Can Stress Cause Me To Lose My Hair?

Dr. Maryrose Gerardi answers the question: 'Loss Of Hair Due To Stress?'

ByABC News
April 16, 2008, 5:52 PM

— -- Question: Can stress cause me to lose my hair?

Answer: We all lose about a hundred hairs a day. But there are two forms of hair loss which can occur from excessive physical or emotional stress. The first and more common is hair loss which happens when the hair will stop growing, lie dormant, and fall out in about two to three months and then grow back again in about six to nine months.

The second type of hair loss is in reaction to a more extreme stress. That type of hair loss is called alopecia, and the hair can fall out in patches and even cover the entire scalp. If you think that stress is a factor -- because there are other factors, such as hereditary and illness, which can influence hair loss -- but if you think stress is a factor once again you need to return to looking at lifestyle changes, and see if making those changes make a difference.

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