Stress-Related Hair Loss

According to verywellmind.com, stress is “any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain”. It’s how our body reacts to unpleasant circumstances or trauma, the constant feeling of having a bad day —for example, grieving a loved one. But it doesn’t have to be that extreme. Stress can come from day-to-day life, like work, finances, hormonal changes, parenting, and relationships. 

The Hair Growth Cycle

Before understanding how stress leads to hair loss, we need to learn about the hair growth cycle. The hair growth cycle is divided into three phases: anagen, when your hair grows. Catagen, when the hair ceases to grow. And telogen when hair eventually falls out, so the process can start again.

Stress can Interfere with Hair Growth in Many Ways

1) Stress is a leading cause of Telogen Effluvium, one of the most common temporary hair growth disorders that mostly affects women. Telogen Effluvium causes hair in the growing phase to transition to the resting phase more frequently and quickly than what is normal, leading to short and sudden bouts of hair shedding with little to no hair growth.

2) Stress can also be an aggravating factor in other hair loss disorders, including androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata, leading to hair thinning and loss.

3) Sometimes, stress is neither the primary cause nor aggravating factor but a consequence of previous hair loss. Inducing a vicious cause-and-effect cycle: you experience hair loss, get stressed, more hair loss happens, you get more stressed, and so on.

4) Stress and other uncomfortable situations can also lead to a disorder called Trichotillomania, which is an urge to pull out hair from your eyebrows, scalp and other areas as a coping mechanism. This can damage hair follicles and irritate the scalp. Creating localized hair loss/ patchy bald spots and affecting hair growth, which as a result, can cause even more stress, entering the viscous cause-and-effect cycle.

How Does Stress Affect Hair Growth?

Stress can negatively affect hair's health and growth by causing an imbalance in hormone levels. Even though cortisol is a crucial hormone that protects overall health and well-being, high cortisol levels can harm hair and overall health.  High levels of cortisol are produced when we experience extended stress exposure. This overproduction can disrupt the natural pace of hair growth by accelerating the "resting" phase and shortening the growth phase, delaying the growth cycle from starting again, which may lead to excessive shedding, thinning, and hair loss.

While our body is busy making extra cortisol, it decreases the production of other hormones that support healthy hair growth and accelerates the degradation of essential skin elements like hyaluronic acid (by approximately 40%), leading to an overly dry scalp and other secondary issues, such as flaking, itching, and dry-looking hair.

Meet Our Stress-Relief Trio!

That is why we have our Stress-Relief Trio. Our Soothe Vitamins balance stress hormone levels with natural botanical adaptogens such as Ashwagandha and Sweet Orange Extract, promoting calmness and relaxation.

Our Rise morning oil blend helps to boost your mood for a stress-free day, while Rest promotes relaxation for a serene night routine and improved sleep. 

It is ideal for women who experience stress as well as hair loss, shedding or thinning, and especially  stress-induced hair loss including telogen effluvium, trichotillomania, androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata. 

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Read more: Find out how you can manage stress.