Long term stress, depression, anxiety, and overthinking leaves a deep impact on your health; it doesn't even spare your regular hair cycle. Though the experts are still figuring out the exact connection between hair loss and stress, some say the Cortisol or stress hormone is the main culprit behind these actions. The human hair cycle consists of three stages: In the growth stage, the hair strands push through the skin; in degeneration, the hair stops growing, and the follicle at the base shrinks. The hair is prone to breakage in the final stage and falls out. And this process naturally goes on for a lifetime.

How is stress connected to hairfall?

Approximately there are 1 lakh hair follicles on an adult's scalp, although the number could vary according to hair colour. Each strand goes through the growth and rest cycle. Therefore, most of your hair follicles are in the growth stage at any given time. A sudden trigger happens in the Telogen or rest phase between these processes. What could be the possible reason for that? The answer is - stress, especially emotional stress.

So, what qualifies as emotional stress? It could happen due to workload, disbalance in personal life, some adverse events or discussions that make you feel worried, restless or worthless, etc. Since 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic has made most people worried about their health. Experts say stress disrupts the normal cycle of your hair follicles. Stress makes your hair strands vulnerable, weak, and prone to breakage in the growth phase. The hormonal imbalance in women causes the hair cycle's early termination of Anagen (growth phase).

Types of hairfall:

Telogen Effluvium: This is a condition where there is a change in your hair follicle numbers during the resting stage. The thinning process may not be seen all over the head, but you can see some patches in the center of the scalp. In this condition, people generally don't lose all their hair. This thinning process also affects eyebrows and genital parts.

Alopecia Areata: This autoimmune disease occurs when immunity attacks the hair follicle. The process gets triggered due to too much stress and may result in complete hair loss. In a more severe phase, hair must disappear from the whole body. In this disease, the hair might grow and repeatedly fall over a while.

Trichotillomania: This is known as a hair-pulling disorder. This is an impulsive habit of pulling your scalp and body hair. You might think hair pulling happens due to absence of mind, but this might be a primary symptom.

Prevention:

The hair loss due to stress isn't permanent if appropriately treated. Few tips to prevent or redeem your hair growth:

• Make some modifications to your diet. Try to eat food enriched with vitamin C, such as broccoli, bell papers, strawberry, citrus fruit, etc. Switch your regular refined oil with olive oil and include some green leafy vegetables in your diet.
• Try to exercise daily to release stress. Several studies have proved that exercise has worked better than anti-depressants.
• Engage yourself in several hobbies and creative activities.
• Block some time for journaling
• Try to meditate and do breathing exercises daily.
• Take natural supplements. For example, andMe's Biotin drink. As a women wellness brand, we understand the unique needs of a woman's health. According to the requirements, we have created a versatile range of products that supports you from puberty to menopause. This Biotin booster is a nutritional blend of 7 Ayurvedic extracts, Amino acids, Vitamins, DHT blockers, Omega 3, etc. It is entirely plant-based and has no side effects on your health.