Does COVID-19 Pandemic Stress Cause Hair Loss

The COVID-19 crisis has put all of us under great mental pressure. We are all going through an unprecedented time. Apart from the threat of the virus itself, we are also dealing with the threat of an economic recession, which is negatively affecting our mind and body, by increasing our anxiety level. This blog explores anxiety-related stress and how it affects hair fall.

With a large portion of the working population currently under lockdown at home, the world economy possibly is heading towards a deep recession. This is eliciting fears of job loss and pay cuts, hence feeling stressed out is quite natural.

The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be deeply stressful for people around the world across all dimensions. An unintended victim of this stress can be your hair.

Believe it or not, an article published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology has shown that COVID-19 hair loss may be a reality. In fact, a group of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 have shown hair loss due to coronavirus.

It is safe to say that stress can indeed affect hair fall and your health. Therefore, hair care during lockdown needs special attention.

Does Stress Affect Hair?

Hair loss due to COVID-19 pandemic may seem incredulous. But it is a proven phenomenon that pandemic stress is causing hair loss as well.

Stress can lead to a variety of hair issues and diseases, which include:

• Telogen Effluvium
  In this condition, the stress levels push hair follicles to a deep resting phase. No hair growth takes place during this period and the existing hair falls off during showers and while combing the hair.
• Trichotillomania
  This is a psychological condition that can force stressed-out people to pull out their own hair little by little during periods of excessive stress. A victim may pull out strands of hair from his/her eyebrows, scalp and other parts of the human body as well.
• This process can be dangerous and can even lead to injuries. This condition needs immediate medical attention not just for the hair but the wellbeing of the patient itself.

How do I know my hair is falling due to stress?

Hair fall is a naturally occurring cycle. There are four phases of hair growth and hair regrowth. The first phase is called the Anagen or growing phase.

The next phase is called the Catagen phase. During this phase, the hair follicle detaches from the dermal papilla.

Telogen or the resting phase is next. During this phase, the old hair is resting, while new hair begins to grow.

The final phase is called Exogen or the new hair phase. This is the phase when the old hair falls out and the new hair grows.

Every day, 50 to 150 hair strands may fall off. But if the number is more, then you have a problem. If you don’t have any other apparent reason for hair fall, such as a hormonal imbalance or an underlying disease, then you can be sure that such hair loss is primarily due to stress.

Can stress cause your hair to stop growing?

Hair loss due to stress is a very common phenomenon. When your body is stressed, it produces extra hormones to prepare itself for the extra anxiety level that your body can’t seem to handle. This extra hormone creates a hormonal imbalance that stops your hair growth.

Old hair falls off while new hair strands do not grow fast enough to replace them. A stressful situation like a pandemic can, therefore, lead to tension and anxiety which may hamper your hair growth.

Why is COVID-19 Pandemic causing stress which can lead to hair loss?

COVID-19 is causing hair loss primarily by inducing stress-related anxiety. Apart from the anxiety related to the threat of the virus, there are other reasons for people to be worried about including financial and social reasons.

Millions of people are battling job losses, pay cuts and affected business cycles. It is estimated that the world economy is heading towards a deep recession, from which it will take years to recover. Further, cases of domestic violence and abuses of minorities and old people have been reported.

An after effect of this stress is hair loss. Within a few months of the onset of stress due to COVID-19, people may notice temporary hair loss.

There could be more cases of telogen effluvium (diffuse hair loss) as the pandemic subsides. Usually, 85-90% of hairs on our scalp are actively growing, while the remainder are resting. In stressful times like illness, surgery or living through a pandemic, the anxiety may cause more hair to go into the resting phase.

The hair can continue to be in the resting phase for three to four months. This leads to diffuse hair loss, in which hair is just falling. In this temporary type of hair loss, the hair grows back over time.

How long does hair loss from stress last?

Hair loss due to COVID-19 pandemic or the stress caused by it is thankfully only temporary. If you have no other underlying medical conditions then, your hair should start growing back once your stress levels are back to normal.

This will depend on how long it takes for you to control your stress levels effectively. The other side of the story is the time this pandemic will last and will cause limitations in living a normal life as was known to us in the Pre-Covid19 world.

What Shane Warne said about COVID-19 stress and hair loss?

The deadly virus that emerged first in Wuhan in China has spread to almost all parts of the world, infecting millions and killing thousands. It has impacted all areas of the professional world, including sports.

In a recent interview on Sky News, Shane Warne, the Australian Cricket legend said, “A high percentage of COVID-19 victims will lose some hair, that could be upto 50 per cent at times over 3 months. COVID-19 has affected all of us financially and in a lot of other ways as well.”

The Australian cricketing legend has been associated with Advanced Hair Studio for more than 16 years. He explained that Advanced Hair Studio is giving back to society in a number of ways including sponsoring a lot of community service and is also offering free consultations at its clinics.

In order to support the queries and timely response the entire team at Advanced Hair Studio across India and the world is available through face-to-face as well as online consultations to understand your condition better.

This is an effort of our team to facilitate information dissemination regarding any type of hair loss associated with COVID-19 virus. The website has a lot of resources in terms of blogs and articles to help you find answers on varying topics.

How can you prevent COVID-19 stress and regain your hair?

Hair care during lockdown has become crucial because of all the stress-related hair damage. To control your hair fall, you must first control your anxiety. Do breathing exercises every morning. Eat plenty of fruits and water.

Keeping yourself hydrated is crucial. It helps in keeping your hair and skin moisturized. You can also consider meditation, as it has proven to be effective in keeping anxiety level low. Once your anxiety level is down, you may see a significant difference in your hair fall issues.

Hair density can be improved by undergoing Low Light Laser therapy. The Home Program provided by Advanced Hair Studio could be your ideal solution considering it gives you the option of continuing investing in your hair health from the comfort and safety of your home.

This program is known to stimulate the epidermal embryonic cells in your hair follicles. This in turn helps to put the hair follicles into the anagen phase of the hair growth cycle.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our familiar world. The threat of infection has been compounded by the loss of jobs and recession. Hair loss has been a collateral damage in this episode.

Research has shown that COVID-19 hair loss is a real phenomenon. Telogen effluvium is a condition which is triggered when a physiologic stress causes a number of hairs in the growing phase of the hair cycle (anagen) to abruptly enter the resting phase (telogen).

Hair loss due to coronavirus is mainly caused by the hormones produced by the body to cope up with the anxiety and stress.

However, coronavirus pandemic hair loss can easily be countered by regular hair care and managing your stress level. Hair loss because of stress would automatically come down once your anxiety level drops.

Our team at Advanced Hair Studio has done research into hair loss cases increasing due to the coronavirus pandemic and has come up with an international community website to give details and remedies to people who are affected by COVID-19 stress.

The website titled Advanced Hair Loss, https://hairloss.com.au, has been built to help the society in general find the answers to their questions and queries. It is a good source for also clearing doubts about everything they are facing pertaining to their hair condition.

This endeavor is an informational community effort specifically focused on hair loss due to COVID-19 pandemic stress and how to cure hair loss from stress.

Advanced Hair Studio is giving its full support to you in this time of crisis. We are a world-renowned hair loss solutions company providing both surgical and non-surgical solutions to hair loss.

Our specialised Home Program can be the ideal solution to continue having great hair in the confines and safety of your home. Visit our centers in India and speak to our team of hair experts for any queries you might have regarding hair loss due to stress.