Is Stress Causing Your Hair Loss?
This is a guest post written by Stacey Chillemi, Founder of The Complete Herbal Guide.
In this article, you’ll learn and discover if stress is causing your hair loss and what you can do to regain your hair back. Everyday life sends us surprises and new responsibilities to accomplish. Everyone is always on the go and stress is unavoidable. 90% of all illnesses are caused by stress including hair loss.
Stress is a natural feeling of not being able to cope with specific responsibilities, events that enter our lives and the demands that others put on us. However, stress can become a chronic condition if a person does not take steps to manage it.
3 Types of Stress Related Hair Loss
- Telogen effluvium: In telogen effluvium (TEL-o-jun uh-FLOO-vee-um), significant stress pushes large numbers of hair follicles into a resting phase. Within a few months, affected hairs might fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing your hair.
- Trichoti: Trichotillomania (trik-o-til-o-MAY-nee-uh) is an irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body. Hair pulling can be a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, tension, loneliness, boredom or frustration.
- Alopecia areata: A variety of factors are thought to cause alopecia areata (al-o-PEE-she-uh ar-e-A-tuh), possibly including severe stress. With alopecia areata, the body’s immune system attacks the hair follicles — causing hair loss.
Hair loss caused by stress is not necessarily permanent. If you are able to manage your stress by using healthy alternative methods, then there is a good chance your hair might grow back. Here are some natural ways to manage your stress and regrow your hair.
Vitamins for Hair Growth
Eating a healthy diet and making sure you acquire the proper vitamins and nutrients is essential for the reduction of stress and hair growth. There are specific vitamins that are very important when it comes to hair growth and the reduction of stress:
- Vitamin C: This vitamin essential for building collagen, the skin’s connective tissue that is found in hair follicles. Foods that contain vitamin C include citrus fruits, broccoli, bell peppers, and strawberries.
- Vitamin B: This complex of many vitamins promotes a healthy metabolism, as well as healthy skin and hair. B vitamins can be found in foods like dark leafy greens, beans, nuts, and avocados.
- Vitamin E: This vitamin contains potent antioxidants, which can contribute to a healthy scalp. Foods rich in vitamin E include sunflower seeds, spinach, olive oil, broccoli, and shrimp.
Supplements for Stress
- Rhodiola rosea: It has long been known as an adaptogen, a natural, non-toxic herb that stimulates your body’s stress response system to increase stress resistance.
- Glycine: The calming effects of glycine have been shown to improve sleep quality and feelings of alertness and focus.
- Ashwagandha: Similarly to rhodiola, ashwagandha is thought to enhance your body’s resilience to physical and mental stress.
- L-theanine: It has been studied for its ability to promote relaxation and reduce stress without exerting sedative effects
Yoga for Stress
Not only do forward bends increase the exhalation, helping to relieve stress, they also turn us inward. Plus, with the arms behind the back, we release shoulder tension.
Use Natural Treatments To Reinforce Hair Growth
While there is no one-size fits all solution to reduce hair loss, there are a number of natural remedies that can be used to support health hair growth which you can read more about here.
If you are concerned that stress is causing your hair loss and are looking for personalized Ayurvedia techniques to combat stress, set up a complementary consultation today.
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