Is Alopecia Caused By Stress

What Questions Should I Ask My Healthcare Provider

Stress causes hair loss – Going bald because of stress?

What is the cause of my hair loss?
How many strands of hair am I losing per day?
What type of hair loss do I have?
Will my hair loss be permanent?
Whats the best treatment for me?

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Hair loss may cause you distress whether it happens because of genetics, a disease, or even stress. Know that there are some treatments you can try, and expert dermatologists are there to help you. Your hair loss may be able to be reversed. See your healthcare provider as soon as you notice something wrong because the sooner you start treatment, the better.

How To Treat Stress

Stress-induced hair loss is usually temporary. While hair loss medications minoxidil and finasteride can help you regrow the lost hair, an effective treatment is to change your lifestyle to reduce or eliminate the root causes of your stress.

Sometimes, stress-induced hair loss occurs as the result of a one-off stressful event, such as a death, breakup or traumatic experience. Surgical procedures can also cause you to shed some hair as part of the recovery process.

Its also possible to experience temporary hair loss after a severe illness, which can affect your hair growth cycle.

This type of one-off hair loss usually resolves by itself after three to six months, meaning you usually wont need to make any changes to your habits or lifestyle. Instead, its best to spend your time focusing on recovering from the traumatic or stressful event.

How Is Hair Loss In Women Treated What Medicines Or Supplements May Help

Treatment depends on the cause of your hair loss.

In cases where the loss is due to stress or hormone changes like pregnancy, there might be no treatment needed. The hair loss will stop after a period of time.
In cases of hair loss being due to hair styling practices, like tight braids or ponytails or certain chemicals, treatment means not doing the things that caused the damage.
In cases due to nutritional deficiencies, you might be told to take supplements. For instance, you might be told to take a multivitamin and three to five milligrams of biotin daily.
Minoxidil is approved for treating FPHL. The 2% or 5% solution can be purchased in stores. However, you have to follow directions exactly and use the product indefinitely. Dont use this product if youre pregnant, if you plan to get pregnant, or if youre breastfeeding.
The HairMax Lasercomb® low light laser is approved by the US FDA to treat FPHL. Another FDA-approved laser product is the Theradome LH80 PRO® helmet and low light laser helmets and caps.

Other medications that have been studied, but not approved, for hair loss in women include:

Spironolactone and other anti-androgens.
Steroids.
Other light treatments.

It is important to note that premenopausal women should not take medications for hair loss treatment without using contraception. Many drugs, including minoxidil and finasteride, are not safe for pregnant women or women who want to get pregnant.

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How Can Hair Loss In Women Be Prevented

Preventing hair loss is not possible when it is due to disease, aging, heredity or physical stressors like injuries. You can prevent hair loss caused by caustic chemicals or tight hairstyles by avoiding them. You might be able to prevent some hair loss by eating a healthy diet that provides necessary nutrients in terms of vitamins, minerals and protein. You can stop smoking.

Symptoms Of Alopecia Areata

Hair loss is a prevalent condition that most people experience at some point in their lives.
Hair loss caused by hair shaft breakage differs from hair loss caused by decreased hair growth.
Both men and women experience androgenetic hair loss., but it is more severe in men.
Hair loss can be caused by thyroid disease, anemia, protein deficiency, chemotherapy, and low vitamin levels.
Alopecia areata is a type of hair loss caused by an autoimmune attack on hair follicles in specific areas of the skin.
The most prominent symptom of alopecia areata is patchy hair loss.

Stress And Female Hair Loss: What You Need To Know

Medically reviewed by Kristin Hall, FNP

Feeling stressed? According to data from the American Psychological Association, Americans are feeling more stressed than ever.

Stress can originate from a variety of sources. A difficult personal life, challenging job or tough financial situation can all cause and worsen stress, lead to symptoms ranging from insomnia and fatigue to headaches, aches, pains and a weakened immune system. Hopefully, you are doing all you can to overcome stress by engaging with essential wellness resources. Managing stress is different for everyone so be patient with yourself as you find what works for you.

Physical stress is one of several factors that can contribute to hair certain types of hair loss. If youre feeling overly stressed, its possible that you might notice your hair starting to fall out and thin, even if youre not genetically prone to female hair loss.

Below, weve explained how stress can affect your hair health, as well as what you can do to treat hair loss from stress. Weve also listed other potential causes of hair loss in women that are easy to mistake for stress-induced hair loss.

Differences Between Stress Alopecia And Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is related to the autoimmune system. The lost hair is recovered once the affected area is healed. This type of fall occurs in areas. It leaves patches the scalp and the hair does not fall in a widespread way.

Stress alopecia is fue to nervousness problems, depressions, anxiety. The hair recovers once the reason of the stress stops. It is a widespread fall. The hair is lost in all of the scalp and does not appear in patches.

Both types can be mixed up, but knowing these differences you will be able to distinguish between the two.

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What Is The Relationship Between Hair Loss In Women And Menopause

During menopause, you might see one of two things happen with your hair. You might start growing hair where you didnt before. Or, you might see the hair you have start to thin. One cause may be changing levels of hormones during menopause. Estrogen and progesterone levels fall, meaning that the effects of the androgens, male hormones, are increased.

During and after menopause, hair might become finer because hair follicles shrink. Hair grows more slowly and falls out more easily in these cases.

Your healthcare provider will do a thorough examination and take a detailed history to help you deal with changes in hair growth. You may be directed to have your iron levels or thyroid hormone levels tested. Your medications might be changed if what you take is found to affect hair loss or growth.

Nutritional And Hormonal Imbalances

Here’s Why Stress Causes Hair Loss

Nutritional factors.

Although vitamin D is thought to play a role in hair production, most of the evidence for this hypothesis comes from studies of mice lacking the vitamin D receptor and humans with VDR mutations., Targeted removal of the VDR in mice produces a cluster of clinical signs that includes alopecia. The alopecia appears to be the result of an inadequate response of hair follicles to anagen initiation. Selectively restoring VDR to the keratinocytes by crossing VDR knockout mice with transgenic mice expressing the human VDR successfully prevented the development of alopecia. Because the effect of the VDR on hair loss is ligand-independent, the actual role of vitamin D in regulating hair growth remains elusive. Furthermore, little is known about the role of the VDR in hair loss in nonhuman primates.

Alopecia has also been associated with other deficiencies and overdoses. A syndrome of alopecia, weight loss, and hypoalbuminemia in Western lowland gorillas eventually was traced to protein deficiency. This finding is consistent with the reported hair loss and hypoalbuminemia in young baboons experimentally exposed to a protein-deficient diet. Hair loss has also been linked to folacin deficiency in squirrel monkeys.

Hormonal imbalances or changes.

Recommended Reading: How To Recover From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Strive For A Balanced & Healthy Diet

We all know how important a healthy diet is to our general health and well-being, and diet can be a contributor to low-grade inflammation that affects hair growth.

Does that mean no comfort foods when stressed? No! But when stress strikes and you reach for a treat, try to make healthier choices by avoiding an excess of inflammatory ingredients like sugar, dairy, gluten, trans fats and alcohol.

If your diet is lacking certain nutrients, supplement with a vitamin designed for healthy hair, like GRO Biotin Gummies. They’re packed with vitamins B-5, 6 and 12 to help support your bodys production of keratin and collagen, plus vitamins A, C and E to neutralize follicle-damaging free radicals while zinc helps to promote and maintain scalp health.

Also: Here’s How Gut Health and Hair Loss Are Related

How Common Is Hair Loss In Women

Many people think that hair loss only affects men. However, it is estimated that more than 50% of women will experience noticeable hair loss. The most significant cause of hair loss in women is female-pattern hair loss , which affects about one-third of susceptible women, which equals out to some 30 million women in the United States.

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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.

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

Give Your Hair & Scalp A Boost

Why does Stress Causes Hair Loss: 5 Reasons it

Give your body all the nutrients it needs for powerful hair growth! Our GRO+ Higher Kit features the stress-busting power of CBD and includes GRO+ Advanced Hair Care Gummies along with our GRO+ Advanced Hair Serum to deliver beneficial nutrients and natural stress relief right to your roots!

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What About Male Pattern Baldness

The not-as-good news is that stress does not lead to male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness is genetic and unrelated to your mental state.

And unlike stress-related hair loss, its a chronic condition with no cure. That means if a guy doesnt start treatment in time, hell eventually go bald. While theres no shame in baldness, there are treatment options that can stop hair loss if youre interested .

So, how do you know what type of hair loss youre dealing with? You can speak to a Keeps doctor to discuss your situation and better understand your options.

The information provided in this article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not rely upon the content provided in this article for specific medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your doctor.

What Are The Common Causes Of Hair Loss In Women

What causes hair loss?

Hair style: Your style of hair can cause hair loss when your hair is arranged in ways that pull on your roots, like tight ponytails, braids, or corn rows. This type of hair loss is called traction alopecia. If hair follicles are damaged, the loss can be permanent.
Vitamin deficiency.
Over processed scalp hair .

What causes anagen effluvium hair loss?

Toxic substances, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and some medications. These cause sudden hair loss that can occur anywhere on your body. It happens to hair in the growth stage. Sometimes, this type of hair loss can be permanent if your hair follicles are damaged.

What causes telogen effluvium hair loss?

Extreme physical stress or shock to your body: This causes temporary hair loss. This category includes events like losing a lot of weight, surgery, anemia, illness and having a baby.
Extreme emotional stress: mental illness, the death of a loved one, etc.
An abnormal thyroid.
Medications and supplements: blood pressure medicines, gout medicines and high doses of Vitamin A.
Hormone changes caused by pregnancy, menopause or birth control pills.

What causes FPHL ?

Genes: Your familys genes can cause thinning of hair along the top of your head.
Aging: Hormone changes as you age can cause balding.
Menopause: This type of hair loss often gets worse when estrogen is lost during menopause.

There are also some conditions that affect hair loss:

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Immunologic And Genetic Factors

Autoimmune hair disorders.

Alopecia areata is an immunologic disorder that generally affects men and women between the ages of 20 and 40 y. The disease starts with rapid patchy hair loss, which can spread to the entire scalp . In rarer cases, alopecia areata can involve hair loss over the entire body . The typical pattern involves the development of only a few patches that disappear very slowly as a result of regrowth from the periphery. Alopecia areata is characterized by a dysfunctional immune response, in which the hair follicle is invaded by lymphocytes and macrophages that target specific antigens of the anagen hair follicle. The occurrence of a similar kind of immune-mediated hair disease has been noted both in rhesus monkeys and chimpanzees. One reported case involved a female rhesus monkey presenting with total hair loss since infancy. Based on clinical examination, serologic testing, and histologic and immunocytochemical examinations of the skin showing perifollicular lymphocytic infiltration, the authors concluded that the monkey had alopecia universalis. A similar conclusion was reached in determining the cause of total body hair loss in a female chimpanzee.

Mutations of the hairless gene.

Fighting Hair Eyelashes And Eyebrows Loss Caused By Stress

This is how stress affects hair loss

Over the last months, we have been coping with high-stress levels due to pandemic’s health and economic outcomes. Some of them affected us more than others resulting in anxiety or prolonged stress. The effects of stress can go unrecognized or untreated for a while, as some can be visible months later. For example, when stress triggers a hair loss, the shedding will typically occur 2 or 3 months later. This includes your hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. If you feel this applies to you, read our article to determine the hair loss cause, treatment, and prevention methods.

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What Causes Stress Alopecia

Alopecia nervosa is produced by a situation of continuous stress, depressions, and being anxious for a long time. But what happens to hair when there is stress?

When stress is continous, the hair strands that are in a growing phase, which is the anagen phase. It abruptly goes to the falling phase, called the telogen phase. When this happens, it skips the intermediate phase, which is the resting one that should last about 3 weeks.

This situation stops the hair from growing back, as long as the problem that causes stress keeps existing. The one at fault for this is cortisol, a hormone released by the body in stressful situations.

Cortisol slows down the blood flow. It also stops the hair from correctly absorbing nutrients and water. The consequence is this jump between the developing phases and hair loss.

Managing Alopecia In Laboratory Primates

Because monkeys in captivity can develop alopecia, it is important to determine the likely causes and identify effective treatments. As we have discussed, many different factors contribute to hair loss in nonhuman primates. But clearly some of these factors are quite rare , whereas others may be more common. Here we present a possible strategy for determining the causes of and managing alopecia in nonhuman primates.

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Hair Loss From Stress Vs Male Pattern Baldness

There are several major differences between telogen effluvium and hair loss from male pattern baldness:

First, hair loss from male pattern baldness is typically permanent. In contrast, almost all of the hair you lose from telogen effluvium will grow back, provided the primary cause of the telogen effluvium is treated.
Second, hair loss from male pattern baldness looks different from hair loss thats triggered by stress. Male pattern baldness typically causes a receding hairline, balding on the crown or other baldness patterns. Telogen effluvium causes diffuse thinning on the entire scalp.
Third, telogen effluvium is not related to androgen hormones such as DHT. This means that some treatments for male pattern baldness, such as finasteride, arent effective as treatments for stress-related hair loss.
Fifth, If your hair loss is caused by stress, you may also lose body hair. Telogen effluvium hair loss the type of hair loss linked to stress typically affects your scalp and may appear as patchy hair loss. However, it can also cause you to shed more body hairor notice less hair on your body than you normally would.

If youre starting to lose your hair and arent sure whether its caused by stress or male pattern baldness, its best to talk to a healthcare professional.

Most dermatologists can diagnose telogen effluvium using one or several tests, including a hair pull test.