Stress and Hair Loss: How are they related?

Stressing out is part of human nature. Factors such as family life, relationships, school, or even work can trigger stress in every person, be it long-term or short-term. As many of us know, stress has plenty of hapless side effects, but the question remains: is the loss of hair among them? Read ahead to discover whether extreme stressful situations can lead to hair loss, and how.

Can Stress Cause Hair Loss?

Stress impacts one’s life in different forms by conducting a variety of side effects on the body and mind. Take, for instance, a weakened immune system and immune system attacks for both women and men. You might have noticed people experiencing more common colds and other short illnesses whenever they are stressed.

Yet, stress doesn’t do just that- brings on colds, and it can affect our hair. There is an interconnection between hair loss and extreme stress that numerous people do not know about. When put under great stress, a person can experience one of three types of hair loss. Such hair loss could happen suddenly and be the cause behind the loss of various strands of hair, which could, unluckily, result in much more stress for the impacted individual.

3 Ways Stress Can Affect Hair Loss

Three are the different methods through which an individual can experience varying degrees of hair loss, when under extreme stress. The three methods include the following:

#1 Telogen Effluvium

Through telogen effluvium, notable amounts of stress can press huge amounts of hair follicles into a resting stage. A few months later, however, whenever you are randomly washing or brushing your hair, you will notice the affected pieces of hair from telogen effluvium falling out. This type of hair loss can lead to unexpected falling out of several strands, notwithstanding that the stressful feelings might have passed away.

#2 Trichotillomania

Ever had the urge to overwhelmingly and irresistibly pull hair from your scalp, eyebrows, or any other part of your body? That is what trichotillomania is. Coming as a result of overwhelming anxiety, emotional stress, depression, and other emotions, trichotillomania can cost a whole lot of hair strands if left untreated.

#3 Alopecia Areata

Alopecia Areata can come as a result of a variety of factors, stress included. The main symptom numerous individuals suffering from this type of stress-related hair loss may observe is that the hair loss comes about suddenly and unexpectedly. This is the kind of hair loss that happens because of a person’s immune system attacking hair follicles. Simply put, by attacking hair follicles, the immune system plays a huge role in hair loss and the eventual loss of hair strands can leave you with the feeling of more stress and upsetment.

Can Stress Cause Permanent Hair Loss?

It has been proven that stress can cause hair loss, but is this hair loss permanent? The bright side of it all is that stress can be easily handled, meaning hair loss can also come to an end by handling stress and getting the proper treatments when needed. Nothing is definitive, and neither is hair loss. As a matter of fact, there exist two methods that are seen as solutions to stress-related hair loss, including:

Hair Transplants

Having dealt with kinds of stress-related hair loss can be suffocating, but fortunately, there are hair transplants that can aid in transplanting healthy hair follicles in regions where the hair is thinning. When facing hair loss because of stress, this type of treatment can be seen as a way to get your self-confidence back, alongside your hair.

Time

When related to telogen effluvium, particularly, the good news is that this kind of hair loss results in diffusing thinning, meaning that hair can grow back after a while with the right sustenance and stress treatments.

How to Stop Stress from Causing Hair Loss?

The best possible path to follow in order to put an end to stress is to handle it through various lifestyle alterations, or even medical treatment when needed. Some methods and strategies to stop or prevent stress from continuously showing up may involve:

• Physical activity: even activities that might sound like they are not doing much as short walks or running.
• Relaxation activities: give yoga or meditation a try.
• Caring for your body: healthy eating and a restful night’s sleep is crucial.
• Therapy: though for many it is difficult to express themselves to a therapist or other medical professional, this is extremely vital when dealing with overwhelming feelings of stress.

Consider a Hair Transplant for Stress-Related Hair Loss

So if the question “Can stress cause hair loss?” has ever crossed your mind, now you have the answer to it. Yes. We are well aware that stress can take a high toll on your life but do not allow it to take a toll on your hair. Thus, if you are experiencing severe stress-related hair loss or you are wondering what is the cause behind your hair loss, request a consultation with our specialists at Advanced Hair Clinic.

Process Overview of Hair Transplants

Following the selection of the appropriate method for hair transplantations, you are now coming to the end of the series, and much closer to making a decision. It is widely known that familiarity wipes out anxiety by eliminating the aspect of anonymity. Throughout the blog, we will break down the process overviews of hair transplants step by step.

Right after scheduling the appointment with the proper clinic, you will initially be admitted for a face-to-face consultation during which the surgeon will assess the condition of your scalp and run blood tests to wrap up your eligibility. The procedure will go underway in no time.

Hairline design

Once your candidacy has been confirmed, nurses will transfer you to the surgery room and offer you a gown to wear. Next, the surgeon will arrive to draw your hairline using a Sharpie. Following discussions and negotiations, the capacity and limitations of the donor sites, your hairline will be drawn, and upon your approval, the next stage commences.

Shaving

Subsequently, the donor sites will be shaved. Though very inconvenient for some, shaving diminishes the risk of infection. In consequence, it ensures chances of better outcomes.

Application of anesthesia

After the shaving stage is completed, you will be administered local anesthesia on both the donor and recipient regions. During this stage, you can choose between two options- regular application of anesthesia using needle injections or the NFI technique. The first one doesn’t need much application, while the second one, for those of you who have never heard of it, refers to needle-free injections. For many, even the very early tinge of pain is unsupportable, and if you find yourself within this category, NFI is the right alternative for you.

Extraction

With the application of the local anesthetic being over, the surgeon will then move to the extraction stage. Throughout this time, he or she will use a micro-punch to isolate the high-quality donor hairs. The approach the punch follows is by creating circular cuts, slightly bigger in radius than the follicular units. Once the units have been separated, the surgeon will next extract them out employing medical forceps and preserving them in a Hypothermosol solution.

Channel opening

Next in line is channel opening. The surgeon will start creating micro-cuts to later place the extracted follicular units in the recipients' regions and by the employment of a blade. You additionally have options in this procedure, being able to pick between Sapphire FUE or regular FUE. Regular FUE utilizes steel blades that have U-shaped extremities and thereby, impact the pace of the process and number of implantations per session antagonistically. Au contraire, Sapphire FUE utilizes sharper V-shaped blade tips that make the process much faster, safer to adjacent tissues, and immaculate.

The number of cuts relies entirely on equal parts the number of grafts to be transplanted and the number of donor areas.

Implantation

Then, the sheltered follicular units will be placed unit by unit per cut via forceps. Through explanations, the hair transplantation procedure draws to a close.

What about breaks?

Have no fear, the process is not ongoing. Between each step there is a short break during which the nurses will offer you a meal and give you permission to rest for about 15 minutes.

Book a consultation with Advanced Hair Clinic, today

To learn more about your hair loss, whether it is stress-related or not and to find the ultimate cause behind it, contact us today. We at Advanced Hair Clinic, are equipped with all the tools and staff that will provide you with the appropriate hair transplant necessary. Be mindful that the hair transplant we provide you with will give permanent results, leaving you with no worries about losing hair again in the near future.