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.