Stress increases risk of hair loss
Although hair loss is attributed to genetics, health professionals believe stress can exacerbate hair loss by triggering the release of certain hormones in the body which can damage hair follicles.
“Your DNA basically decides if and when you’re going to lose your hair. The primary cause of hair loss is genetic,” said Dr. Gary Perrault, a hair restoration specialist in Beverly Hills.
There are about 100,000 hairs on our heads, and we normally lose 100 to 150 strands a day, said Ted Robles, a health psychology professor who studies the different effects stress has on the body.
Natural hair loss may not be noticeable, but certain hair loss diseases, which young adults are genetically predisposed to, can be aggravated by stress and can cause baldness, said Dr. Cristina Kim, a dermatologist at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Robles said that although current research does not suggest hair loss is completely attributed to stress, it plays a role in how much hair is lost.
Some studies show that certain hormones our body release in response to stress can communicate with hair molecules, and stress certainly communicates with cells throughout the body, Robles said.
“The mechanism for which stress might influence hair loss is plausible and exists,” she added.
Certain hormones released while in times of stress, like dihydrotestosterone, can shorten the life of hair follicles, Perrault said.
These hormonal imbalances are not only affected by stress, but also by the poor lifestyle choices students make, Perrault added. In addition to stress, lack of sleep or a nutritious diet can affect the genetic process in our bodies, he said. During stress especially, the immune system responds differently than normal. As a result, a type of cellular death called apoptosis can occur more often, sometimes killing off cells that would not otherwise be killed, he said.
There are several types of stress most attributed to hair loss, Kim said. One is emotional stress, the type of stress students may have due to exams, work or relationship problems. The other type is medical stress, which patients experience after having surgery or after being in a car accident, she added.
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Categories: Hair Loss, Stress and hair loss