How Do I Know If My Hair Is Falling Out Due To Stress
More than 100 strands of hair clogging your shower drain or on the hair brush is a sure shot sign of hair loss. In telogen effluvium, you will notice hair thinning on the scalp. With alopecia, you may notice bald patches of hair on the scalp. With Trichotillomania, which causes constant pulling of hair, you may notice that your hair volume has reduced over time.
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.
Why Does Stress Cause Hair Loss
Theres a condition called Telogen Effluvium, where large numbers of hairs are lost after a stressful experience, explains Annie Chiu, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in California. Normally, Dr. Chiu explains, hairs only shed when they enter a stage called Telogen, and most hairs are in a constant growing phrase, called Anagen. But when you experience stress or shock, Telogen Effluvium, it pushes growing anagen hairs into telogen, so you will see a ton of hair loss in a short time, she says.
Also Check: Does Biosilk Cause Hair Loss
Telogen Effluvium Vs Male Pattern Baldness
Telogen effluvium is different from androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness . In male pattern baldness, one experiences extreme hair loss that is generally irreversible. In telogen effluvium, about 30% of hair only goes to the telogen or resting phase, which is temporary. It resolves on its own in the span of six months.
What Is Telogen Effluvium
Telogen effluvium is a temporary hair loss condition that is often a result of stress or trauma. Hair may fall out in large clumps, but it can grow back after a certain period. It is normal to lose 50-100 strands in a day. But anything above this is considered abnormal. Telogen effluvium, unlike alopecia, is a reversible hair loss condition.
Let us understand the three phases of the hair cycle first.
1. Anagen Or Growth Phase
This is the phase where hair grows out from the roots and lasts upto 3-7 years.
2. Catagen Or Transitional Phase
The hair is in slow growth phase and the follicle shrinks. This is usually only for 2-4 months.
3. Telogen Or Resting Phase
The old hair falls out and gives way for new hair to emerge from the roots.
Generally, at any given time, 5-10% of hair is in the telogen or resting phase. But in telogen effluvium, 30% of hair moves into the telogen phase and refuses to shift to the other two phases.
There are two types of telogen effluvium:
Don’t Miss: Which Hrt Is Best For Hair Loss
How Exactly Can Stress Cause Hair Loss
Before we dive deeper into stress and hair loss, you need to understand how the hair cycle works. There are about 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp, one hair always grows from each hair follicle. Hair growth follows a cycle that consists of three phases: the growth phase, rest phase and loss phase. Each hair follicle is at a different point in this cycle. Because of this, it is normal to lose up to 50 hairs per day . However, the majority of hair follicles are in the growth phase.When the body is confronted with a great source of stress, more hair follicles than usual move from the growth phase to the resting phase in response. Normally, about 90% of your hair is in the growth phase and only 10% in the resting phase. But when you are dealing with hair loss due to stress, more than 20% of hair follicles enter the resting phase at the same time. In some people, even 50% of the hair follicles can go into the resting phase. A few months later, the shedding phase begins for these hairs.
Cortisol also breaks down certain substances in the skin that are necessary for regular hair growth, for example proteoglycan. This can exacerbate hair loss due to stress.
Other forms of hair loss due to stressThere are two other causes of stress and hair loss. However, these are less common:
Can You Go Bald From Telogen Effluvium
One does not go completely bald in telogen effluvium. There are only thinning patches in one or more spots on the scalp. Only 30% of hair enters the telogen or resting phase, causing hair fall. The other 70% is still in the growth phase and transitional phase.
Wrapping Up
Telogen effluvium is the second biggest cause of hair loss in people, according to dermatologists. There is no medical treatment as such since it is a temporary hair loss condition. Lifestyle changes and dietary changes can stop the unusual shedding of hair. However, do consult your doctor for proper diagnosis.
You May Like: What To Eat For Thinning Hair
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.
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.
You May Like: What To Use For Thinning Hair
The Relation Between Stress And The Hair Cycle
There are approximately 100,000 hair follicles on the adult scalp . Each hair follicle is constantly cycling between growth and rest. The majority of these hair follicles are in the growth phase at any given time. When the hair follicle transitions to telogen, or the resting phase, the hair is shed. During an episode of telogen effluvium, a trigger causes a sudden, abnormal shift of hairs into the telogen phase all at once. One possible trigger for this sudden shift? Significant emotional stress.
What qualifies as significant emotional stress? Think major, negative life event . While a single bad day at work shouldnt meet this threshold, severe and prolonged stress secondary to the Covid-19 pandemic, for instance, could certainly qualify.
To test the relationship between substantial stress and hair loss, researchers giving birth can also trigger an episode.
Diffuse thinning
Temporary in nature
The other good news? The hair loss is temporary, and should return to itspre-effluvium density, although this process is generally slow. It can take months before the shedding stops, and then months to years for lost hair to grow back at the sluggish rate of ~½ inch per month.
In some circumstances, hair does not fully return to its normal density. For one, telogen effluvium can uncover other types of long-standing hair loss . Additionally, overall hair density is expected to slowly decrease with age, and in few , telogen effluvium can be chronic and lasts for multiple years.
How Does Stress Cause Hair Loss
Most of the time, hair loss is caused by hormonal and genetic factors such as a sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone . However, in some cases, external factors such as stress can take their toll on your hairline, causing everything from thinning to patches of total hair loss.
Stress is linked to a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium, which can interrupt your hairs natural growth cycle.
Like your skin and nails, your hair doesnt grow in just one stage. Instead, each hair completes a complex growth cycle that involves multiple stages, from growing from the follicle to reaching its full length, breaking away and repeating the cycle.
In the first stage the anagen phase your hair starts to grow from the hair follicle, growing by about six inches every year. Each strand of hair continues to grow for two to six years before it reaches its full length.
After the hair reaches its full length, it enters the catagen phase. In this phase, the hair follicle starts to shrink. The strand of hair detaches from the follicle and stops growing. Since the hair isnt attached to the follicle, its no longer supplied with nutrients from your body.
After about two weeks, the hair exits the catagen phase and enters the telogen phase. At this point, a new hair will start to grow from the follicle, causing the old strand of hair to detach from your body and shed.
Don’t Miss: How To Thin Out Hair
Medical Treatments To Arrest Hair Loss And Promote Regrowth
If your hair loss is severe or continues over 6 months, then seek help from your dermatologist or hair specialist. There are many FDA approved medications and treatments that control hair fall effectively. Medications such as Minoxidil, Finasteride and cyclical vitamin therapy for hair loss have proven benefits. In addition to this, hair loss treatment such as PRP hair treatment and meso-therapy give very good hair regrowth.
Post COVID-19 hair loss is usually caused by telogen effluvium and lasts for around 6 months. Except in cases where it becomes chronic telogen effluvium, where it lasts longer. Supportive care and lifestyle changes can be effective in controlling hair fall. Medical help can control the hair fall faster.
Recover Hair Stress And Hair Loss
Stress is an important factor in hair loss. During stress our body diverts nutrients to the heart, lungs, muscles and other vital organs. As a result, the hair can be weakened by not receiving enough nutrients and vitamins and, in some cases, the hair follicles stop producing new hair. This is known as telogen effluvium that we have discussed above.
This is the most common way to lose hair and usually, two or three months after suffering stress from major surgery, a chronic illness, a significant infection, etc. There may be a case of hair loss. In women, it can also be the case with a sudden change in hormone levels such as during pregnancy or after delivery.
Recovering hair is something difficult without opting for surgery and these suggestions will help you before and after hair surgery. Maintaining a minimum level of tension and stress can be achieved by relaxing at the end of the day, doing aerobic exercise and of course taking things slowly. This will help to avoid tension and stress and especially so that very few hair fall after the capillary intervention.
Recommended Reading: Will Cutting My Hair Help With Hair Loss
Bulimia Nervosa: Excessive Hair Loss
The human body suffers from many harmful diseases which have their own complications and after effects. Today, most of the complicated diseases are identified, diagnosed, and treated with the help of these complications. These complications are actually the symptoms of these diseases and everyone can know and find out the disease if one is careful about these complications and symptoms. Bulimia is a major heath related disease which is registering a faster presence everywhere these days. The treatment of the disease is possible by identifying the visible symptoms among the suffering people.
Bulimia is a unique psychological disorder which is caused by bad or harmful eating habits. Both boys and girls, in their adolescence, can suffer from this disease. As a matter of fact, the initial signs and complications appear in the late adolescent period and continue till the early adulthood. The body suffers from many visible symptoms among which excessive hair loss is one of the most significant one. Most of the patients suffering from Bulimia show a faster tendency of hair loss and in a very short period of time, they can even face complete baldness.
Reasons Of Hair Loss Due To Bulimia:
As Bulimia is a massive body ailment related with the diet and food habits of the people, it often leads to many situations where a body might face different deficiency diseases which are the most important caused of hair loss. Some of these problems are as follows:
Deficiency Of Vitamins:
What Questions Might Your Healthcare Provider Ask To Diagnose And Categorize Your Hair Loss
Your healthcare provider might ask about your habits:
- What kinds of hair products do you use?
- What kinds of hair styles do you wear?
- What types of food do you eat ?
- Do you have a habit of pulling your hair out ?
They might ask about your history:
- Has anyone in your immediate family experienced hair loss?
- Is there anything stressful going on in your life?
- What medications and supplements do you take every day?
- Has hair loss ever happened to you before?
- What foods are in your diet?
And, they might ask about your observations:
- How long have you been losing hair?
- Have you been shedding more?
- Have you noticed hair loss in places other than your scalp, like your eyebrows? Leg and arm hair?
- Does anything worsen your hair loss?
- Does anything improve your hair loss?
- Have you noticed hair loss occasionally or has it been going on continuously?
- Have you noticed if your hair growth has changed?
- Has your hair been breaking more often?
Don’t Miss: What Vitamins Help With Hair Thinning