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Are Stress and Hair Loss Related?

4 Mins Read

Hair loss is an extremely touchy and stressful subject for most people. It can be caused by many different factors and determining the exact cause early on is crucial. In this article, I’m going to talk about a very specific type of hair loss – one that’s caused by extreme stress.

Why Does Stress Cause Hair Loss?

There are many types of stress and, at least in most cases, we don’t know exactly why or how it leads to hair loss. Some studies suggest that since hair growth is not considered to be a critical function by the body, it can sometimes stop new hair growth during periods of extreme mental or physical exhaustion. Here are the two most common stress-related conditions that cause hair thinning:

  • Telogen effluvium: This condition occurs when a very stressful experience in your life causes a large number of hair follicles to enter the resting stage (also known as the telogen stage). Once the resting stage is over, hair sheds and new growth begins.
  • Trichotillomania: A very fancy word to describe a very simple condition – constant pulling of hair from scalp and other areas of the body. We all do this from time to time. In people under extreme stress, however, this condition can get out of control and cause serious damage.

The good news is that most of the time stress-related hair loss is temporary and can be cured by successfully reducing stress and anxiety. Oh and another interesting fact: stress has not been shown to cause gray hair and premature aging of hair. Most people believe that stress does cause gray hair to appear, but it’s mostly just speculation without any real scientific proof (yet).

How to Cure Stress Related Hair Loss

The very first thing to do when you notice hair loss, thinning or uneven hair growth is to get an accurate diagnosis. I’ve written a little about this in my other hair loss article, but remember that only a medical professional can help you in this regard!

Note: most experts believe that only extremely stressful events can lead to hair loss. Just because you are under a lot of stress at work or have to deal with irritating colleagues, you should not experience any problems with hair loss. Only events that quite literally shake you up and keep you up at night for days can lead to such a strong reaction. Things like a serious accident, extremely intensive workouts, catastrophic debt (foreclosure, bankruptcy and so on), sudden illness, loss of a friend/loved one, and so on.

Once you know that your hair loss has been caused by stress you can begin treatment. Now, treating stress induced hair loss is tricky, since you have to address the main cause of stress instead of treating the symptoms (hair loss). This counterintuitive approach can be difficult to follow, which often leads to people using various hair loss medications that do not have any long-term effect and simply cannot treat their hair loss problems.

Here are some tips to get you started:

Talk to your doctor and try to rule out all other causes of hair loss. Think over the last 3-5 months of your life and consider any stressful experiences that may have triggered hair loss. Remember that stress induced hair loss is usually delayed by about 2-3 months (that’s how long your hair stays in the “resting” stage).

If you suffer from ongoing issues with stress, it is time to start making some serious lifestyle changes. See a professional counselor at least a few times to help you build a focused, individual “plan of attack”. Once your stress is under control, normal hair growth will resume and things will slowly go back to normal.

Once your stress issues have been dealt with (or if you experienced very severe, short-term stress) you can ensure that your hair grows at the fastest possible rate by taking natural vitamins, using essential oils and following these hair care tips to maximize hair retention.

Good luck!

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In Hair Care

What Is Seasonal Hair Loss And How To Prevent It?

5 Mins Read

Sudden hair loss of any kind is enough to freak you out a little bit. You start wonder “Why me,” but the truth is, it happens to more women than you think.

We automatically think life is over when we start noticing that we’re losing hair. When you start to see me a few more hairs left on your pillow or in your brush, but nothing in your life has changed, it could be seasonal hair loss.

Seasonal hair loss is almost always temporary, but it can really catch you off guard if you don’t know much about it. To understand it better, let’s compare the different types of hair loss.

Standard Hair Loss

Everyone’s hair sheds. It’s just usually not noticeable enough to become an issue. Our hair growth cycle makes sure that at any given time, more hair is growing than is falling out.

A person with healthy hair can expect to lose up to 100 strands of hair per day. Sounds like a lot, but it’s not noticeable. When your hair growth cycle is working properly, around 90% of your hair is growing, and only 7% is resting (and shedding).

As long as you’re seeing a consistent amount of hair left on your brush, you shouldn’t worry. It’s a natural part of the hair growth cycle. But when you start noticing more hair being left behind, it’s time to take a step back and see if something else could be going on.

Seasonal Hair Loss

Seasonal hair loss is also natural, but it’s caused by different factors. As you can imagine, scientists have been researching hair and its role for a long time.

Some time ago it was discovered that only reason we evolved to have hair on our scalp was to protect it from a harsh summer sun. When the sun was less intense (the cooler seasons), the hair wasn’t needed to protect the scalp.

That’s why the two most common times for seasonal hair loss are late summer and late winter. Those are the times when the weather is changing the most. Your hair is simply reacting.

How to Slow Down Seasonal Hair Loss

Seasonal hair loss is not something that you should worry too much about. If you know there are no other signs that it could be a more serious form of hair loss, you don’t need to change much in your routine.

That being said, there are a few easy ways to help your hair grow thicker to possibly fight the effects of seasonal hair loss. Here are two ways to do it:

1 – Use Fewer Styling Products

Styling products make your hair look great, but sometimes at a cost. You may not notice it, but sometimes you don’t wash out all of the product. If there is residue left from your styling products, they could be clogging your hair follicles which can cause serious damage.

Use lighter products, and make sure that you’re using organic whenever possible. Many of the organic formulas include all-natural nutrients that will help your hair grow and keep the area clean.

2 – Try Looser Hairstyles

Keeping your hair pulled too tight is bad for your follicles. If you’re noticing hair loss and like wearing tight ponytails or braids, try switching it up until you see an improvement in your hair.

Wearing these types of hairstyles too often will damage fragile hair and it might even cause your damaged follicles to get mixed up with healthy hair. This can cause even more hair to fall out. Wear your hair down to avoid this.

3 – Reduce the Friction

If you’re seeing more hair than normal in your brush or on your pillow in the morning, that’s a sign that you need to try and reduce the amount of friction. Too much rubbing around through the night can pull out damaged strands and tangle healthy ones.

The two easiest ways to reduce friction are replacing your cotton pillowcases with satin (or sateen) and swap out your cotton towels with microfiber. Two small investments that will absolutely reduce the amount of hair that falls out during this time of seasonal hair loss.

4 – Stick to Your Regimen

It’s never a good feeling to see your hair fall out, but in the case of seasonal shedding, it’s important not to overreact. Understand that it’s a natural process. Rather than running to the store trying to find a product that will stop any more hair from falling out, sometimes all it takes is a re-commitment to your normal routine.

Things like drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, and keeping a balanced diet can be far more effective than introducing new products into your hair care routine.

Talk to Your Doctor

If you are ever unsure about what’s going on with your hair, please don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor. Even if you’re almost positive that it’s just seasonal hair loss, it never hurts to check in and make sure everything’s working correctly.

While you should stick to a routine that’s been working for you, it may be worth looking into a daily hair growth vitamin that can give you an extra boost. An all-natural vitamin with ingredients like iron, biotin, and vitamin C and E is relatively inexpensive and can improve your overall hair health in just a few weeks.

Keep up a strong routine so that when seasonal shedding is over, you can kick-start your hair growth into high gear.

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In Hair Care

Vitamins for Hair Loss in Women

4 Mins Read

With all the daily stressors in life, hair loss is becoming increasingly common among women of all ages. While hair loss can be a difficult thing to go through, you do have options to minimize and even reverse the effects of this stressful condition. As with all health disorders, curing hair loss is impossible without a proper diagnosis. In this article, I am going to talk about vitamins that are essential to healthy hair growth.

Do remember that not all types of hair loss can be cured by simply adjusting your vitamin intake! It’s a good place to start, though.

Vitamins That May Prevent Hair Loss

Vitamins are essential in the fight against hair loss. Just like the rest of your body, your hair needs vitamins and nutrients to survive and stay healthy. Plus, while most vitamins don’t have a direct effect on how fast our hair grows, they can influence other functions in the body which in turn promote healthy hair growth. Some vitamins that help with female hair loss are:

Vitamin A: Our skin produces an oily substance called Sebum, which helps to keep it from drying out and acts as a natural moisturizer. Now, dry skin sometimes leads to problems with dry scalp, which can inhibit healthy hair growth. The good thing is that a vitamin A deficiency is easy to cure. Fish, carrots, milk and other protein rich foods are all great sources of beta carotene, which can be transformed into vitamin A by the body on demand.

When it comes to vitamin A supplements, you have to be very careful! Since vitamin A accumulates in the body, taking too much ready-made vitamin A (such as that found in most multivitamins) can lead to poisoning. This, in turn, leads to further hair loss and thinning. So don’t make the mistake of eating tons of different vitamins just because you think they are good for you! Natural foods sources rich in beta carotene are the best way to ensure that your body never lacks vitamin A (and you can never overdose this way).

B-Complex vitamins: There are tons of B vitamins including niacin, biotin, B3 and more, and they are all essential to keeping your hair healthy. Some of the benefits of B vitamins include keeping your hair from falling out, moisturizing your hair and much more. Read my article on vitamin B complex to learn more about this. There is no doubt in my mind that vitamin B is one of the most important nutrients for healthy hair.

Vitamin C: This vitamin functions as a shield and a building block for your hair. Due to its antioxidants, it helps protect against devastating conditions such as stress and fatigue. Since stress is one of leading causes of hair loss in women, it’s important that you have enough vitamin C in your diet to help keep your hair healthy.

Plus, vitamin C is essential to collagen production, which is a special protein that makes up connective tissue in most body organs including hair. Common sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and even cranberries. Most scientists agree that vitamin C works best when it comes from natural food sources instead of supplements.

Vitamin D: While most studies show that vitamin D is not linked to better hair growth, some people report having amazing results when taking vitamin D supplements. The reason for this might be other underlying conditions that could be inhibiting hair growth or the fact that vitamin D acts as a steroid which helps the body absorb calcium and some other minerals. Most people take vitamin D together with calcium, normally during cold and cloudy winter months, since it can help minimize seasonal mood swings.

Vitamin E: Proven to improve blood circulation throughout the entire body, which means that more minerals and other nutrients reach the scalp and hair. Now, since vitamin E is stored in the body and can be toxic in large doses, you should avoid taking too many vitamin E supplements. Some great, natural sources include mangos and kiwis.

Remember that vitamins cannot prevent hair loss directly. In some cases, however, they are extremely helpful in fighting various underlying conditions that can cause hair loss. Since most women experience hair loss due to stress (either mental or physical), it makes sense to use vitamins that can help with that. This includes vitamins B, C and, in some cases, vitamin D.

And lastly, remember that hair regrowth can take time, while hair loss normally happens very fast and unexpectedly. Do not expect to see results instantly or it will just cause you more stress which can further contribute to your condition!

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In Hair Growth

Hair Loss? Consider Taking Prenatal Vitamins for Hair Growth, Some Say

5 Mins Read

Have you heard celebrities talk about the benefits of taking prenatal vitamins for hair growth? The big question is whether or not this is true.

Many women find that their hair does grow exceptionally long during pregnancy, but does that mean that the two are related? Pregnant women also do other things like eat odd food combinations; maybe these are related!

Two Physiological Reasons Why Hair Grows During Pregnancy

The fact is that a woman’s hair grows fast during pregnancy, not because she is taking prenatal vitamins for hair growth, but because of her hormones. The higher levels of estrogen during pregnancy allow the hairs to essentially stay on the head longer before they are shed.

Scientifically speaking, the estrogen-influenced hairs stay in the anagen phase (when they grow) before they progress to the telogen phase where shedding occurs. This results in thicker and longer hair.

Another reason is that the circulation is expanded in the pregnant woman’s body so that the baby can get more nutrients it needs, especially oxygen. Extra blood vessels and capillaries begin to grow and every part of the body including the scalp receives more blood flow. With more blood flow, it’s easy for hair follicles to grow.

It’s a coincidence that the woman is taking prenatal vitamins for hair growth. Or is it?

What About Nutritional Reasons?

Actually, we have to identify what’s in prenatal vitamins for hair growth to see if the nutrients may be part of the reason why a pregnant woman’s hair does grow thicker. Comparing a prenatal vitamin to a regular multivitamin, you won’t find much difference. The average prenatal vitamin formula has more iron and more folate and usually more biotin.

The nutrients cited in medical studies that may be responsible for hair growth include biotin, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, and vitamin D.

The average prenatal vitamin contains the following amounts of these hair growth nutrients:

• Biotin – 300 mcg
This amount is 100% of the estimated value for adults. A biotin deficiency will cause the hair to fall out. If someone is deficient in biotin, the amounts taken to correct it are 3 mg, 5 mg or even 10 mg. Thus, it’s easy to see that a prenatal isn’t providing a nutritional cushion for those with deficiencies or those with hair loss.

• Iron – 30 mg
This is more than the 18 mg a multivitamin for women would contain for a menstruating woman because the needs are greater in pregnancy, and anemia can seriously harm a developing baby as well as the mother. Iron deficiency causes hair loss.

• Zinc – 15 mg
This is the amount everyone needs as an adult. There’s nothing special with this amount, and it won’t cure a deficiency. Zinc deficiency causes hair loss.

• Iodine – 150 mcg
This amount is 100% of the estimated value for adults. This is an interesting amount to have in a prenatal vitamin since the American Thyroid Association recommends 250 mcg for pregnant and lactating women. Iodine influences thyroid health, which controls how fast the hair, grows. (Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol, 2012 Sep; 94(9):677-82.)

• Selenium – 100 mcg
The usual amount in supplements is 70 mcg so the 30 mg extra could provide a small buffer, but not enough to be considered a replacement if a woman is deficient. Deficiency is associated with hair loss, as is toxicity. Toxicity is exceptionally rare.

• Vitamin D – 400 IU
Prenatal vitamin companies haven’t caught on to the idea that up to 75% of the population may be deficient in this nutrient, and if so, could need up to 10,000 IU per day for three months in order to correct the deficiency.

Higher circulating levels of vitamin D in moms during pregnancy are associated with improved mental and psychomotor development in infants. (Pediatrics, 2012, Oct; 130(4):e913-20.)

Animal studies are beginning to show an influence of vitamin D on hair growth and regrowth, too, although it’s not definitely proven. However, since vitamin D controls over 1000 different genes that are related to illness, it’s not far-fetched to think that one of those 1000 could possibly be connected with hair growth.

Prenatal Vitamins Can Supplement But Never Be Enough

From this summary, it’s easy to see that prenatal vitamins really aren’t going to do much for hair growth, let alone for pregnancy! Prenatal vitamins are pretty inadequate in providing all the woman’s needs for pregnancy. Surprisingly, prenatal vitamins are one area of medicine not addressed much, as ob-gyns simply hand out prenatal vitamins as if one size fits all.

The problem is that all of us are living far underneath our nutritional potential and have dietary and nutrient imbalances. Nutritional studies have found deficiencies in every group of people, young or old – and it’s not only one deficiency; it’s multiple ones. It’s conceivable that your nutrition can be boosted to optimal and your hair loss could stop.

By adding prenatal vitamins for hair growth, you can temporarily give yourself a boost of some nutrients and notice that you’re feeling better, but there are better ways to approach hair loss that are more scientifically sound. By using a whole panel of nutritional tests and hormonal tests, you can detect the cause of your hair loss.

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