Can stress lead to hair loss and thinning?

Here Consultant Trichologist EVA PROUDMAN FIT IAT of UKhairconsultants.com explains:

“There’s little doubt about the impact of stress on hair loss and many of my patients report ‘feeling stressed’ when they first come into Clinic.

Any number of unfortunate life events such as the breakdown of a relationship, or grief from the loss of a loved one can trigger mental health issues in a person including stress. 

Prolonged periods of stress can cause an increase in the hormone cortisol, putting our bodies into survival mode where priority is given to every essential body cell. However, our bodies consider hair to be non-essential, which can lead to thinning and shedding when we’re under significant pressure.  Stress can also often cause a rise in inflammation within our bodies which can trigger many different reactions, not least a malfunction in the autoimmune system, which again can lead to hair loss.

Experience from listening to my patients concurs that stress might also cause us to make changes to our diet; many people skip meals or opt for easy comfort food that can cause a depletion in stored vitamin and mineral levels which again can trigger hair loss. 

In my role as a trichologist, I listen to my patients and their mental health concerns. I am trained in providing a complete holistic approach that involves a range of therapies and lifestyle modifications, specialist supplementation (once any dietary deficiencies have been identified), as well as topical and innovative treatments such as laser therapy. We can also provide specialist scalp treatments to relieve scaly, itchy conditions, that work alongside antibiotic and steroid treatments from a GP or dermatologist.

I find it incredibly rewarding to receive notes of thanks from my patients and feel such a sense of pride and gratification from being able to help people when they are at a low ebb.”

For more information and advice, please visit: www.ukhairconsultants.com