Stress and Female Hair Loss: What You Need to Know

Stress can cause everything from insomnia and headaches to fatigue and a weakened immune system, but what about hair loss? Let’s just say you’re not the first woman to Google “​​stress female hair loss.”

Unfortunately, stress and female hair loss go hand in hand. Stress can cause thinning hair, hair shedding, and even patches of complete hair loss. 

Below, we’ll dive into how stress can lead to hair loss, how to stop hair loss from stress and encourage hair regrowth, and — maybe most importantly — what you can do to stop the stress in your life from getting so bad it makes your hair fall out.

Stress can cause hair loss in females and males. Common causes of hair loss include physical stress — like surgery or an illness — and emotional stress — such as losing a loved one or going through a divorce.

There are three types of hair loss related to stress: 

• Telogen effluvium. This form of hair loss can be caused by stressors like childbirth, surgery, illness, infection, emotional stress, or even medications like birth control pills or antidepressants. You might notice hair loss two to three months after a stressful event.

• Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania is a disorder that can be triggered by anxiety and stress. It causes some individuals to pull their hair out, and you might pull your hair out even more when stressed. 

• Alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. It happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles, causing hair loss and small, round bald patches. Emotional stress or an illness could trigger alopecia areata in those at risk for the condition.

So, if you’re dealing with a toxic boss or recently suffered an illness (like COVID) and you’re noticing more strands of hair at the bottom of your shower drain, you may not be imagining things. Stress really can lead to hair loss.  

There’s no single female stress hair loss pattern. In fact, hair loss caused by stress will look different for everyone.

Having said that, there are a few things to look out for. 

With telogen effluvium, you may notice: 

• Abrupt, diffused hair shedding that affects your entire scalp

• Shedding more than 100 hairs a day (losing 50 to 100 is typical)

• Seeing more of your scalp peeking through, especially under bright lighting

• Finding more hairs than usual in your comb or hair brush, on your pillow, or swirling down the drain

• Finding hairs with a small white bulb at the root 

A dermatologist may diagnose you with telogen effluvium if you shed more than 100 hairs daily or if you don’t quickly regrow the hairs you lose as a result of stress-induced hair loss.

With trichotillomania, you might catch yourself pulling out hairs. And a key symptom of alopecia areata is small, round bald patches. 

Stress may not be to blame for all the changes you might see in your hair and hairline, though.

Hair breakage around your face, for example, is a sign of traction alopecia (hair loss caused by tight hairstyles). Meanwhile, a widening part can be a sign of androgenetic alopecia (aka female pattern hair loss or female pattern baldness).

Stress can affect your hair in a few different ways. Let’s start with telogen effluvium. 

This type of hair loss can disrupt your hair’s natural growth cycle.

The hair growth cycle involves three different phases, and each hair follicle is at a different point in the cycle at any given time. 

These phases include the: 

• Anagen phase (or growth phase)

• Catagen phase (or transition phase)

• Telogen phase (or resting phase)

Telogen effluvium often comes on suddenly and is triggered by a stressful event — like the death of a loved one, a sudden physical illness, crash dieting, or rapid weight loss.

When this stress occurs, hair in the anagen phase can prematurely enter the telogen phase, causing hair loss.

Trichotillomania and alopecia areata are a little different: 

• Trichotillomania is thought to be related to anxiety disorders and is a part of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). You might find pulling your hair out temporarily relieves feelings of stress, reinforcing the behavior of hair-pulling.

• Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that could be triggered by stress or other environmental factors, but genetics can also be to blame. With this condition, the immune system attacks hair follicles, causing inflammation and patchy hair loss.

Hair loss might also happen with hormonal changes after childbirth or during menopause.

Ready for some good news? Most of the time, stress-related hair loss isn’t permanent. You may find that when the stressor has passed, your hair starts to regrow.

There are a couple of key steps you can take to speed up this process and restore your crowning glory:

• Focus on getting your stress under control

• Find the right hair loss medication

Just know this: After treating the root cause of telogen effluvium, it’s normal for hair to take up to six months to start growing back. So patience is key.

Your hair may also grow back if you have alopecia areata or trichotillomania — but that’ll also take time.

Now, let’s dig into the stuff you really want to know. What exactly can you do to grow your hair back after hair loss from stress?

The last thing you want to see is a clump of hair clogging up the shower drain.

Luckily, there are multiple hair loss treatments to help you regrow lost hair.

Hair Loss Medications

You’ve got a few options when it comes to hair loss medications:

• Minoxidil. Minoxidil is a topical or oral medication. It’s thought to work by pushing hairs into the anagen phase, promoting faster, more effective hair growth. Minoxidil is often used to treat telogen effluvium, alopecia areata, and many other types of hair loss. You might have heard the common over-the-counter form of minoxidil called Rogaine®.

• Spironolactone. Spironolactone blocks androgen production to lower the amount of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone that causes hair follicles to shrink and hair shafts to get thinner and finer. Spironolactone is typically used to treat androgenetic alopecia (genetic hair loss), so it may not be helpful for stress-related hair loss.

• Finasteride. In its oral, FDA-approved form, finasteride isn’t approved for the treatment of hair loss in women. But as a topical treatment, it’s an easy-to-use spray that helps reduce levels of DHT on the scalp. Finasteride may be helpful for those with female pattern hair loss, but it typically doesn’t work for telogen effluvium.

A healthcare provider can help you get to the bottom of what’s behind your hair loss and recommend the best treatment. 

Hair Loss Supplements 

Nutritious eating can help you get enough of the various nutrients essential for a normal hair follicle cycle. 

Beyond whole foods, supplements and vitamins can help your hair look its best. They may help address nutritional deficiencies that could get in the way of hair regrowth after you experience telogen effluvium.

Some of these supplements include:

• Biotin. Biotin (vitamin B7) is key to maintaining proper skin, nail, and hair health. Although rare, a biotin deficiency can cause hair loss. Biotin supplementation may help some women regrow their hair.

• Minerals and vitamins. Research shows that certain vitamins and minerals (like vitamin D, vitamin C, and iron) may contribute to some forms of hair loss. This includes telogen effluvium, androgenetic alopecia, and in some cases alopecia areata. 

• Saw palmetto. Saw palmetto is a botanical extract with antiandrogenic properties. A systematic review of studies showed that people who took saw palmetto experienced improvements in hair loss — including those with stress-induced hair loss.

Want the best of both worlds? Hers Hair Blends combine prescription medication with hair vitamins and supplements into one easy-to-take pill.

Keep in mind, tons of hair care supplements are out there, and some need more research. It’s always best to consult a healthcare provider to discuss which supplements are right for you and your medical conditions. 

To stop losing hair from stress, you have to treat the root cause of the problem: stress.

We know that’s not always easy. But there are a few things you can do to get your stress levels under control and achieve thicker, healthier hair. 

Lifestyle Changes

Consider removing stressful elements from your life or adding in practices to help manage chronic stress levels. This could reduce hair thinning from stress.

Healthy lifestyle changes to prevent stress female hair loss:

• Changing things up at work. If the root cause of telogen effluvium is work-related, you may want to explore less stressful job opportunities or make changes to your work situation that reduce stress and work anxiety.

• Doing more exercise. Studies show that physical activity plays a critical role in stress management, so exercising more frequently could help you manage stress with feel-good endorphins. Exercise doesn’t have to mean a sweat-dripping HIIT session — pilates or strength training can also offer great benefits.

• Being more mindful. Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness exercises can reduce stress, helping you better manage situations without feeling overwhelmed.

• Getting enough sleep. Stress and sleep disorders like insomnia are closely linked, as the stress hormone cortisol spikes when you’re short on shut-eye. Aim to get at least seven hours of sleep a night to help reduce stress. In this case, when you snooze, you don’t lose. 

• Talking to a therapy provider. A mental health provider can help you learn how to effectively handle your stress. Can’t make it to see someone in person? Does the idea of sitting on someone’s couch freak you out? Try online therapy from the comfort of your home.

Medication to Manage Stress 

If you have chronic stress or anxiety, a healthcare provider might recommend anti-anxiety medications to help manage your symptoms. 

Medication for stress and anxiety includes:

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) 

• Benzodiazepines

• Beta-blockers

Your healthcare provider can explain the benefits and side effects of different medications and suggest the best treatment options for you.

No matter how you plan to handle stress and female hair loss, know that stressing over it may only make it worse. 

What a vicious circle, right? But at least now you know there are multiple ways to treat the causes of stress hair loss:

• Make lifestyle changes and speak with a therapist to reduce the root causes of stress.

• Try appropriate hair medications like minoxidil, which can help kickstart new hair growth after a stressful event that caused excess shedding.

• Eat balanced meals full of nutritious foods and supplement as needed to address nutritional deficiencies.

No matter what you choose, there are plenty of treatment options to get ahead of stress and hair loss. If you’re looking to make some changes ASAP, start a free hair loss consultation today. 

One of our licensed healthcare providers can determine if it’s stress or something else causing your hair loss and recommend the best treatments to get healthy hair back in your life.