women who use them. You are more likely to experience this side effect from birth control pills if you have a family history of hair loss. Stopping the pill is also a cause of hair loss in women. Hormones are not the only medication that may be associated with hair loss. Blood thinners and blood pressure medications may do it, too. So can drugs used to treat depression, heart disease, and arthritis.
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Does Cutting Hair Short Reduce Hair Fall
FALSE: Cutting your hair only affects the shaft, but not the follicle, which is the part responsible for growth and premature loss. Getting your hair cut may mean you feel like its falling out less as your split ends will have been removed and your hair will look healthier, but it has no impact on new growth or loss.
How To Stop Hair Loss Due To Stress
Sometimes emotional stress can cause hair loss. This is a serious problem for most people and something they wish to reverse. However, people often only begin losing their hair weeks or months after the stressful event has occurred, and the hair loss can continue for several months afterwards.
Luckily, hair will usually grow back on its own once the source of stress has been removed, but there are several things you can do to stop hair loss due to stress.
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What Are The Myths About Hair Loss
Myths about hair loss are widespread. Nothing in the following list is true:
- Youre losing hair because you shampoo it too much, or because youve colored it or gotten a perm.
- Dandruff causes permanent hair loss in women.
- Stress causes permanent hair loss in women.
- If you shave your head, your hair will grow back twice as thick.
- If you stand on your head youll increase circulation, stimulating hair growth.
- If you brush your hair 100 strokes a day that will make your hair healthier.
- Hats and wigs cause hair loss in women.
- Hair loss only affects intellectual women.
Follow Mindful Eating Habits
You should always include adequate amounts of nourishing superfoods to strengthen your hair follicles. The food you consume will tackle stress hormones in your body and keep your hair tissues healthy. The goal is to eat more leafy vegetables, fruits and whole grains, which have more amino acids and nutrients to sustain the health of your hair. Also, reduce or entirely refrain from eating sugar treats, red meat or caffeinated beverages.
Along with eating superfoods, you can also incorporate them in your hair care regime. Opt for the Avocado Nourish Duo to strengthen and gradually nourish your hair.
Usage Recommendation:
- Wet your hair and apply the Avocado Nourish Shampoo on the scalp.
- Gently massage your scalp in circular motions and work up the lather through the lengths of hair.
- Rinse thoroughly.
- Take generous amounts of the Avocado Nourish Mask and distribute it evenly through hair while massaging your scalp.
- Leave it on for 3 mins and rinse off with cold water.
The Avocado Nourish Duo is primarily made of avocados that help maintain the strength of your stressed hair. The shampoo and mask are enriched with vitamin B, E, and fatty acids that will repair hair damage caused by external aggressors like pollution and sun exposure. It is also enriched with almond oil that will not only nourish your hair but also keep your locks soft and glossy. It works best for fragile hair.
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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
Prescription & Over The Counter Medications
Depending on the underlying causes of your hair loss, we may prescribe or recommend taking over the counter hair growth medications. Minoxidil has been used successfully by prescription for several decades, and its now available over the counter in the form of medicated creams, sprays, and foams. It is primarily used as a long-term treatment for androgenetic alopecia but it can also be used for telogen effluvium. When used appropriately, minoxidil can stimulate new hair growth, prolong the anagen phase of the hair growth cycle, and help to prevent further hair loss. Most people will need to continue using minoxidil periodically as recommended by their dermatologists to prevent additional hair loss, but for those whose hair loss is connected to stress, pairing short term minoxidil application with stress relief plans is typically effective to regrow and maintain results. For cases of telogen effluvium that unmask underlying androgenetic alopecia, we may also recommend finasteride or spironolactone to help with hair loss. For alopecia areata, medications that modulate the immune response can be helpful and include topical immunotherapy and topical and oral tofacitinib. A board-certified dermatologist can discuss the risks and benefits of these treatments with you.
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Common Symptoms Of Stress
If youre experiencing hair loss due to stress, youll usually notice the classic symptoms of hair loss:
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Extra hairs on your pillowcase and bedding
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More stray hairs on your shower or bathroom floor
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Lots of stray hairs in your shower drain catch
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Less density and a thin look to your hair, especially under bright light
Hair loss is often subtle, meaning you might not notice it day to day until you look at yourself in a mirror or see your hair in a photograph.
If youre worried that you might have hair loss due to stress, it may help to take regular photos of your hair to track any changes in thickness over time.
You can also try counting the hairs that you lose. Its normal to lose about 100 hairs per day. If you have telogen effluvium, you may lose an average of about 300, making it easy to detect a change in your hair shedding.
Adopt A Specialist Haircare Routine To Stimulate Re
We know that regrowth of hair can take time so for people who wish to have immediately thicker-looking hair, our Trichologists developed the award-winning TRICHOTHERAPY® range. This highly effective regime targets thin hair, fine hair and shedding, while helping to strengthen your strands and reduce breakage. Our customer results have been outstanding. In independent user trials, 79% of women found their hair looked and felt fuller after 12 weeks of using Trichotherapy.
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How To Prevent Hair Loss Due To Stress
This article was medically reviewed by Sarah Gehrke, RN, MS. Sarah Gehrke is a Registered Nurse and Licensed Massage Therapist in Texas. Sarah has over 10 years of experience teaching and practicing phlebotomy and intravenous therapy using physical, psychological, and emotional support. She received her Massage Therapist License from the Amarillo Massage Therapy Institute in 2008 and a M.S. in Nursing from the University of Phoenix in 2013.There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 13 testimonials and 86% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 858,704 times.
Sometimes emotional or physical stress can lead to hair loss, which is a serious concern for most people and something they wish to reverse. However, due to the length of the hair growth cycle, people often only begin losing their hair weeks or months after the stressful event has occurred, and the hair loss can continue for several months afterwards. Luckily, hair will usually grow back on its own once the source of stress has been removed, but there are several things you can do to help the process along. By easing your stress and taking good care of your hair, you can reduce the effects of hair loss.
Why Does Hair Fall Out
The hair on your head goes through a life cycle that involves growth, resting, and shedding. Its common for people to lose around 100 hairs a day.
If you experience more sudden loss, loss in patches, or overall thinning, you may want to see your doctor.
Some shedding is temporary and may respond well to changes in diet, certain treatments, or lifestyle changes. Other loss may be more permanent or not stop until an underlying condition is treated.
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Ways To Fight Sudden Hair Loss
1 – SLOW DOWN HAIR LOSS: The Lotus Mineral ComplexTM, a combination of key ingredients of natural origin, minimizes the effects of stress on the skin* to preserve the scalps natural balance. With the combined action of natural Pfaffia* extract, essential oils, arginine and massage, the cutaneous microcirculation is stimulated and the intake of nutrients and energy is maximized. 2- BOOST GROWTH: ATP, an essential source of energy for hair growth, acts just like an early energy signal to quickly reactivate hair growth*.3- STRENGTHEN HAIR: Once growth has been reactivated, the combination of Biotin and trace elements strengthens and nourishes the hair bulb for stronger, more resilient hair.RESULTS: From the 1st month, hair loss is visibly slowed and growth stimulated. Hair is thicker and quickly appears denser and stronger*Key ingredient tested in vitro
Whats At The Root Of Stress
The culprit is cortisol, the bodys main stress hormone. When too much cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands, as it can be when the body is in state of chronic stress, the dysregulated hormone is powerful enough to disrupt cell signaling in hair follicles.
This happens, some researchers say, because high cortisol levels trigger an excess of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and its these cytokine molecules that prevent the hair growth cycle from moving from the telogen/resting phase to the anagen/growth phase. Cytokines may also disrupt follicular melanocytes, the part of the follicle that produces hair pigment, helping to explain why stress seems to hasten the appearance of gray hair.
In one recent study on mice, researchers pinpointed signaling receptors on hair-follicle stem cells that are influenced by cortisol. Researchers observed that when mice had low levels of corticosterone, the animal version of the stress hormone cortisol, hair/coat growth was abundant. In mice with high levels of corticosterone, hair growth stopped and shedding increased.
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Hair Loss In Black Women: Tips From An Expert
Almost half of black women experience some form of hair loss. However, few doctors are familiar with black hairstyling practices, leaving many women to sort through unhelpful or even harmful advice on their own.
Dermatologist Crystal Aguh, one of just a small group of dermatologists across the country specializing in hair loss, offers these tips to help women protect their hair and recognize common warning signs of hair loss.
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.
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