To say that the last 20 months has been stressful would be an understatement. So many things have happened recently that could cause you stress. From COVID to the loss of loved ones and jobs, these are stressful times. While stress is something that we will all experience, we must remain diligent to manage it properly. If we don’t handle our stress properly, then it can have many harmful impacts on our bodies. This can include high blood pressure, shortness of breath, and so much more. However, one overlooked impact of stress on your body is hair loss. That’s right, stress can lead to you losing your hair. But, I have good news for you. There are some things you can do to lessen stress impact on your hair. In today’s article I am going to discuss 3 simple ways to reduce hair loss from stress.
What is Stress
To begin, I think it will be helpful to establish a common understanding about what stress is. To be clear, there are some very in-depth medical definitions of stress. But, let’s keep it simple. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, stress is how the brain and body respond to any demand. For example, this can include a significant life change like the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of job and chronic illness. Stress can also be caused by everyday things like emotional issues and a irritating co-worker.
When you experience a high level of stress or repeated stress over a period of time, that stress can cause hair loss. When your body is under a high amount of stress it pushes more hair than usual into the resting phase of the hair growth cycle, which is called telogen effluvium. Within a few months of the stress related event, hair may begin to fall out while combing or washing it.
It is important to identify what causes you stress because it can really impact your health and your hair. Therefore, take some time to identify what, who and/or where causes you stress. Knowing what your stressors are is a first step in effectively managing stress. Once you have gotten your stress under control you may be able to restore the hair that was lost.
So, here are three things you can do to help reduce hair loss from stress.
#1) Eat Healthy Foods
I know this seems so simple, but as the old saying goes, “you are what you eat.” Having a healthy diet is essential to not only having a healthy body but keeping your hair healthy. To put it simply, your diet has a direct impact on your hair health. This is why you need to eat healthy foods to help with hair loss from stress. In fact, there are 11 super foods that you can add to your diet to help your hair grow longer and stronger. For example, some of those foods are avocados, salmon, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes. These and other foods have the vitamins and minerals that you need to slow down hair loss when you’re stressed.
#2) Take Supplements
Taking supplements are important. The reason why most people need supplements is because they don’t typically get all of the vitamins and minerals that they need from their diet. This is why some people juice and do other things to supplement their diets, so that they can give their body what they need. One way to get the needed nutrients to support your hair, but specifically hair loss from stress is to take vitamins. In other words, hair vitamins can be useful for helping your hair to grow longer, stronger, and healthier. A good hair vitamin can be helpful because they contain useful nutrients like Vitamin B, B12, biotin, Vitamin A, D, Zinc, and others. Here are the vitamins that we recommend because they are packed with nutrients that have been associated with stimulating hair growth. There several other great benefits that hair vitamins provides your hair. Some of these benefits include create and stimulate hair follicles, promote stronger hair, and slow hair from aging.
#3) Proper Sleep and Exercise
One of the things that stress can do is interrupt your sleep patterns. When your sleep is thrown off it can have many impacts on your body such as weak immunity, high blood pressure, weight gain, and low sex drive. But that is not it. Sleep deprivation can also impact your hair. It can result in hair loss. Therefore, you should try to get at least 8 hours of sleep at night. I know that might be hard for you. But, start where you are and work your way up. When you do sleep, it is important to use a satin hair scarf because it can help reduce hair loss, maintain moisture, and promote shinier hair.
Along with proper sleep is exercise. Exercise is important because it can help with hair loss. This is because when you exercise it gets your blood pumping which can help reduce hair loss. Exercise can also help reduce cortisol levels which in turn help reduce hair loss from stress.
In sum, stress is something that we all experience. And we have to be careful to not let stress overtake us because it can be harmful to our entire bodies, including our hair. I have shared 3 simple things you can do to reduce hair loss from stress. The key is that you must be diligent and make them a part of your lifestyle, not a one-time event. When you do this then you’re more likely to see the results from these important practices.
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Brandelyn Green is the Founder of VoiceOfHair, a platform to help women of color find the best hair care products, regimens and hairstyles! Since starting VoiceOfHair in 2014 she has grown the social media platform to over 1MM+ on Instagram and Facebook. As a natural who is also a salon goer, she wanted to create a platform where people could find the best products, hairstylists, advice and trends.
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