Can Stress Cause Hair Loss?

It is January, and the beginning of a promising new year.  if you are like most people, the new year also means catching up on those bills accumulated during the holidays.   Here is a time to reflect on why you just had to buy that expensive gift or have such a long list of folks to give presents.  Next year, you say, next year I will do better!  What most people do not know is that if you worry about these bills too much, the stress can cause hair loss.***

Most people, if asked whether they are stressed, will deny it.   This is not because they are in denial, they just do not identify it as stress because it crept up on them.  If a situation happened and your hair fell out immediately, you would know you were stressed;  it is easily seen.    If, however, you go through a divorce or your child is having problems over a long period of time, the stress gradually takes over.    Stress can cause hair loss and when this happens, the hair can go into one of three phases:

1. In the first type of hair loss, the hair goes into a resting phase and can fall out when combing or washing the hair.
2. The second type causes an urge to pull the hair out or twist it until it falls out.  I had a number of clients who were university students that had this happen.  Sometimes it got so frequent we had to cut the hair short because they found it hard to stop.
3. The last type has the hair falling out in a particular area in patches.

The good news is that hair loss from stress can be corrected!  This has to be done as early as it is noticed.  Do not be like some clients who feel ashamed and try to cover it up and hope it goes away.  Act immediately and see a doctor to identify possible causes.  Identifying the cause and overcoming it is of course the best way to stop it, so be patient if takes time.  Your stylist will be able to help you keep on track through conditioning/protein treatments.