Understanding the Connection Between Stress and Hair Loss

How Stress Affects Hair Growth

Stress hair loss isn’t about the everyday stresses of life and work. It’s about a stress so severe or prolonged that it shocks the body into shutting down hair production.

So how can stress cause hair loss? To understand the link between stress and hair loss, you need to know a bit about the hair growth cycle.

Every one of the roughly 100,000 hair follicles on your scalp is at some stage in this cycle.

There’s the anagen stage, which is when your follicles are growing hair. There’s the catagen stage when your follicles are rapidly transitioning into a resting period. And then there’s telogen, the resting phase. That’s when your hair sheds.

About 90% of your hair follicles are in the anagen growth stage at any given time. But when stress hits hard, that balance can shift and more follicles slide into the telogen phase.

Researchers think this might have something to do with the impact the stress hormone cortisol has on hair follicle stem cells — but we’ll look at that below.

For now, it’s enough to say that stress releases cortisol, which disrupts the hair growth cycle, causing more hair to fall out than usual.

Stress hair loss is more likely to look like diffuse thinning across the scalp than the receding hairline and early signs of balding you may expect from hair loss associated with aging.

Looking for something else?

• Men’s hair loss treatment
• Women’s hair loss treatment

Different Types of Stress-Related Hair Loss

Stress impacts each person in different ways so it should come as no surprise that it can also manifest as different types of hair loss — each with its own symptoms, severity, treatment, and recovery time.

From the diffuse thinning of telogen effluvium to the compulsive pulling of trichotillomania, let’s take a look at the possible culprit behind your stress-induced shedding.

Telogen Effluvium

Telogen effluvium is a type of sudden hair loss caused by a severe shock to the system, usually because of a strong physical or emotional stressor.

It usually develops 6–12 weeks after the stressful event but in good news, it’s temporary and you’re unlikely to go bald.

Once the stressful event is over, your hair growth cycle typically returns to normal, although it’s a slow process. It can take up to 6 months for the shedding to stop and months (or even years) to return to your previous density.

For some people, telogen effluvium can also develop into chronic telogen effluvium.

Trichotillomania

Unlike telogen effluvium, trichotillomania isn’t about what happens within the hair follicles. Your follicles are working just fine.

Instead, it’s behavioural. People with trichotillomania have a deep compulsion to pull out their hair. It’s so difficult to control that they often end up with bald patches on the scalp or over the body.

While this impulse control disorder is often diagnosed in teenagers or pre-teens, we don’t entirely know what causes it. But we have a good idea about what exacerbates it.

Research shows that hair pulling generally increases with negative emotions and can help relieve tension. A lot of people with trichotillomania also report starting to pull their hair after stressful situations.

Because of its psychological aspect, trichotillomania is most often treated with behavioural therapy.

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks your hair follicles, affecting the hair growth cycle.

The resulting hair loss looks like small, round bald patches on the scalp, although some people may end up completely bald. A more severe version of alopecia areata causes total body hair loss.

Once again, we’re not sure what causes alopecia areata, although it may be hereditary. A 2023 academic review concluded stress can weaken the hair follicles’ defences and cause the immune system to attack them.

While there’s no known cure for alopecia areata, there are prescription medications that may help. It’s best to speak to a doctor if you have AA or are concerned that you may have it.

What Causes Stress Hair Loss?

It’s one of the most common questions we get asked — can stress cause hair loss? The answer is yes. In 2023, a Saudi Arabian study of 1080 participants found that stress clearly contributed to hair loss — and that there was a correlation between how stressed you were and how much hair you lost.

But what exactly causes hair loss through stress?

When we talk about stress hair loss, we’re usually talking about telogen effluvium — the type of hair loss directly triggered by a stressful event.

These events are often physical, such as major surgery, excessive weight loss, or a high fever or illness (including COVID-19). Stress hair loss in females may be caused by childbirth or going off the birth control pill.

But telogen effluvium can also be triggered by prolonged stress or severe emotional trauma, such as a job loss, divorce, or a death in the family.

When you’re stressed, your adrenal glands release cortisol, a hormone that helps you deal with tough situations. If the stress lasts too long or is too severe, you end up with too much cortisol.

Founder of the World Hair Council, Dr Erling Thom, found that a big boost of cortisol can break down natural skin substances hyaluronan and proteoglycans by as much as 40%. Hyaluronan is essential for hair follicle health while proteoglycans help hair follicles stay in the growth phase.

Without these elements, more follicles power down, entering a premature resting phase and ultimately shedding their hair.

Alongside a boost in cortisol levels, stress can also impact your body’s nutritional levels, further affecting your hair follicles’ ability to produce luscious locks.

When you’re stressed, your metabolism can go into overdrive, using up many more nutrients than usual and diverting nutrients from your follicles.

But it’s not just that. Depending on the type of stress, you might find yourself craving highly processed foods that are low in nutrients — or you might lose your appetite altogether.

Any of these factors can cause a nutritional deficiency which can further weaken your hair follicles and impact regrowth.

Learn more about the role of vitamins in hair growth.

Recognising the Symptoms of Hair Loss Due to Stress

The main symptoms of hair loss due to stress are its sudden onset and its diffuse thinning across the scalp.

Stress hair loss looks like a mass of hair coming out all at once — more than the roughly 100 hairs you usually shed each day.

It may be gradual, depending on the severity and duration of the stress. But for many people, it can feel sudden, even though the condition usually begins a few weeks or even months before symptoms start to show.

You can typically trace the stressful event back about 3 months from the onset of symptoms.

Stress-related hair loss is also diffuse, which means it usually looks like all-over hair thinning, rather than patchy bald spots. Regrowth may feel painstakingly slow.

You may start noticing excess hair in the shower drain or on your brush, or an extra-thin ponytail.

In better news, hair loss from stress is typically temporary. Once the stressful event is over, your hair usually recovers and returns to normal after a few months.

The Psychological Impact of Stress-Related Hair Loss

Stress-induced hair loss can seem like a cruel joke. Severe stress causes hair loss. But hair loss can cause more stress, creating a hairy cycle of anxiety and shedding.

A 2001 Welsh survey of an alopecia support group found that hair loss significantly impacted quality of life, reducing people’s self-confidence and self-esteem, while heightening their self-consciousness.

Cosmetic and plastic surgeon Dr Lakshyajit Dhami has written that hair loss can “cause psychological stress out of proportion to the problem”, largely due to the associations we have with hair and gender, youth, vigour, and status.

According to Dr Dhami, hair loss can also trigger anxiety, anger, depression, and embarrassment — and it impacts women more than men.

In a 2022 literature review, psycho-dermatologists Erica Aukerman and Dr Mohammed Jafferney came to a similar conclusion, noting that hair loss can drastically reduce body image satisfaction and that  “androgenetic alopecia serves as a significant psychosocial stressor in the lives of those affected”.

Stress Hair Loss Treatment: What Works?

Wondering how to regain hair loss from stress — or if it’s possible at all? Before you panic-buy hair extensions, take a deep breath. Stress hair loss is usually temporary.  It normally resolves on its own but in some cases, it may require medical intervention.

With telogen effluvium, the best treatment is to either remove the thing that’s causing you stress or manage the stress as best you can — and then give your hair time to recover.

If it’s physiological stress — caused by an illness or major surgery, for example — your hair should start to recover once your body has recuperated.

But if you have hair loss from chronic or prolonged emotional stress, stress management is key. Try meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, therapy, and exercise to reduce stress.

Stress management is also about leading a healthy lifestyle, including eating a balanced, nutritious diet. Experts agree that nutritional supplements (such as zinc, calcium, iron, selenium, folic acid, and amino acids) may help treat telogen effluvium.

And if, after all that, your hair stays stubbornly thin, it may be time to complement lifestyle changes and dietary support with stronger scalp therapies or even medical intervention.

Several prescription medications, including minoxidil and finasteride, have been tested and proven to treat hair loss.

So has The Hairy Pill® hair loss treatment. It includes regular doctor consultations, where our partner doctors can track your progress and provide personal recommendations based on your response to treatment. Take our quiz to find out if it can help you today.

Want to know more about stress, hair loss, and possible treatments? Read Mamamia’s take on stress and hair loss.

How to Prevent Hair Loss from Stress?

Preventing stress-related hair loss is twofold. It’s about managing your stress, while also looking after your hair.

Relaxation exercises such as yoga and mindfulness have been found to reduce stress, which may help alleviate stress-based hair shedding.

According to psychologists Dr Bonnie J. Kaplan and Dr Julia J. Rucklidge, diet has a big role in mental health too. A healthy diet supports the immune system and gives your body the energy to cope with stressful events — which would naturally have flow-on effects on your hair follicles.

On the other hand, different studies suggest that highly processed foods increase your risk of developing depression and anxiety.

So if you want to prevent hair loss from stress, it may be worth making a few dietary changes too (without limiting your intake — keto and other strict diets can cause hair loss too!).

Eat a nutritious diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, and healthy fats. It won’t hurt if your diet includes the best foods for hair growth!

While you’re at it, consider reducing alcohol consumption and smoking (yes, there are links between smoking and hair loss).

Finally, chronic sleep deprivation can cause hair loss by increasing cortisol levels so try to ensure you get 7–8 hours of sleep each night.

While your hair is recovering, you’ll want to nurture it. Scalp massages help improve blood circulation to the scalp, delivering essential oxygen and nutrients to hair follicles.

Gentle haircare routines prevent further damage and nourish your scalp. Here are a few changes you can make to protect brittle or weak hair:

• Choose a gentle, natural shampoo without moisture-stripping sulphates.
• Ditch the heat-styling tools and let your hair air-dry.
• Avoid harsh chemical treatments like colouring and bleaching.
• Use nourishing herbal oils like lavender or rosemary oil on your scalp.
• Swap cotton for silk pillowcases and scrunchies to minimize friction and breakage.
• Loosen up tight hairstyles to prevent unnecessary strain on your follicles.
• Use a wide-toothed comb instead of a brush to prevent breakage.

Regaining Hair Lost from Stress: What to Expect?

So you’ve got your stress levels under control. How long will it take to restore those luscious locks?

This will all depend on you — on how quickly your stress is reduced and how well your hair follicles recover.

Many people notice hair regrowth about 3–6 months after reducing stress and implementing any stress hair loss treatment.

But it’s important to be patient and to persist with your stress management techniques, haircare routine, and any medication if you want your regrowth to stick!

When to See a Doctor?

If your hair shedding is severe, prolonged, or coincides with other symptoms, you may want to consult a doctor.

Early intervention may help prevent further damage to your hair follicles and improve your chances of regrowth.

Some types of stress-related hair loss, like alopecia areata and trichotillomania, also require specialised medical interventions, so it’s important to seek professional help if you’re concerned.

FAQs

1. How long after a stressful event does hair loss typically occur?

Hair loss caused by stress usually becomes noticeable 2–3 months after the stressful event has occurred. That’s because of the hair growth cycle.

When stress impacts your hair growth cycle, it sends more hair than usual out of the anagen phase and into a premature telogen phase.

Hair grows during the anagen stage but during the telogen phase, the hair follicles rest. This resting period lasts about 100 days — that’s approximately 3 months.

At the end of this phase, the follicle starts to grow new hair, pushing the old hair shaft out. The result — if more hair follicles than usual enter the telogen phase, you’ll experience more shedding than usual 3 months later.

2. Is stress hair loss more common in women than in men?

Unfortunately, it’s not clear whether stress hair loss in females is more common than in males, with global research producing mixed results.

A 2020 literature review noted that it’s tricky to identify the true prevalence of the stress-related hair loss condition telogen effluvium because most cases go undetected.

The review also cautions that while there’s generally a higher prevalence of telogen effluvium among females, women are more likely to take hair shedding seriously, so their numbers could be over-represented.

According to researchers Hughes, Sayed, and Saleh, women are more susceptible to telogen effluvium thanks to postpartum hormonal changes.

But when it comes to hair loss caused by emotional stress, prevalence becomes less clear.

A 2016 cross-sectional study of 424 people in Pakistan found that stress-related hair loss was about twice as common in men as in women.

In this study, 32% of men who reported being highly stressed had hair loss, compared to just 9% of women. Again, 9.8% of men reporting moderate stress had hair loss, compared to 5.9% of women, and 7.5% of men reporting low stress had hair loss compared to 3.7% of women.

On the other hand, a 2023 cross-sectional study of stress-related hair loss in Saudi Arabia revealed that in a group of 1080 participants (almost 80% of whom were aged 18 to 30), 78.2% of females reported hair loss compared to 51.9% of males.

But although this study found stress to be a big contributing factor to hair loss, it doesn’t explicitly confirm that females experienced stress-related hair loss more than males.

3. Does lack of sleep contribute to stress-related hair loss?

Yes, sleep deprivation may contribute to hair loss by exacerbating the stress response that can cause stress-induced hair loss conditions like telogen effluvium.

Disruption to your sleep can raise the levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which in turn can disrupt the hair growth cycle and inhibit hair growth.

Researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo also surmise that substance P, a neuropeptide found in inflammation and sleep regulation, may have a key role in exacerbating telogen effluvium.

4. Does social anxiety or emotional trauma increase the risk of stress-induced hair shedding?

This is a tricky question to answer because it’s often hard to tell what came first: anxiety or hair loss. While anxiety can be a consequence of hair loss (particularly among women), at least one study suggests that social anxiety may increase the risk of stress-related hair shedding.

In a 2023 Chinese study, researchers studied mice that were subjected to social defeat (similar to bullying in humans) and found that the mice had elevated levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH).

CRH is the main hormone that drives the body’s stress response but it also disrupts autophagy, a natural process that helps cells clean out and renew the damaged parts of themselves.

This is an essential part of healthy hair growth, so when this process of cellular cleansing and renewal is disrupted, the hair growth cycle and hair regeneration suffer.

People with social anxiety may also develop trichotillomania, a mental health condition that compels someone to pull out their hair when they have severe stress or anxiety.

Lastly, a 2024 study by Turkish researchers concluded that traumatic stress disorder symptoms may be more prevalent in patients with an autoimmune hair loss condition called alopecia areata, suggesting a possible link between hair loss and emotional trauma.

5. Does intermittent fasting improve or worsen stress-related hair thinning?

Although the research shows mixed results, significant data suggests that intermittent fasting — when you temporarily deprive yourself of food — may impact the body in a way that worsens hair loss due to physiological stress.

One of the most recent studies is the most interesting. A 2025 Chinese study found that intermittent fasting triggers a stress response in the body that inhibits hair growth.

When you fast, your body releases free fatty acids, which cause oxidative stress and can damage and even kill your hair follicle stem cells. Since these cells are necessary for hair growth, losing them means you end up with slower or inhibited hair regeneration.

Other studies suggest that fasting may increase cortisol levels, which may in turn worsen hair thinning.

A 2023 Polish trial followed 14 men aged between 35–60 who followed an 8-day water-only fast. While the researchers concluded that fasting had no major impact on overall wellbeing, it did increase cortisol levels.

An earlier German study from 2022 looked at the effects of a 72-hour water-only fast and came to a similar conclusion.

Researchers found that fasting elevated stress markers such as cortisol levels and norepinephrine levels (which are linked to the nervous system’s fight-or-flight response).

It’s worth noting that many of these studies don’t report increased feelings of stress.

On the other hand, a 2021 study on the effects of fasting during Ramadan concluded that intermittent fasting may have a positive effect on stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

Yet when it comes to hair thinning and hair loss, it’s the physiological response that counts. If fasting causes a hormonal imbalance, it could impact hair follicle function and disrupt the hair growth cycle.

Learn more about hormonal hair loss.