Usually, male pattern hair loss results from genetics, a disposition passed on from generation to generation through your lineage.
However, there can be other reasons hair loss occurs, or why it has been exacerbated. Stress is one of these reasons, but can it be recovered?
Let’s look at what can be done if you’ve experienced hair loss because of stress.
How stress causes hair loss
Our bodies are fragile yet complex. When we encounter stress, whether from work, our home life, or wherever else, our immune systems drop and our bodies aren’t working as well as they should be.
This is true for hair sustenance as well. The biggest problem when it comes to stress is that we don’t do some of the important things to put us at ease because our minds are all over the place. Eating well, exercising regularly, and performing calming activities can greatly help your overall well-being, but are easily forgotten in our manic lives.
Telogen effluvium and Alopecia areata are conditions that can be triggered by stress or other forms of anxiety, which causes changes to occur to hair follicles. There is also Trichotillomania, which is when people compulsively pull their hair out. You should seek a medical opinion on any of these matters.
Hair loss that happens because of stress might not be lost in the way you’d expect it to. There could be patches of hair lost on random parts of your scalp rather than at the crown or hairline as you’d associate with male pattern hair loss. Stress induced hair loss tends to come about from 3-6 months after a stressful period and can include physical periods stress such as illness or hospitalization. In fact, Covid infection is thought to contribute to hair loss by leading to Telogen Effluvium in the months after an infection
Is stress-induced hair loss rectifiable?
The good news is, however, that if it’s determined that stress is the reason for your hair loss, there are ways you can look to regrow that hair once again. Minoxidil and Finasteride are the two strongest forms of treatment you can get to combat hair loss and hopefully start regrowth once again.
If your hair needs a better environment to thrive in so that the hair follicles can fully absorb the nutrients they need, either of these courses of action could be right for you. Because the reason you are losing hair isn’t genetic, the chances of regrowth are greater.
If you want to preemptively enrich your hair with vitamins, however, you could consider adding a Biotin supplement to your routine.
Ultimately, it would be wise to get your stress under control, not just for your hair, but your overall health and quality of life too. Managing stress through meditation, exercise, a well-balanced diet, limiting your alcohol intake, and other healthy habits will put you in a much better position for your hair to thrive.
See what products are on offer at Sons to help fight off the signs of hair loss.
All of our blog articles are reviewed by our Medical Director before publication.
