How stress affects our hair health

Stress is a natural reaction towards external stimuli or internal emotional strains. In many cases, unpleasant memories or thoughts can cause a state of tension that takes over our state of wellbeing. Specialists insist that there are many tools and techniques, like mindfulness or meditation, that can help us control stress in our body to avoid it from becoming chronic. Dr. Ricart and Dr. Roche, both dermatologists-trichologists at Instituto Ricart, share the belief that a continuous state of stress can lead to emotional seasonal alopecia.

Symptoms of Nervous Alopecia

The most common symptoms are:

• The hair becomes more fragile, weak and lacks shine.
• There is hair-loss in all parts of the head.

It is estimated that we lose 50 to 150 hairs a day, and in autumn to winter months, the figures can increase to 200. However, when under stress, the quantity increases. It doesn’t necessarily have to be alarming, but it does require us to dedicate special attention to rectify the situation before it worsens. In 50% of all cases, once the state of stress has been addressed, the capillary fibre can be restored. However, specialists insist that a prolonged state of health increases the possibilities of suffering from nervous alopecia. Continuous nervousness causes the hair follicles, responsible for hair growth, weaken and can even cause a permanent standstill.

Avoiding Capillary Stress

In the case that you suffer from capillary stress, it’s necessary to determine what the cause of the stress is. Psychotherapy is a discipline that can treat certain situations that cause capillary stress. However, before treating any alteration, we must revise what our daily habits are to analyse whether they should be modified in order to achieve a state of personal wellbeing.

In many cases, a nutritional deficiency due to a poor diet can be the cause of capillary stress. A diet lacking vitamins and minerals, especially iron, or other deficiencies that women suffer from when they are menstruating, can lead to hair loss. This type of case can cause an intense temporary hair loss, however, if the immune system is restored and brought back to balance, the hair begins to grow normally again.

On the other hand, sleep can also influence your levels of stress. Not sleeping enough hours is linked with higher levels of stress. Therefore, it’s important to regulate sleep and maintaining a healthy routine to avoid stress levels from increasing.

These are very simple ways of ensuring that your body is in equilibrium and that your health and wellbeing is improved.

If you’re suffering from severe hair loss, you should visit a specialist to understand the underlying cause. At SHA Wellness Clinic, we have partnered with Instituto Ricart to offer our guests the best experts in the field to treat any capillary issues they may suffer from.