Telogen Effluvium

Telogen Effluvium

If you’ve noticed your hair shedding rapidly a few months after having surgery, significant weight loss, serious illness, severe fever, starting a new medication, or a stressful life event, you might be experiencing telogen effluvium, a common form of hair loss.

Telogen effluvium is a type of non-scarring alopecia that causes hair to rapidly shed. It’s typically not permanent.

Keep reading to learn more about telogen effluvium, its causes, and how it is diagnosed and treated.

If you’ve noticed a worrying amount of hair littering your pillows, floor, clothing, or hair brush, you may be experiencing telogen effluvium symptoms.

But how do you know if what you’re experiencing is telogen effluvium or another type of hair loss? It’s not always easy to tell.

Here’s what to look out for:

• Considerable loss in hair. Telogen effluvium causes a very noticeable reduction in hair volume. While losing roughly 50 to 100 strands of hair daily is normal, the count could be much higher with this condition.

• Tender scalp. Beyond losing hair, telogen effluvium could also cause pain, which you may notice when touching your scalp. Pain or tenderness on the scalp is called trichodynia.

• Diffuse hair loss. One of the main differences between telogen effluvium and male pattern baldness is that male pattern hair loss happens in a specific place — say, thinning on the crown or a receding hairline. Meanwhile, telogen effluvium causes hair fall all over the scalp.

Telogen effluvium affects men and women of all ages. In general, it doesn’t cause total baldness but instead causes overall thinning.

How Long Does Telogen Effluvium Last?

Acute telogen effluvium becomes noticeable around two months after the body’s been exposed to a shock or trigger. It can last for more than a month — but usually fewer than three.

If you experience these symptoms for more than six months, you might be diagnosed with chronic telogen effluvium. Sometimes, chronic telogen effluvium happens without a particular trigger.

Acute vs. Chronic Telogen Effluvium

Acute telogen effluvium lasts for less than six months. Chronic telogen effluvium, on the other hand, lasts longer than six months. Here are the major differences to know.

Causes of Telogen Effluvium

Telogen effluvium hair loss is usually caused by a “shock to the system,” such as an illness, injury, or stressful life event.

When this happens, hair that should be in the anagen (growth) phase of the hair growth cycle gets prematurely pushed into the telogen (resting) phase. 

A few months later, as much as 70 percent of that hair will shed all at once. Hair may fall out in large clumps or handfuls (often during brushing or washing). It’s very different from gradual hair thinning — one reason why it can be alarming.

Risk Factors for Telogen Effluvium

Unlike other types of hair loss — like male pattern baldness that occurs naturally with age — there’s usually an inciting event or factor that causes telogen effluvium hair loss.

Risk factors for developing telogen effluvium include:

• Certain drugs, including oral retinoids and beta-blockers

• Trauma

• Emotional and physiological stress

• Surgery

• Thyroid disorders

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, rapid hair shedding is common in people who’ve:

• Lost 20 pounds or more

• Experienced lots of stress (such as caring for a loved one who’s sick, going through a divorce, or losing a job)

• Had a high fever

• Recovered from an illness, especially if it included a high fever

• Undergone an operation

• Given birth

• Stopped taking birth control pills

This type of shedding is usually temporary and will subside after some time has passed.

Diagnosing Telogen Effluvium

A healthcare professional can diagnose telogen effluvium by physically examining your scalp for signs of hair loss.

They might also conduct a hair-pull test. During a pull test, your provider will gently pull about 40 to 60 hairs between their fingers and count how many hair shafts are dislodged from the root. Normally, two or three hairs would come out, but more will dislodge if you have telogen effluvium.

To identify the cause of your telogen effluvium, your healthcare provider might ask about:

• Your diet

• Your medical history

• Current medications you’re taking

• Recent traumas and emotional stress

They might also run blood tests if they suspect a medical issue — for example, hypothyroidism — could be to blame for your hair loss.

Treatment for Telogen Effluvium

The good news about telogen effluvium is this condition usually goes away on its own.

In fact, as many as 95 percent of all cases of acute telogen effluvium go into remission (meaning the symptoms go away, and the condition eventually disappears). When the underlying cause of hair loss resolves — for instance when you recover from stress or illness — your hair should start growing again.

But that doesn’t mean you should ignore telogen effluvium. Speaking with a healthcare professional and getting personalized medical advice is a good idea.

Telogen effluvium treatment options your provider might recommend include nutritious eating, topical minoxidil, finasteride, and growth-supporting hair products.

Nutritious Eating

If you suspect a nutrient deficiency is to blame for how much hair you’ve been shedding, a balanced diet is a great place to start.

Make sure you’re getting enough of all the necessary vitamins and minerals by eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, proteins, and healthy fats.

You can also use vitamin supplements to support healthy hair growth. For example, if you have an iron deficiency, you might need iron supplements to get your hair looking good. Our biotin gummies contain multiple vitamins that promote hair growth.

Talk to your healthcare provider about blood testing to see if you truly have a vitamin deficiency before you opt for supplements.

Minoxidil

This topical telogen effluvium treatment is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address hair loss.

Minoxidil helps to counter hair loss by moving hairs from the telogen phase to the anagen phase of the growth cycle. In other words, the hair shifts from a resting stage to active growth.

You might experience mild, temporary hair loss while using minoxidil before the new hair shaft starts growing. This side effect doesn’t last forever, but it could take a few months before minoxidil starts working. Try to be patient and stick with treatment, even if you’re still shedding at first.

You’ll need to apply minoxidil foam or minoxidil liquid solution to your scalp regularly — usually twice daily. The effort tends to pay off, and you’ll likely notice telogen effluvium regrowth signs (like decreased shedding, new hair, and longer growth) within a few months.

Finasteride

Finasteride is another trusted FDA-approved treatment for managing hair loss. It’s typically used to treat androgenetic alopecia or anagen hair loss, the clinical terms for male pattern baldness.

This medication gets the job done by blocking dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone that affects the hair follicle and causes male pattern baldness. Some men have more DHT, thanks to genetics.

Finasteride isn’t usually used to treat telogen effluvium because excess DHT is genetic, not stress-related. But it can be worth looking into if you think what you’re experiencing could actually be male pattern hair loss.

Finasteride tablets are a prescription-only medication. There’s also an over-the-counter topical version. And you might consider combining the two FDA-approved hair loss treatments with our topical finasteride and minoxidil spray.

Haircare Products

As you wait for new hair to grow, keep your current hair (and scalp) as healthy as possible.

High-quality hair care products can address hair thinning and reduce the appearance of hair shedding.

For example:

• Our volumizing shampoo and volumizing conditioner can improve the appearance of limp, thin hair.

• Our saw palmetto shampoo can thicken hair.

• Our dandruff detox shampoo, with pyrithione zinc and salicylic acid, can keep your scalp free of flakes.

Be sure to avoid harsh chemicals or styling techniques that put too much strain on your scalp. Restrictive ponytails and tight cornrows, for instance, can damage hair follicles to the point where new hair won’t be able to grow.

Corticosteroids

In cases where telogen effluvium results from inflammation in the body, corticosteroids can help.

They also offer a convenient way to reduce the pain that can sometimes accompany telogen effluvium.

Telogen Effluvium Prevention Tips

Prevention is better than cure — and that’s especially true for hair loss.

Although you can’t always prevent telogen effluvium, you can do a few things to reduce your risk. These include:

• Avoid crash dieting. Extreme or rapid weight loss of 20 pounds or more can trigger telogen effluvium, so keep weight loss slow and steady. 

• Eat a balanced diet and consider supplements to address nutritional deficiencies. Get a range of nutrients in your diet from lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. If your healthcare provider suspects a nutritional deficiency is to blame, supplementing with vitamins that support hair health (such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, zinc, biotin, and iron) may help.

• Use healthy stress-relief techniques. You can’t remove all stress from your life, but you can find healthy ways to manage it. Practices like yoga, meditation, or regular exercise can help.

• Manage medical conditions. For telogen effluvium to fully resolve, you’ll need to treat any underlying medical issues, like thyroid disorders.

• Treat illnesses and infections as soon as you notice symptoms. This can keep the condition from getting severe enough to cause hair loss.

• Become familiar with the side effects of your medications. If you notice hair loss listed as a side effect, talk to your healthcare provider about how to manage hair loss or about alternative medications.

Telogen effluvium regrowth usually happens on its own. But if you’re concerned about hair loss or are wondering about your treatment options, it’s always wise to get expert medical advice.

We can connect you with a healthcare professional online who can help you access the treatment you need.