How Stress Affects Your Hair

Are you stressed?

Maybe you've got too much on your mind. Or maybe you're always too busy. Maybe sometimes, all you want to do is to just lie down in exhaustion. Whatever it is, something's definitely causing you to be stressed.

Unfortunately, constantly being on edge can have an impact on nearly every aspect of your body. In particular, experts have learned a lot about how stress affects hair. Read on for everything you want to know about the effect of stress on hair, along with what you can do to address them.

The effects of stress on hair

First of all, stress can have massive impacts on your hair. Every time that you get stressed, your body's cortisol levels increase. And heightened levels of cortisol can disrupt healthy hair growth, thus causing various problems to your hair.

One of the most common problems caused by prolonged periods of stress is hair loss. In fact, according to the National Hair Council, there are actually three different types of hair loss that can be related to stress.

1. Telogen Effluvium

This type of stress-induced hair loss causes shedding and lack of new hair growth. The main cause of this type of hair loss is chronic or acute stress, which is an intense type of stress that goes on for long periods of time.

(c) Unsplash

2. Androgenetic Alopecia and Alopecia Areata

The second type of hair loss is only partially affected by stress. Androgenetic alopecia is a genetic hair loss condition. Meanwhile, alopecia areata is an autoimmune hair loss disorder. However, they are both aggravated by chronic or acute stress.

3. Stress

Sadly, stress can create a vicious cycle of hair loss in people who have been experiencing prolonged stress. Stress causes hair loss, while hair loss causes further stress, which contributes to even more hair loss. This cycle just goes on and on until the root cause of the stress is removed or treated.

Reducing stress on hair

The good thing is, it's always possible to reduce your stress levels. Sure, it may not be easy, but at least it can be remedied.

Likewise, we've outlined some helpful tips on destressing stressed hair in this article right here, so if you'd like to learn more, feel free to take a look!

How to avoid stress

(c) Unsplash

Stress affects almost everyone on this planet. While it's impossible to completely avoid it, it is possible to at least reduce the amount and duration of stressful emotions that you feel.

• avoid anything or anyone that gives you stress
• learn how to manage your time well
• take more breaks than you think you need
• maintain healthy eating habits
• make sure to get sufficient hours of sleep per day
• drink lots of water to stay hydrated
• find something that makes you the happiest

Hopefully, this article helped you in some way to cope with stress side effects on hair! If you want to read more tips and tricks in taking care of your hair, be sure to check out our ZALA blog now!