How Does Stress Cause Hair Loss and What Can You Do About It?

Hair shedding is a normal process that affects everyone. For example, you probably find stray hairs on your bed sheets, in the shower and on the floor. The scalp’s natural shedding cycle (the life cycle of hair follicles) causes this hair loss.

Reversible hair loss (not related to balding) can also occur due to friction or tension (from wearing hats or tight ponytails), stress, hormonal shifts and nutritional deficiencies. These causes can result in significant hair loss, leaving you to wonder about all sorts of “what if” scenarios.

Who would not be horrified after noticing clumps of hair falling out when taking a shower or simply running their fingers through their hair? Finding heaps in your hairbrush is unsettling enough, but some people may experience hair loss so severe that it falls out in batches when they tug it gently.

If any of these scenarios are happening to you, take a moment to assess your current situation and how you handle daily life before getting too worried. Usually, this version of hair loss is caused by extreme bouts of anxiety and stress, and it is treatable.

What is Stress?

Stress is a mental and physical strain that is beneficial in short bursts but harmful if it happens repeatedly. For example, brief moments of stress can help you reach your goals or keep you safe, but too much can lead to health issues.

Factors in your life (stressors) may include anything that causes you to feel threatened, irritated or aggravated. Several indicators of prolonged stress include exhaustion, body pains and hair loss (stress alopecia).

How Does Stress Make Your Hair Fall Out?

Stress alopecia occurs when one’s immune system becomes imbalanced due to extreme mental or emotional strain and begins to assault one’s hair follicles.

When stressed, your body releases a major stress hormone called cortisol, which damages hair follicle stem cells, causes the follicles to enter a resting stage and slows hair follicle regeneration. It takes a few months of chronic stress to start losing hair.

What Can You Do to Treat Stress Alopecia?

In most cases, stress-related hair loss can be reversed if the cause is addressed. Therefore, reversing your hair loss and preventing it from becoming permanent depends on how quickly you can manage the stress.

You can treat stress alopecia and reclaim your lost hair by stimulating the regrowth of your hair follicles through proper nutrition, stress management techniques and non-surgical hair loss treatments.

We recommend consulting a Pasadena Hair Transplant hair restoration specialist to determine if stress is the true culprit. To do so, contact Pasadena Hair Transplant and schedule an appointment to confirm the cause of your hair loss and see if one of our non-surgical hair restoration treatments can help you reboot healthy hair growth faster.