April is Stress Awareness Month, a time to check in on stress factors in your life. According to the American Institute of Stress, over 50 percent of Americans experience moderate levels of stress every day.1 Stress can impact your health in many ways. But did you know that stress can be a significant contributing factor to hair thinning and hair loss?
Stress can affect hair loss in women more than you might think. About half of all women experience hair loss during their lifetime. You can minimize this chance by making efforts to reduce stress and with it the potential for hair loss.
Some common stress induced conditions linked to hair loss in women are alopecia areata and telogen effluvium. Both conditions can lead to hair thinning and gradual loss as they shut down hair follicles in the scalp. In telogen effluvium, the patient’s hair follicles simply become dormant and enter a resting phase. When this resting phase is maintained for too long, hair can start to fall out with minimal persuasion, such as just running a comb through it or even washing your hair. The National Institutes of Health describes alopecia areata as a disease where the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss.2 Most women who experience these conditions are healthy individuals and show no other symptoms of other illness.
The good news is that there are plenty of simple things that you can do to keep your stress levels down and under control. For example, almost any form of physical activity or movement can serve as an effective stress reliever. Spending time with friends and others that you might not see at home is also a good way to reduce stress. Things like getting enough sleep, and eating and hydrating enough sound simple, but are often overlooked.
At the Pure Hair Restoration Center, we strive to help everyone achieve the hair of their dreams. We offer many solutions for hair loss, including regenerative PRP treatments, hair transplant surgery, nutritional supplements and light therapy. If you or a loved one is experiencing hair loss due to stress or environmental factors, we are here to help. Give us a call to schedule a consultation for a hair loss evaluation.
AUTHOR: Dr. Nader Ronaghi, founder of Pure Hair Restoration Center, is a leading physician in the field of hair transplantation in Newport Beach, California with over a decade of experience. Dr. Ronaghi uses biologics with advanced medical technology to restore hair, helping his patients improve their appearance and self-esteem.