Stress Related Hair Loss

People often ask us if there is such a thing as stress related hair loss or if it is just a myth. Well, there is in fact such a thing as hair loss due to stress, although it doesn’t happen the way people might expect.

When you experience a stressful event, your hair does not simply fall out all at once or right away. However, stress affects your hormones, and we know that hormonal changes (such as pregnancy or menopause) affect hair growth.

To understand how hair loss and stress are related, it helps to understand the normal growth cycle of hair. At any given point in time, about 90% of your hair is growing. Hair grows for about two or three years, then enters a resting phase. At any given point in time, about 10% of your hair is in this resting phase. Hair rests for a couple of months, then falls out.

When you experience a stressful event or undergo a period of extreme stress, however, more than 10% of your hair may go into a resting period. For instance, following pregnancy, an event that is stressful both physically and emotionally, about 60% of your hair enters the resting phase. After a few months, all of this hair falls out. So hair loss due to stress does not actually occur until two or three months after the stressful event.

Since hair does not fall out until several months after the stressful event, people may not always recognize it as stress related hair loss. They may be alarmed to find they are losing hair.

Any time you find you are shedding more hair than normal, it is a good idea to check with your doctor to make sure there is not a medical cause. Hair loss can be a symptom of many illnesses, such as thyroid disease, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, kidney and liver disease, and lupus. But if you get a clean bill of health, and have recently experienced a stressful event, you may be experiencing hair loss due to stress.

Coping with Emotional Stress

Obviously, learning ways to cope with emotional stress can help prevent stress related hair loss. Here are some tips from experts on how to cope.

• Exercise daily. Thirty minutes of daily exercise will stimulate the release of endorphins, naturally occurring chemicals that relieve stress and help you feel good.
• Try writing in a journal. Journaling provides an outlet for emotions and relives feelings of stress. It can help prevent hair loss due to stress.
• Get a massage. Not only does a massage feel relaxing, it improves the circulation. Improved circulation means more blood flow to the hair follicles, which helps them stay healthy and can prevent stress related hair loss.
• Talk to someone. Sometimes a talk with a good friend is all you need to feel better, but if that’s not enough, consider talking to a professional counselor. A counselor can help you learn ways to cope with stress and offer support during tough times.

Knowing how to cope with stress can help you prevent stress related hair loss. However, if you do experience hair loss due to stress, you should know that your hair will regrow on its own. Some people do prefer to use a hair loss treatment to help speed the process, but your hair will regrow after several months even without treatment.

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