How physiological stress can lead to hair loss 
Physiological, or physical, stresses like a major illness, surgery or infection can cause the hair to go into a resting stage where it stops growing and then significant amounts fall out three to six months later. This resting stage is natural and about 10% of your 120,000 - 150,000 hair follicles are going through a resting stage at any time. This results in an average loss of 100 hairs/day. The problem is that certain physical stresses can case your body to send a much larger percentage of follicles into the resting stage, and large amounts of hair suddenly fall out at once, which can be frightening.
Hair loss today may have been caused by stress from months ago
Confusing the situation is the fact that the actual hair loss occurs months after the physical stress occurred. If you are losing gobs of hair today, it was definitely not caused by that stress at work yesterday, that fight with your spouse, or your kids. It was caused by something that happened months ago--that surgery, the 30 pounds you lost suddenly, the nasty virus that spiked your temperature sky-high, or the birth of your child.
The good news about hair loss and stress
If a temporary physiological stress does cause hair loss, it will be temporary. Once the hair falls out, the follicles will start the natural cycle again and start to grow new hair. By the time you have noticed the problem, your hair is probably already growing back. Your beautiful new hair may have just pushed out the hair that was in the resting stage.
How emotional stress might lead to physiological stress
While emotional stress is not directly related to hair loss, an emotionally stressful situation can sometimes cause people to lose weight, not eat properly, or become severely ill. This may then result in hair loss months later. If this has happened to you, then you can limit this problem in the future by paying closer attention to your physical health in times of stress. Again, hair loss caused by temporary physiological stress will be temporary and there is little reason to worry.
Hair loss can cause stress
Any hair loss--no matter the cause--can cause a lot of emotional stress. There is no need to suffer. If you are experiencing hair loss, our staff is always ready to answer your questions and help you find the best solution. You are not alone. We have everything from topical treatments to the latest in laser therapy. We'll help you determine the cause and get you started with an effective solution.
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