Effective Hair Loss Treatments
Hair loss caused by stress or hormonal changes, like pregnancy or menopause, may not require any treatment. Instead, the loss will likely stop on its own after the body adjusts.
Nutrient deficiencies also dont often require medical treatment beyond supplements, unless the deficiency is caused by an underlying health condition. And any medical conditions that lead to hair loss should be treated directly to address the full condition, not just its symptoms.
That said, there are a number of possible medications and treatments for hair loss caused by female-pattern baldness and other alopecias. You may need to use one or a combination of treatments for months or years to see the full results.
Recommended Reading: How Much Stress Do I Have
Stress And Trichotillomania: Hair Pulling
Trichotillomania is a form of hair loss caused by an irresistible urge to pull out your hair, either from your scalp or any other part of your body. It can result in small or large thin and bald patches, and it is often extremely distressing for those who suffer from it.
The causes of trichotillomania are psychological, and are often complex. Stress is a major contributing factor, as are anxiety, depression, or a traumatic experience.
For more information on hair pulling disorder, please visit our guide to Trichotillomania.
Whats The Best Way To Treat Hair Loss After Surgery
While it may be concerning to see thinning hair or increased hair loss after your surgery, there are steps you can discuss with your doctor to help treat it.
A dermatologist can determine whether a home or professional treatment is best, but either option can take several months to take full effect.
Don’t Miss: How Much Stress Do I Have
Hair Loss Due To Stress: Healthy Hair Solutions & Stress Relief
While you take steps to lower your stress, reduce stress;related hair loss;by;promoting hair growth and reducing hair shedding. Address hair falling out due to stress;by supplementing your stress-busting techniques with a clinically proven hair growth supplement. This will help provide vitamins and minerals to the hair follicle to nourish hair growth;and reduce hair loss. Maintain a healthy scalp with an invigorating hair and scalp serum, an exfoliating;gentle shampoo, and a moisturizing conditioner with Argan oil and hazelnut oil. These 3 hair care products will help create the ideal environment for healthy hair growth.;How to stop hair loss from stress is a combination of stress-reduction techniques plus;scientifically researched;hair growth and hair care solutions. This;multifaceted approach is the best way to alleviate;hair loss due to stress.
How To Control Hair Fall Due To Stress
There are several ways you can address hair fall caused due to stress.;
Over-the-counter, FDA-approved topical solutions and drugs like Minoxidil and Finasteride can help in promoting hair growth and act as treatments for hair loss due to stress. Minoxidil or Rogaine enhances the blood flow and oxygen supply to the scalp, thereby nourishing the hair follicles. Finasteride, on the other hand, is a prescription medication that reduces the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone , the hormone that is primarily responsible for hair loss in men. Finasteride stimulates hair growth by bringing down the DHT levels.
Massaging the scalp with certain essential oils is also said to be an effective remedy for hair loss. Some examples include lavender oil, castor oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, tea tree oil, lemongrass oil, and thyme oil.
Besides addressing hair loss, your stress level needs to be managed too. Relaxation techniques like yoga, exercise, meditation, breathing exercises, and positive thinking can effectively deal with stress. While yoga and meditation calm the mind, exercise releases chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which impact your mood and help you manage your stress.
Also Check: Where To Purchase Stress Balls
Solution: Get To Know Your Hair
Educate yourself on your own hair so you have a better idea of its limits, advises Smart. Get a good grasp of its physical characteristics such as density and diameter . As well as how it behaves, for example, its porosity levels and elasticity. By learning more about your hair, you can learn to avoid doing things that it doesn’t like.
Then, be mindful of how you handle your hair, which means once it’s in that ponytail, loosen it just one last time to ensure it isn’t too tight and avoid doing any intricate styling when you are in a rush,” continues Smart. “Insist that braids, extensions and weaves are installed loosely and if they prove too tight, remove them without hesitation. Resist the urge to constantly ‘slick’ hair tightly into a style and finally, change it up. One of the key issues with traction is the repetitive tension so attempt to avoid this by varying styles.
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.
Recommended Reading: Can Stress Cause Sharp Chest Pain
What Is Hair Loss
Hair loss is exactly what it sounds like: the loss of hair from various parts of your body. Clinically known as alopecia, hair loss can occur for many different reasons. Furthermore, you can lose hair from one or many parts of your body, and the changes may be temporary or permanent. <3>
Hair loss also comes in a variety of patterns, depending on the root cause. Those experiencing alopecia may notice one or more of the following patterns: <3>
- Loosening of hair. This type of hair loss typically follows some sort of shock or trauma. Individuals may notice that handfuls of hair come out during brushing, in the shower, or with a gentle tug. Often times, this hair loss is temporary.
- Slow, consistent thinning over the scalp. Sometimes referred to as male-pattern or female-pattern baldness, this is the most common type of hair loss, as it results from the aging process.
- Patchy or circular bald spots. While not as common as gradual thinning, its not wholly uncommon to see individuals lose hair in ring-shaped patterns. This type of hair loss may come with itchy or painful skin.
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.
Also Check: How To Go On Stress Leave
Best Ways To Prevent Hair Problems From Stress
If you try some of these tips youll see improvements in the health and fullness of your hair. Remember that hair growth takes time and that there are many causes that are more likely than stress for hair problems.
The best way to prevent hair loss due to stress is to try to reduce stress is by being healthy, eating a good diet, exercising regularly, and making sure you take time to relax and distress.
How Does Stress Impact Hair Fall
The hair has four phases in a life cycle, and stress can change that up. Anagen is the growth phase , and catagen is the shorter phase during which the hair follicle shrinks. Telogen is the static period that can last for about 100 daysa sort of limbo where the old hair follicle is waiting to pushed out by the newly grown one. This is the normal life cycle, resulting in the normal daily shedding of 100 hairs. However, increased cortisol levels compact the anagen and telogen phasesleading to more hairfall. Its largely hormones that do thistelogen effluvium specificallythat pushes large numbers of;hair;follicles into a resting phase before their time.
Dr Geetika Mittal Gupta of Isaac Luxe adds, Telogen effluvium and alopecia areata are both related to stress,” she says, suggesting that consciously attempting to reduce cortisol levels is necessary.;
Also Check: What Can I Give My Cat For Stress
Home Remedies For Hair Loss Due To Stress
Hair evolves in a cycle of growth, or anagen; transition, or catagen; and resting, or telogen. During its final stage of resting, hair begins to detach from the hair follicle and fall out under the slightest pressure or pulling. Prolonged, or extreme, stress can cause hair to prematurely enter telogen and break off more easily. Nevertheless, with relaxation techniques and better nutrition, you can expect hair growth to return to normal after a period of three or four months.
Stop And Prevent Hair Loss Due To Emotional Shock Or Trauma
Edited by Donna, Eng, Doug Collins, Alma and 1 other
4 Parts:
Both women and men can experience partial or full hair loss due to depending on their age, general health, and other factors. Although the hair usually grows back, this type of hair loss can sometimes be permanent. The hair can fall out in patches, all at once or just simply become thinner all over the scalp. Hair loss caused by emotional trauma or stress might go on for as long as you are experiencing the shock or heartbreak and then for about another seven to eight months after that.
==Causes of Shock and Trauma Related Hair Loss–
When people experience extreme emotions for a prolonged period of time their body produces neurotransmitters that cause cortisol levels to rise. This is because the upset or panicked individual is always in a state of “fight or flight.” This, sometimes, causes the body to produce hormones that trigger the immune system. In some people, the immune system attacks the hair follicles, which causes them to become inflamed, and then your hair falls out.
Common situational causes of this type of hair loss are:
- Heartbreak due to the breakup of a relationship
- Grief due to the death of a boyfriend or spouse
- Grief due to the death of a parent or family member
- Grief due to the death of a child
- Moving, especially if you are not happy with your new location
- Being in a high-stress job in which you witness human misery often, such as being a paramedic, fireman or emergency room worker
Don’t Miss: Can Psoriasis Be Triggered By Stress
Get Up And Get Moving
When it comes to hair loss due to stress, all forms of exercise can help ease anxiety and depressed mood by helping the brain release endorphins. Youve heard of a runners high, but a brisk walk, dancing or jumping jacks, can all help elevate mood-boosting brain chemicals, enabling you to better deal with stress.
Habits And Lifestyle Changes
Changing your lifestyle and habits can often help to reduce stress. If you often feel stressed, try using the techniques below to limit your exposure to sources of stress and manage stress when you experience it:
If your hair loss is caused by chronic stress, understanding and coping with the stress in healthier ways may help you to regrow some or all of the hair that youve lost.;
This is something that youll need to discuss with your healthcare provider.;
Don’t Miss: How To Relieve Stress Headaches Naturally
Can Stress Cause Hair Loss
According to Ayurveda, your hair is the by-product of Asthi dhatu . And, your hair condition is directly affected by the health status of your bones.
The human stress responses are designed to increase the chances of survival when threatened. But in today’s stressful lifestyle, your nervous system releases the cortisol hormones even when you freak out about meeting your work deadlines.
As a result, your bodily resources are reallocated to make more energy available to the brain and large muscle groups, while immune and digestive functions are sidelined.
In this scenario, the activity of cells that disassemble and break-down bone tissue increases. This affects your bodys capacity to maintain bone health , in turn affecting your hair growth.
According to a survey conducted in 2018, 9 out of 10 people in India are undergoing stress-related problems.
Home Remedies For Hair Fall For Men And Women
1. Taoist soap: The process which makes hair fall happen, is inflammation on the scalp. If you stop inflammation, you stop hair loss. The Taoist soap, which you can buy online , can help with hair thinning out and falling in men and women because it works by reducing inflammation in the scalp, and roots of the hair follicles. The hair follicles stop becoming inflamed and can start producing hair again. This soap is designed for scalp and skin, and can make your skin and scalp very healthy, and in turn, hair growth on the scalp is of better quality it is better to use this product in conjunction with a regime .
A good video to show you scalp massage is as follows she also explains further on why scalp massage is so vital to any hair growth regime:
3. Liver Cleanse: This is common in many people over 30 years of age. This is because enough time has passed, where your body has accumulated hormone residue inside the liver, which did not get removed properly. This can be cleaned and taken care of, by taking Stinging Nettle Leaf extract everyday. This is very cheap, and very effective. A bonus will be that this also brightens the skin and complexion in a very healthy and natural way.
Another alternative is to consume chickpeas which are also a good source of protein although this is not ideal, but if you cannot consume beef, this is the only other option.
You May Like: Can You Get Acne From Stress
Gently Dry With A Towel
After washing your hair, use a soft towel to wrap your hair and let the towel naturally soak the excess water. Avoid rubbing your hair shafts together to dry your hair.
Use a scrunching motion to gently dry your hair without damaging the roots or the shafts. If you are in a hurry, use a hair dryer at a moderate heat setting. However, avoid frequent use of blow dryers at all costs.
How To Recognize Sudden Hair Loss
The average person loses between 40 and 80 hairs per day. If you lose over 100 hairs per day, you have alopecia, the scientific name for hair loss. If this hair loss has happened suddenly and rapidly, it is sudden hair loss. Your hair falls out at an alarming rate. You find it everywhere: in the shower, on your pillowcase, while styling your hair, on your brush and you have the impression that it is falling out in clumps. This is caused by an imbalance in your life or a disruptive change.;
Recommended Reading: How Can You Relieve Stress
Ways To Reverse Hair Loss From Stress
Can hair loss be related to stress? The bad news is yes, but the good news is that stress-induced hair loss is usually temporary.
âTelogen effluvium is the scientific name for stress-induced hair loss,â Robert Haber, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and hair transplant surgeon, tells WebMD Connect to Care. Haber says the sources of stress that can lead to this condition include:
- Childbirth
- Emotional stress
- Significant weight loss
âFortunately, if the hair loss is strictly due to the stress, complete recovery often occurs after several months to a year,â Haber says.
If youâve been affected by hair loss from stress, there are some important steps you can take.
Why Hair Loss Happens
To understand stress-related hair loss, you have to first consider the three-step hair-growing cycle. Anagen is the hairs growth phase, catagen is the resting phase, and telogen is the shedding phase, says Ziering. When you have stress, trauma, or sickness, it disrupts that normal cycle and causes the hair to remain in the shedding phase longer and the growth phase becomes shorter.
During a normal hair cycle, people shed 50 to 100 strands a day as hair grows and separates from each follicle . Essentially, new anagen hair pushes out old telogen hair. But if youre losing far more than 100 strands, you should be concerned, experts say.
To add a layer of trickiness to your hair situation, hair loss caused by stress take two to four months to materialize . So someone who contracted COVID several months ago may only now be experiencing hair loss. Once the stressor or illness is resolved, it take your hair about nine months to grow back to its full potential.
If your hair is still not back to usual by then, there could be another issue, like a genetic hair loss condition or an underlying inflammatory disorder. See a hair loss specialist or dermatologist to explore other potential causes. Early intervention is the key, says Ziering. You want to be consistent with a hair loss prevention treatment plan.
Don’t Miss: What’s Good For Stress And Anxiety
