Can I Lose My Hair Due To Stress?

Yes, you can lose your hair due to stress! Its completely unfair but entirely possible.

Let’s start with a basic lesson on the lifecycle of the hair on your scalp.

There are 3 main stages:

Firstly, the growing stage which is usually somewhere between 4-7 years. That’s right, not everyone is capable of growing their hair as long as they like.

Secondly, the resting stage. Once it’s reached the end of its growth, your hair stops growing and sits there waiting for a new one to grow beneath it.

Thirdly the falling out stage. Once that new hair grows it will push out the old one and the cycle begins all over again.

Ok, now you know the answer to ‘can I lose my hair due to stress’, let’s get to why your hair can fall out from stress.

Sometimes when we have a big stress on our bodies, either mental or physical, a bunch of our hair can go into the second stage prematurely. This stress response from our bodies is called telogen effluvium.

The sneaky thing about telogen effluvium is that it won’t usually fall our straight away. Normally you will experience the loss 2-3 months after the stress even happened. This can make it confusing when you’re no longer stressed and your hair is coming out.

On average we lose 100-150 hairs a day, when this happens, you don’t even notice. With telogen effluvium this amount increases from a little to a lot.

So, what can we do about it?

If the stress is something you can plan for such as knowing you’ll be going in for an operation or knowing your about to have a huge work load, supplements can help.

In times of stress your body goes through lots of vitamins and minerals much quicker and this can affect your hair loss. Cortisol, the stress hormone particularly loves stripping you of vitamin B for example. taking a supplement can really assist you.

If the stress comes out of the blue such as an emergency or unplanned injury, start taking supplements as soon as you can. It’s not as good as having a build-up already in your system but if your body is getting all it needs, it can recover faster.

Then of course we can look at our mindfulness. Meditation, taking time for yourself, sleeping well, eating a well-balanced diet, drinking less alcohol and caffeine, just to name a few. You know all of this of course but sometimes it’s easier said than done right!

Keep in mind, the best thing about your body is that it will sort itself out. Sadly, hair is slow growing so it can take a year or more. Feel grateful to your body because its looking after all the thing you can see, your organs that keep you alive.

If you’d like to book an appointment to give your hair or scalp some love then we are always be delighted to hear from you. We’d be happy to talk through your hairs current condition as part of your initial consultation. All the details to make a booking can be found here.

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