Hair Loss From Stress: Why It Happens and What You Can Do

If your hair is thinning or falling out, you’re probably trying to figure out why. If your hair loss is due to stress, worrying about it could make the problem worse.

Let’s talk about the link between stress and hair loss and what you can do if your hair is falling out from stress.

How Does Stress Cause Hair Loss?

Excessive physical or emotional stress (including injury, illness, or surgery) can cause two different types of hair loss:

• Alopecia areata: With alopecia, stress-induced hair loss happens when white blood cells attack the hair follicles. In this type of hair loss, hair falls out within weeks. The hair usually falls out in patches but can affect the entire scalp and even body hair. The hair may grow back on its own, but some people need hair loss treatment.
• Telogen effluvium: Compared to alopecia, this type of stress-induced hair loss is more common but less severe. The hair stops growing and lies dormant, falling out two or three months later. It usually grows back within six to nine months.

How Much Hair Loss Is Normal?

Hair isn't meant to stay firmly rooted in the scalp forever. Each strand of hair has a natural lifespan. After that time passes, the hair naturally falls out.

We all lose about 100 hairs a day, which isn’t much since there are around 100,000 hairs on the average scalp.

There are a few factors that affect how much hair loss a person experiences:

• Aging: Most people start losing their hair after the age of 30, but it can start earlier. Men tend to start losing hair at a faster rate than women do.
• Lifespan: The average lifespan of a single hair is about four years. New hair usually replaces hair that falls out within six months.
• Styling: Shampooing, blow-drying, brushing, and other hair care that we do regularly often cause the loss of a few strands of hair here and there.

Can You Inherit Hair Loss?

Genetic hair loss happens because not enough hair grows back to replace the hair that was shed, not because too much hair falls out. The result is the same, though: receding hairlines and pattern baldness.

Hereditary baldness is associated with a few factors:

• Age: By age 30, one in four men is going bald. By age 60, two in three men are balding or have gone bald.
• Gender: Hereditary, or “pattern” baldness, is much more common in men than in women.
• Hormones: Pattern baldness is associated with testosterone. Women who have more of this hormone as they age may lose—or, technically, fail to re-grow—more hair than women with lower levels. Testosterone levels also factor into why more men experience pattern baldness than women.

Things That Cause Hair Loss Besides Stress

Many life experiences and conditions can lead to hair loss. Here are just a few examples:

• Chemotherapy
• Illnesses and infections (such as thyroid disease, autoimmune disease, and scalp infections)
• Injuries and surgeries
• Nervous habits (like hair pulling or scalp picking)
• Hormonal changes (such as those during pregnancy and after giving birth)
• Medications (including Parkinson’s drugs, cholesterol-lowering medications, blood pressure medications, antidepressants, and birth control pills)

If your hair is thinning or you’re noticing baldness that seems abnormal (for example, you’re in your teens or early 20s or the hair loss is happening in an odd pattern), it’s a good idea to see your provider to find out what’s causing it.

Ways to Lower Your Stress Levels

You can't always prevent stress in your life, but effective coping techniques can help you reduce the effect that stress has on your body and mind.

You can take steps to reverse your immediate stress response and minimize chronic stress over time.

Here are some stress-relief tactics you can add to your management plan:

• Aromatherapy
• Breathing exercises
• Exercise
• Meditation
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Visualization

How to Build Stress-Busting Habits

You want to make habits that aren’t just highly effective for managing stress as you’re going through it but also for building resilience to cope with future stress. The key is to make these practices a regular part of your life and do them even when you’re not feeling overwhelmed.  

Some stress relievers that can help you handle stress better include:

• Eating a nutritious diet
• Finding social support
• Getting regular exercise
• Meditating
• Practicing mindfulness
• Practicing self-care

Taking Care of Your Hair

There are also some simple haircare steps that you can make part of your personal care routine. You may not be able to prevent hair loss from stress or another cause, but you can take steps to support a healthy scalp and hair. Here are a few tips:

• Wash your hair with cool or warm water, not hot.
• Choose gentle shampoos, conditioners, and masks.
• Avoid sprays, gels, and other styling products with harsh or drying ingredients (like sulfates).
• Avoid dyeing or bleaching your hair, or take a break if you do.
• Style your hair gently using a wide-toothed comb and avoid tight elastics.
• Change the frequency of your hair-washing routine based on your hair's needs—for example, you may want to wash more often if it’s oily or less often if it’s dry.
• Limit or avoid heat tools (like blow dryers and curling irons).
• Use silk pillowcases to reduce friction and hair breakage.
• Protect your hair from your environment (like wearing a scarf or hat when you’re out in the sun or a swim cap if swimming in a chlorinated pool).

If you’ve taken steps to reduce stress and you’re still losing your hair, talk to your healthcare provider for advice. You also may want to reach out to a therapist for support so you can avoid getting caught in a vicious loop where you stress out about losing your hair, and the stress makes the hair loss worse.