With everything happening in our world today, having peace of mind can be hard to attain. The stressful environment as well as rude co-workers, stress is impossible to avoid. From time to time, even the happiest and optimistic individuals on earth get stressed out. Stress in our body, which causes hair loss, has a lot of negative effects, and we’ll learn about them in this article.
Physical and emotional stress may slow down the normal growth cycle of our hair. This can force hair follicles to stop producing healthy hair. Also, the current hair strands will begin to shed eventually. Here you’ll learn what can happen to your hair if you don’t reduce your stress levels and ways on how to treat hair loss.
Hair loss conditions caused by chronic stress:
While you can’t always avoid stress, it’s best to know the possible conditions that can happen to your hair. This way you’ll know if any of the said conditions is what you are experiencing and you can inform your doctor about it.
Trichotillomania
Nowadays, people tend to get easily distracted with the actual meaning of life. Instead of enjoying their lives, they would think about a lot of negative thoughts due to everything that’s currently happening around the world. In extreme cases, a person may experience psychological inflexibility, which relates to a disorder that involves pulling the hair. This is due to the disturbance between the nerve cells in the brain and the chemical messengers in the system.
For certain people, hair pulling can also be a way to cope with an awkward situation, tension, isolation, stress, and anger. The discomfort and the instant feeling of release help discharge some energy from stress. This then becomes a habit which eventually causes hair loss. Trichotillomania commonly happens to younger individuals.
Telogen Effluvium
Chronic telogen effluvium is the shedding of hair which can go on for more than six months. They may not lose all their hair, but it is possible to find hair thinning. This happens in women more frequently and vegetarians. You’ll need to take supplements to help any nutrient deficiencies that are associated with Telogen Effluvium.
Stress induces modifications in the body’s hormone levels and induces inadequate nutrition. This will force the hair follicles to stop developing new hair in this “resting” process and, finally, especially during combing and washing, the hair will fall out. Here are the three stages of the hair cycle:
- Anagen – The development phase
- Catagen – The transitional phase
- Telogen – The resting phase
Physical or psychological shocks are the typical causes of Telogen Effluvium. Such shock includes:
- Medications
- Chronic disease
- Post-childbirth
- Major surgery
- Anxiety
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata can lead to complete hair loss or, in the worst-case scenario, to hair loss throughout the body. This is one of the most popular autoimmune disorders in which hair falls out in a quarter-size pattern of tiny patches. You can also get this condition by genetics. Alopecia areata allows healthy cells to be attacked by white blood cells from the hair follicles. This causes hair follicles to decrease and slow down the development of hair.
Tips to Reduce stress and improve Hair Loss
Now that you’re aware of what can happen if you don’t reduce your stress, it’s best to take action before it worsens. It is not as hard to handle hair loss as it is to develop healthier habits and live a better way to manage stress. All it takes is your attention and willingness to remain committed to the following methods of stress management:
Eat healthily
One should ensure that their body is getting the nutrients that it needs. If you’re wondering where you can get an abundant supply of nutrients for healthy hair growth, one easy way is to get them from the foods you eat. Such foods include fruits, vegetables, fish, and a regulated amount of animal products are best included in your diet. To maintain the optimal operation of your body, it is also important to drink a lot of water.
Exercise!
One of the most powerful and popular ways to alleviate stress is exercise. It can help alleviate depression and anxiety, which are both the common reasons why we experience chronic stress. Exercising not only keeps your body in shape and healthy, but it also helps a lot in reducing stress. As you exercise, the brain produces endorphins, which are the “feel good” hormones of the body. Better hit the gym or run around your block if you want to start improving your hair loss problems. As long as you keep your body going, your brain chemicals improve your mood, which helps you deal with stress better.
Learn a new hobby
If you’re doing something that you love, it’s impossible for you to feel any stress. Well, it is something you enjoy doing so why feel stressed about it? Yes, there may be some time that you may encounter problems or conflicts while doing your favourite hobby, but if you start to look at the brighter side, you’ll easily learn to enjoy it rather than hate it. Engaging in things that you enjoy will raise the pleasure hormones, which then reduces stress levels. This could be doing some volunteer work to help the less fortunate, joining a book club, gardening, and doing art.
Other Ways to Improve Hair Loss
Since hair loss is not only caused by stress, there are ways you can do to improve hair growth. Below are some of the medical treatments and medications that experts recommend for treating hair loss.
Hair Transplant
If you’re searching for the quickest and most effective hair loss treatment, a hair transplant is your best choice. This treatment is a permanent solution that improves hair density. It is suitable for male and female hair loss patterns, alopecia scarring, and alopecia areata. Hair loss affects the vast majority of people, even celebrities do it. There’s a list of famous people who have undergone hair transplants, you’re not the only one who is suffering from hair loss and thinking of surgical treatment.
Topical Minoxidil
Topical Minoxidil can help slow down hair loss. Although a good hair loss medication, it won’t make so much improvement in hair growth. To use this treatment, apply the topical Minoxidil on the scalp and leave it on the affected area for at least 4 hours to allow the absorption of the item into the hair roots. It is recommended to apply 1mL of Minoxidil two times a day on the scalp. The possible adverse effects are skin inflammation and elevated heart rate.
Laser Therapy
By boosting blood circulation in the scalp area and decreasing scalp inflammation, this therapy helps make hair healthier and thicker. Specialists may recommend their patients to take laser therapy three times a week for immediate results.
