Happy holidays! The season for shopping, travel, gifting, office parties and family gatherings has arrived! From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, the season is so short that sometimes, it seems that they all happen on the same day. For most people the holidays are fun and pleasurable. However, many people experience increased levels of physical and emotional stress during the holidays. Ignoring increased prolonged stress can lead to sudden hair loss.

Of course enduring yet another rendition of Aunt Maggie’s tips on getting hitched and starting a family is not likely to cause enough stress to make your hair fall out. However, many studies show that prolonged stress does cause sudden hair loss. Stressful events like the death of a family member or partner, divorce, and job loss are often responsible for sudden hair loss. Rapid weight loss or gain, chronic illnesses, pregnancy and surgery can also cause intense stress and sudden hair loss.

Stress related hair loss, telogen effluvium, is severe hair loss that affects a large area of the scalp. The victims do not develop bald spots, thin patches, or a receding hairline. The medical community characterizes this kind of hair loss as temporary. During a period of intense stress, the body sends signals to your hair follicles that force them into a resting phase. These hairs simply fall out when you wash or comb your hair, just as they normally would. The difference is that more hair follicles are resting when you are under extreme stress than would be if the body was alternating between the resting and growth cycles that result in normal hair loss. Once the stressors are removed and your level of stress is reduced, the hair normally grows back.

For some people, sudden hair loss is caused by alopecia areata, a stress-related condition. The body’s white blood cells attack your hair follicles and they stop producing new hairs, very quickly. This condition may eventually affect the entire scalp and even body hair too. Although the hair usually grows back, some people have more than one episode of alopecia areata. Repeated episodes disrupt the normal growth cycle for your hair. The resulting hair loss must be treated professionally.

Treating stress-related hair loss is often difficult. Some people develop nervous habits, like rubbing their scalp or
twisting strands of hair, as a reaction to intense or prolonged stress.
Anxiety about sudden hair loss is especially common among women. Even when the original stressors are reduced or removed, it may take months to restore your hair’s natural growth and resting cycles.

Over thirty million women in the United States are experiencing hair loss. It affects some women by the time they reach their teens. Heredity is the main cause of hair loss for women. The degree of hair loss and the pattern is different. Most women suffer from thinning hair instead of complete baldness.

Androgenic alopecia, female-pattern baldness, is inherited from either parent. It affects more than thirty percent of women. The woman’s hair becomes thinner with age because some hair follicles stop producing new hair to replace those that fall out naturally. Sometimes, new hairs are shorter and finer than previous ones. This condition affects the entire scalp, not just the crown of the head. It usually does not affect a woman’s hairline.

Women are much more likely than men to use chemical hair treatments, heat, and hairstyles that pull the hair tightly. Properly used chemicals do not cause hair loss. Many women who use hair dyes, hair straighteners, and perms at home damage their hair and scalp.

Hair loss after pregnancy is also common among women. This condition is usually temporary. It stops naturally about six months after delivery. It occurs because the woman’s estrogen level increases dramatically during pregnancy. When it drops after her delivery, this disrupts the normal growth and rest pattern for her hair follicles. As the hair follicles return to their normal alternating cycles of rest and growth, the postpartum hair loss stops.

The onset of menopause increases a woman’s risk of hair loss by as much as fifty percent. It will continue to increase as she ages. Peri menopause and menopause affect the balance between testosterone and estrogen in women. These hormonal changes are responsible for triggering the onset of thinning hair, even for women who have no genetic predisposition. At the same time, many women report that they notice changes in the texture of their hair after menopause. Unfortunately, while the scalp hair becomes thinner, facial and body hair can become more profuse and coarser.

Two-thirds of all women experience hair loss at some time during their lives. From adolescence through menopause, women’s hormones, lifestyle choices, heredity, and even childbirth put them at risk of hair loss. Treatments for female hair loss are available for women who don’t want to resign themselves to wearing wigs and scarves to hide their thinning hair. These treatments not only help women regrow hair, they also boost self-esteem.

That comb-over just draws attention to your of hair loss. It does nothing to solve your problem. Don’t let your hair loss turn into an irreversible “chrome dome,” that is all too common among men. Male pattern baldness can’t be prevented, but these days, effective treatment is available.

Men are more likely to notice a receding hairline as the first symptom. As the hair loss progresses, many men develop a noticeable bald spot. Without hair regrowth treatment, over time, the receding hairline or bald spot spreads from the temples to the crown of the head. The medical community refers to this kind of hair loss as androgenetic alopecia, or pattern baldness. One-third of men who experience hair loss have this condition.

Hoping for a miracle, many men do nothing at this point. They often have a fringe of unaffected hair from the ears to the nape of the neck that remains. Others resign themselves to the baldness they believe to be inevitable. They shave their heads completely.

As people age, hair growth slows down. For some it stops prematurely. Everyone also has to cope with thinning hair because of aging. One fourth of all men have some hair loss by age 30. By 60, approximately 66% of all men become partially or completely bald.

The average healthy person’s scalp contains around 100,000 hairs. Each one of them lives for four to five years. During that period, each hair normally grows about a half inch per month. New hairs should replace the ones that die within six months. The growth cycle starts again when a new hair grows in an existing hair follicle.

In most cases, this process repeats itself automatically. When the process slows down or
stops, normal hair loss becomes a problem. When new hairs fail to replace dead hairs, it is time to take action to kick start the cycle again. Without an intervention, baldness is inevitable.

It’s not your imagination. You’re losing hair. Long or short, daily hair loss is normal. As many as 50 to 100 hairs on your head die daily. Normally, new hair replaces them and the beat goes on.

When is hair loss a cause for worry?

Slow hair loss that results in thinning hair or bald spots causes alarm for most people. Thinning hair and baldness can start for some people in their teens. Rapid or sudden excessive hair loss, at any age, should concern you as well. They are both symptoms of a hidden problem.

Stress may be the culprit. Everyone’s body responds to stress differently. Some people get hives or nausea; others find their comb and brush full of hair! Genetics may play a part; some people are predisposed to hair loss. However, if you start treatment before you experience the symptoms, you may be able to triumph over your gene heredity. Chemicals in our water and food, prescription drugs, and over the counter medications can also cause hair loss. Chronic illnesses, shampoos, aggressive brushing, tight braids, greasy pomades and poor nutrition are all possible underlying causes of loss of hair.

Treating hair loss may take as little as a few weeks or the treatment may take several years. The first step to finding the correct treatment is to find the cause of your hair loss. Then you can attack the problem confidently. The dermatologist is your hair’s best friend. Make an appointment to have your hair and skin analyzed.

Like allergy screenings, the tests that a dermatologist conducts will pinpoint possible causes. Modern science can analyze strands of hair with remarkable precision. These tests report what you have eaten and where you have traveled. They will also reveal your exposure to toxic and common household chemicals.

No matter how long you have lived with the symptoms of hair loss, explore the causes of your hair problems. Once you have a diagnosis, you will be ready to tackle the situation with the right tools.