Stress and Hair Loss: Can Stress Make You Bald?

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Stress and Hair Loss: Can Stress Make You Bald?

stress and hair loss Is stress and hair loss related? Is it genetic? Or is it some other reason? If you are going bald or your hair is thinning, you probably want to know is your hair loss due to stress and what can you do about it.

Stress can cause you to pull your hair out...But stress and hair loss are also related!

Are you going bald or is your hair thinning out? If so, then this is probably causing you some worry and you want to know why.

Is stress causing hair loss? Is it genetic? Or is it some other reason?

While stress can be due to heredity or other factors, hair loss due to stress is common.

Hair loss and stress

Stress and hair loss are related.

Stress and Hair Loss

Normally you lose about 100 hairs a day - but when stress causes hair loss - a large amount of your hair can go temporarily into resting phase and then fall out.

Called Telogen Effluvium, this is the most common way that hair loss due to stress occurs.

You hair grows in cycles.

In the active phase your hair grows for a few years. After this active growing phase your hair enters what is called a resting phase.

The resting phase lasts for about 3 months after which your hair falls out.

On average, normal hair loss is about 100 hairs a day.

This hair is then replaced in 6 months by a new hair.

Now you may wondering - if 100 hairs are falling out of my head each day - why don't I notice this?

Well this is because every strand on your head (there are about 100,000 of them) is at different points in the cycle.... The loss of a few hairs in the shower, or on your brush is usually not noticeable.

But when your body is under extreme stress, emotional or physical stress...this stress can cause hair loss.

Stressors such as divorce, job loss, a death in the family, and even pregnancy and childbirth can be a cause of hair loss.

When stressed, a large percentage of your hair can prematurely go into the resting phase.

Then three months later this hair falls out. This is called telogen effluvium.

This is why you may notice that after the stress has passed that you are experiencing hair loss!

Telogen effluvium is the most common type of stress-related hair loss.

What can you do about stress and hair loss

There is often alot of stress and anxiety about hair loss, and since stress can cause hair loss, it is important to not be too worried about it.

Telogen effluvium can also result from having a genetic predisposition, hormonal changes, pregnancy and childbirth, illness and other factors.

It is important that you visit a health professional to discuss your options.

When the excessive physical or emotional stress has been managed or subsided, these hairs can grow back in several months time.

If you think that stress is a cause of your hair loss then look to reduce the stress in your life and to develop strategies to effectively deal with stress.

Manage stress to reduce hair loss

If your hair loss is due to stress then reducing your stress in the different areas of your life is important, not only for reducing hair loss but for general health.

Relaxation techniques. Relaxation techniques can help you to short circuit the stress response. When stressed your body prepares for fight or flight and releases a number of stress hormones into the body. Relaxation can counter the effects of stress through the relaxation response. Practicing these relaxation techniques will help to reduce overall stress.

Exercises. Exercise reduces stress in a number of ways. Whether is is through releasing exercise muscle tension or using up the accumulated stress products. Exercise relaxes the body and cleanses the mind.

Breathing exercises. Possibly the simplest stress management techniques are breathing exercises. Able to be used quickly and just about anywhere, developing your breathing exercises for stress relief can give you a greater sense of control in managing stress.

The right diet. When stressed we can reach for the wrong foods. This can further increase the stress cycle. Making the right diet choices that improves your stress nutrition gives you a better ability to cope with stress. I talk more about the impact of diet at stress nutrition.

If you are finding that your stress is overwhelming for you then it is important to also seek help and support from a counselor, support group and local doctor.

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