There are many factors that contribute to hair loss such as diet, health, environmental, drugs and genetics. In addition, we are beginning to understand that stress impacts hair loss.

3 Levels of Stress:

• Acute: This type of stress reflects daily challenges such as traffic problems, non-life threatening illnesses among family/friends, kids schedules, etc. These are temporary stressors in our lives that we deal with and return to our normal routines.
• Chronic: This long term stress is created through situations that don’t seem to have a solution. Chronic stress may arise from your job, on-going family issues or other serious issues that can significantly impact our lives.
• Traumatic: The most severe stress is traumatic stress which is caused by sudden and/or severe trauma or illness. While hair loss can arise immediately after a traumatic event, it could also occur up to three month later.

Note: Traumatic events can impact your entire nervous system, which can lead to organ malfunction. Your hair may be the first casualty since you do not need hair to survive.

3 Types of Stress Related Hair Loss

• Telogen Effluvium stops hair from growing as your stress sends hair follicles into a resting phase. Up to a few months later, your hair attached to those affected follicles may begin to fall at a higher rate than normal.
• Alopecia Areata causes hair to fall out (often in larger chunks) as your immune system turns against your hair follicles.
• Trichotillomania is where an individual compulsively pulls their own hair out as a method of coping with stress. This could even include eyebrows and other body hair.

Tips to Reduce Stress (& Hair Loss):

• Get enough sleep
• Commit to a healthy diet (note: increase proteins and Vitamin B)
• Excercise
• Review medications with your doctor