Can Stress Cause Hair Loss?

Introduction

Stress occurs when any type of physiological or emotional change occurs to the body due to external factors. A significant increase or a longtime stressed condition may lead to the complications like headache, heart disease, weight gain, and hair loss.

What Is Hair Loss?

Hair loss can be defined as a condition when hair fall increases significantly and becomes irreversible. Several causes of hair loss are family history, hormonal changes, medical condition, supplement intake, chemotherapy, hair treatment, and stress. However, stress is one of the most common causes of hair loss.

How Stress Induces Hair Loss?

According to the recent studies done by the group of researchers, it is revealed that a long-term release of stress hormone in the body impairs stem cells of hair and pushes them into a resting phage. As a result, the hair follicles stops growing further and fail to produce new hair leading to baldness. Another possible reason for hair loss may be that stress triggers compulsive hair pulling.

Types Of Stress-Induced Hair Loss

There are three types of hair loss induced by stress.

• Telogen Effluvium
• Alopecia Areata
• Trichotillomania

Telogen Effluvium: This condition is caused due to significant increase in stress. In this condition, many hair follicles are pushed in the resting phage at once. Generally, hair thinning occurs in the head region. However, in severe cases, shedding can also occur in other parts of the body.

Alopecia Areata: It is an autoimmune disease. It is caused by severe stress conditions and can equally affect both men and women. In this condition, hair follicles are attacked by the immune system of the body leading to hair loss. Hair loss occurs in the form of round patches on the scalp. In severe cases, complete loss of hair can also occur on other body parts.

Trichotillomania: In this condition, there is a feeling of extreme urge to pull off hair from the hair bed. It can be caused by stress, boredom, tension, etc. In addition, it is caused by an imbalance in impulse control, thus also known as impulse control disorder.

What Are The Treatments Used To Cure Stress-Induced Hair Loss?

Treatments used to control hair loss depend upon the type and degree of hair loss a patient is experiencing. Generally, treatment of stress-induced hair loss is done by three methods. They are Healthy diet Management, Supplement Intake, and Stress Management.

Healthy Diet Management

Maintaining a healthy diet rich in nutrients, fibres, and protein is good for the body and very beneficial for healthy hair. A protein named keratin is essential for hair. We can get it through a healthy and balanced diet. There are some nutrients that we must include in our diet like

• Vitamin C: A connective skin tissue is found in hair known as collagen. Vitamin C is found to be essential for building collagen in the skin.
• Vitamin E: This vitamin is very beneficial for healthy skin(scalp). This vitamin possesses an antioxidant property that helps in keeping the scalp healthy. WE can get it from Broccoli, shrimp, and olive oil.
• Vitamin B complex: It promotes the body’s metabolism, especially in the region of the skin and scalp. We can get it from beans, nuts, and avocados.

Stress Management

Learning how to manage your stress level effectively can help you reduce stress and balance life. You can also follow stress Management programs that are very readily available nowadays in online courses.

Treatment by Medication

There are a lot of preparations available in the form of creams, oils, ointments, shampoos, and gels in the market to treat hair loss. Medications such as Minoxidil (Rogaine), Corticosteroids, and Castor oils are primarily used drugs. In addition, certain anti-stress medications are also employed to cure stress-induced hair loss.

How Can We Prevent Stress-Induced Hair Loss?

Yes! It is possible to prevent stress-induced hair loss. We can include some habits in our routine to tackle this case. These habits include exercise like daily walks, dance sessions. Hobbies like singing and gardening can also help. In recent studies writing down your feeling on a paper was seen as very effective in reducing stress. Daily meditation can also help in keeping stress hormone levels low.

Conclusion

Nowadays, stress-induced hair loss has become very common due to increased stress caused by pandemics and changing lifestyles. It is most common in the young age group. It can be prevented by bringing lifestyle changes, eating habits, meditation, and exercise to daily life.