Losing your hair can be a stressful experience, but does stress itself cause hair loss? Yes, stress hair loss is real — but fortunately, it’s also temporary.
Losing your hair can be a stressful experience, but does stress itself cause hair loss? Yes, stress hair loss is real — but fortunately, it’s also temporary.
It’s no secret that emotional stress can take a toll on your body. While a little bit of stress is unavoidable (and healthy), chronic and severe stress can impact your immune system, brain function, heart health, and — you guessed it — your hair.
Whether you’re experiencing stress in response to a traumatic event or you constantly face high stress levels because of work or personal issues, stress can disrupt your hair growth cycle, eventually causing hair shedding.
The good news? Hair loss and hair thinning from stress are not permanent. Once your stress levels improve, your hair will slowly start growing back. Plus, certain hair loss treatments can help promote healthy hair regrowth.
Below, we’ve explained how and why stress can cause you to lose hair, plus how to regain hair loss from stress.
Contrary to popular belief, stress is not linked to male pattern baldness. Also called androgenetic alopecia, this type of hair loss causes permanent hair loss around your hairline, temples, and crown. So, even chronically high levels of hair loss are not going to lead to M-shaped baldness that affects many men.
That said, losing hair from stress is very possible. Stress can trigger and potentially worsen a form of temporary hair loss called telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium is different from androgenetic alopecia: Telogen effluvium can be triggered by emotional or physical stress (such as illness, high fever, or injury).
Stress can also worsen trichotillomania, a mental health condition where you compulsively pull your hair, leading to baldness.
Both telogen effluvium and trichotillomania can be triggered by chronic stress as well as traumatic events (events like the loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, or assault).
There are three main types of stress hair loss: telogen effluvium, trichotillomania, and alopecia areata.
If your hair starts falling out a few months after a stressful or traumatic event, you’re probably experiencing telogen effluvium.
Telogen effluvium affects your hair by interrupting the natural hair growth cycle.
The phases of the hair growth cycle are as follows:
The anagen phase (growth phase), when the hair grows to its full length
The catagen phase (transitory phase), during which the hair follicle transitions to the next phase
The telogen phase (resting phase), during which the hair stops growing
The exogen phase (shedding phase), when the old hair falls out so that new hair can grow in its place
Telogen effluvium affects hair follicles in the telogen (resting) phase. Normally, about five percent to 10 percent of your hairs are in the telogen phase at any one time. With telogen effluvium, as much as 30 percent of your hair can suddenly enter the telogen phase, resulting in hair shedding.
Hair loss from telogen effluvium isn’t immediate. Usually, you’ll start to see hair loss three months after the occurrence of a stressful or traumatic event. It can last several months.
Telogen effluvium isn’t only caused by emotional stress. Other common causes of telogen effluvium include nutritional deficiencies, hormonal changes, and chronic health conditions like thyroid problems. Hair loss can also be a side effect of certain medications.
Trichotillomania, or hair-pulling disorder, is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder in which a person repeatedly pulls out strands of hair, causing thinning and hair loss.
Although trichotillomania isn’t directly caused by stress, many people with trichotillomania find that stressful situations are a common trigger for their hair-pulling behavior.
Others note that pulling their hair helps them to relax when they’re feeling stressed.
Alopecia areata is another hair loss condition that can also be worsened by stress.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition in which your immune system attacks your hair follicles, thus damaging them. This causes patchy hair loss across your scalp. In some cases, alopecia areata can lead to complete scalp hair loss and hair loss across your entire body.
Stress doesn’t cause alopecia areata, but recent research suggests that stress can lead to a “flare-up” of alopecia areata, causing further hair shedding.
While you can’t cure alopecia areata, certain treatments can help you manage the symptoms of this autoimmune disease, which can reduce hair loss.
If you’re experiencing hair loss due to stress, you’ll usually notice the classic symptoms of hair loss. These include:
Extra strands of hair on your pillowcase, bedding, and shower drain catch
Less hair density
Noticeably thinning hair
Exposed areas of your scalp, especially under bright light
If you’re worried that you might have hair loss due to stress, it may help to take regular photos of your hair to track any changes in thickness over time.
Because telogen effluvium has a variety of potential causes, there’s no one hair loss treatment that works for everyone.
Does hair loss from stress grow back? Usually, yes. If your hair loss is caused by a one-off stressful event, such as a physical accident, surgery, or traumatic event, your hair will typically grow back on its own over the course of several months.
Additionally, there are a few things you can do to promote healthy hair regrowth and speed the process along.
You can purchase minoxidil (Rogaine®), an over-the-counter topical treatment, to speed up and improve your hair growth.
Minoxidil works by increasing the blood supply to your hair follicles and prompting your hair to enter the growth phase of its cycle. Studies have found that it’s highly effective at promoting hair growth, although it can often take several months to see results.
Changing your lifestyle and habits can often help you manage stress in a healthy way. This can include steps to reduce the sources of stress in your life and cope better with existing, unavoidable sources of stress.
Useful stress management strategies include:
Recognize when you’re stressed. Take note of your stress response, whether it’s difficulty sleeping, feeling low in energy, or something else. Being able to identify when you’re stressed can help you to track your progress.
Exercise. Exercise is great for your physical and emotional well-being. It reduces the production of stress hormones like cortisol and boosts endorphins. If you’re not super fit right now, there’s no need to overdo things — a 20-minute walk is a great start.
Mindfulness techniques, such as meditation, breathwork, and body scanning, can help soothe stress in the moment.
Eat a healthy diet. Eating a balanced diet is important for your general wellness, and can reduce stressors on your body that come with eating unhealthy foods. Plus, a nutritious diet promotes healthy hair growth.
Get support from friends and family. No person is an island — lean on your community of loved ones when you need them. Whether you’re venting or spending time together, being with company can help you feel better.
Find the right resources. If your stress is related to a financial issue, get help. Financial difficulties are some of the most common sources of stress, affecting as much as 76 percent of all American adults. Consider contacting a financial planner or credit counseling service for help with improving your finances.
Get mental health help. Whether you’re dealing with constant stress or recovering from trauma, a therapist can be an excellent source of support. This is especially important if you have trichotillomania. Medications like antidepressants may also help.
If your hair loss is caused by chronic stress, understanding and coping with the stress in healthier ways may help you to regrow some or all of the hair that you’ve lost.
Taking good care of your scalp and hair means that you have the best possible shot at growing a thick, healthy head of hair.
Good hair care habits include:
Eating a balanced diet and using hair growth supplements to address vitamin deficiencies
Using gentle shampoos and conditioners to keep your hair and scalp clean
Not brushing or combing your hair too roughly or too often
Avoiding extremely tight hairstyles, which can cause hair breakage and traction alopecia
No matter the cause, stress-related hair loss is something worth discussing with your healthcare provider. To learn more, you can check out our article on how to regain hair loss from stress.
If you’re losing hair, it might not be easy to tell which cause of hair loss is to blame.
The best possible solution is to talk with a healthcare professional. They can help you narrow down the cause of your hair loss, which will point you to the right path for a solution.
There are several major differences between stress-related telogen effluvium and hair loss from male pattern baldness.
Male pattern baldness is typically permanent, while telogen effluvium is usually temporary.
Male pattern baldness typically causes a receding hairline, balding on the crown, or other baldness patterns. Telogen effluvium causes diffuse thinning on the entire scalp, while alopecia areata causes bald patches or complete baldness.
Telogen effluvium is not related to androgen hormones such as DHT. As such, some treatments for male pattern baldness, such as finasteride, aren’t effective as treatments for stress-related hair loss.
Stress-related hair loss can also affect body hair, while male pattern hair loss exclusively affects scalp hair.
If you’re starting to lose your hair and aren’t sure whether it’s caused by stress or male pattern baldness, it’s best to talk to a healthcare professional.
Most GPs or dermatologists can diagnose telogen effluvium using one or several tests, including a hair pull test.
It’s normal to experience some level of stress in life. An occasional tough day or a week might make you feel unhappy, but it generally won’t have any effect on your hairline.
That said, chronic stress or severe stress caused by physiological or psychological trauma may cause you to temporarily lose some or all of your hair.
If you believe your stress and hair loss are related, the best approach is to talk to your healthcare provider or a therapist and treat the underlying cause of the stress.
As for the hair loss component of stress, we’ve got you. We can help you book an online consultation with a licensed healthcare professional. Together, you can figure out the cause of your hair loss and explore your treatment options.
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