Stress Affects Hair Loss

One day my best friend, a senior manager in top recruiting firm, called me up. Almost hysterical, she told me that she was having hair fall for quite sometime and now the situation was so worse that she had to seek the advices of a trichologist. It was then that I realized the effects of stress on our crowning glory. Stress is a part of our life. It is in fact an integral part of our existence. Stress can affect our physical efforts and mental framework.  All of us feel stress, but have different ways to express or react to it.

Stress can be termed as the unseen ailment which disturbs our equilibrium. It is something which shouldn’t be taken lightly because it is an established and well-proven cause of mental and physical pathos.

Talking about the impact of stress on hair loss, it is important to mention that there are two types of stress- induced loss of hair. They are telogen effluvium and alopecia areata. Telogen effluvium is a temporary condition characterized by shedding of hair from the scalp triggered by acute or chronic stressful situations. The hair may re-grow within 6-9 months. The other condition Alopecia areata or patchy hair loss is a dangerous one where hair fall from roots and relatively quickly within few weeks of a stressful period. However, hair may grow again.

The only lasting treatment apart from symptomatic one is proper management of stress. Stress becomes highly injurious to our health if not managed effectively.

Tips to manage stress:

Learning to relax, exercises and meditation, spending quite time in introspection, organizing oneself, avoiding unnecessary competition, talking to friends, developing a positive attitude and taking things lightly, are the techniques of dealing with stressed conditions.

Managing the stress properly, will make your life beautiful. You will feel positive, better, charged, active and relaxed. Stress can be positive or negative depending on how you perceive it. On one hand, it might bring the best out of you, by instilling a sense of heightened concentration while encountering a challenging situation. And on the other hand, it can be so consuming that it might end up being highly stressing, ultimately making you unable to relax. So a balance is needed, to be in complete control of life and decide the path you want to tread and not forcefully follow, out of stress, jeopardizing your health, mind, and peace.  

Apart from these useful methods, excessive use of synthetic hair care products, damaging hair, causing baldness and rapid hair loss, should also be avoided.The use of natural herbal products should be promoted which will be mild on your precious priceless possession- your hair, the crowning glory!