Hair thinning from stress can be difficult to bounce back from, both physically and emotionally.
After an acute stressor, such as a bad breakup or a big move, you may notice more hair shedding than usual a few months later. “When stress levels increase during major life events, a large group of hair follicles can prematurely shift into telogen, a phase of the hair growth cycle when hair can no longer grow and is preparing to fall out three to six months later,” explains Dr. Sophia Kogan, MD, co-founder and chief medical advisor at Nutrafol. Stress can also worsen existing hair thinning from underlying issues like hormones and nutrition, as well as trigger genetic predisposition to thinning hair. “I truly believe that all hair thinning is multifactorial and stress will almost always contribute,” adds Dr. Kogan.
The tricky thing about stress and hair thinning is that even after an acute stressor passes, chronic or ongoing stressors (e.g., a toxic boss, financial insecurity, sleep deprivation) can hold back new hair growth. That’s why Dr. Kogan recommends a two-pronged approach of daily lifestyle de-stressing and using medical-grade stress adaptogens to build resilience to stress over time.
Keep scrolling to learn how to take control of stress and speed up hair growth, naturally.