Stress causing hair loss...

[StephJ1985]

I'm 26 female who has been quite stressed as of late and in the past year or so have noticed my hair thinning. It got worse since the summer. Here's what happened from the beginning.

From July to October of 2010, I dyed my hair probably about 4 times.... That is a lot! For me at least it is... Soon after dyeing I noticed that I was shedding a bunch of hair especially on one side of my head. It seemed to calm down after a few months and I felt like some hair grew back. Then my life went through a ton of changes. My sister got married and I was her maid of honor. I finished my second degree from college, got a job in a new city, moved to said new city. At that point things seemed to be going well for me.

Then all of the sudden things took a turn. My job became temporary and I only had a month to find a new job. I was quickly running out of money, the relationship with my roommates was getting tense, and I was getting really scared. That's when I noticed that my hair began thinning more and I was shedding a lot. I didn't really think much of it at that point b/c I had more serious things to worry about. After a few months, I ended up having to move back home and I became quite depressed. I felt like all the jobs I had applied for and the interviews I was having just were worthless. I felt very down on myself. I gained a bit of weight as well.

Now I'm doing a lot better mental healthwise. The job situation is ok... though I still am not working in my field though most people right now aren't. I have a part time job and I'm applying constantly. I've learned to not worry so much but now my worry is something else: my hair. People have always complimented me on my hair b/c it was always so thick and shiny. Now it's so thin to me; I just can't believe it has gotten to this point. I know it all has to do with stress so I've tried figuring out ways of relaxing and of course regrowing my hair.

All of the women in my family and extended have good thick hair except for my mom. But she tells me that the only reason why her hair is thin is b/c of stress too. So we started trying some things out together. We bought this shampoo and conditioner set that helps your growth. I've used it for the past two months and it's definitely slowed my hair loss. Now I'm only losing maybe 5-10 hairs in the shower compared to the clumps that would come out. She also is excited with the results of the shampoo b/c she sees new hair growth and less shedding. The shampoo is made for Sally Beauty Supply and it's called Nutri-Ox [similar to Nioxin]. I also began taking Biotin today which I've heard makes your hair grow fast and thick... and it helps with stress and depression which is good for me too. Every week now I'm doing hair treatments with egg yolk, yogurt, honey and olive oil. Make it into a paste and leave in my hair for about 2 hours. So far it seems to make my hair feel stronger. I'm also watching what I eat and making sure that I'm going out more and staying active. I hope that in a year my hair will be back to what it used to be: thick and pretty again.

I've cut out any other health concerns as causing this hair loss. The only issue I've ever had when it comes to health is a bit of anemia but I take a supplement for this and never had a problem of hair loss until I went through all of this stress. Also like I said I know it's not genetic. My mom's hair loss is due to stress as she says. It's gotten thin especially in the past few years b/c of all the stress my mom tends to harbor inside. I'm hoping that we both can have our hair back b/c we both used to have really great hair. It's in our family genes to have great hair so I feel kind of bad [though who doesn't] that my hair is so thin right now. I find myself measuring how thin it is with my fingers. People don't seem to notice until they touch it and say wow your hair is so much thinner now. Yeah tell me about it. The only area where I feel like you can actually see the hair thinning on my scalp is on the front of my head. I feel like I can see my scalp more than I used to.

But yep, I just felt like sharing and hopefully I can come back here and share good progress with everything I'm doing.

[Tracy C]

Hi Steph,

It is great that you are getting your stress under control. I have no doubt that it will help your hair situation as well as other areas of your overall health.

Concerning your thinning hair, here are some things you should know and I hope you think about. The FDA has approved one medicine Rogaine (or generic Minoxidil) and cleared one medical device (the Hairmax laser comb) for the treatment of women's hair loss. I've been using both for years and they are working out for me. Since your hair loss is not hereditary and likely temporary, you probably don't need Rogaine. I do feel you would benefit form using the laser comb though.

There are no shampoos that are proven to treat hair loss, though many claim to do so. However, one shampoo in particular is often used as an adjunct treatment. That shampoo is called Nizoral. It is available in prescription strength (2%) and non-prescription strength (1%). I have been using the non-prescription strength Nizoral A-D twice per week in place of my regular shampoo for years and I feel it does help.

You came to the right place when you came here. You may also want to check out the Women's Hair Loss Project forum and the American Hair Loss Association website. Here are the links:

http://forum.womenshairlossproject.com/

http://www.americanhairloss.org/

Here is a link to the page at AHLA that specifically talks about women's hair loss:

http://www.americanhairloss.org/women_hair_loss/

Take care,

Tracy

[StephJ1985]

Hi Tracy,

Thank you for the information! I actually found out about this forum through the American Hair Loss Association site. I've read over some posts through the forum and I feel a lot better. First of all, knowing that I'm not alone and second of all that my problem isn't permanent which is something that is always a fear when you notice you are losing hair.

My mom recently told me about one of my aunts who had gone through a lot of stress. She had at that time gone through finalizing a divorce, moved to Canada, then to Boston, then back to Canada where she almost got deported [she's a Colombian citizen and had an expired visa at the time], etc. She lost a lot of hair and got to the point where my mom is now [very thin on top]. My aunt moved back home and started taking Biotin, eating healthier, exercising every day and most importantly destressing. Her hair grew back in to how it used to be and now has thick hair. I started taking Biotin because of this success story in my family and my mom is considering taking it as well.

I'll take a look at Nizoral and see if it's something that could work for me or my mom. Thanks again for your advice and for the information. I hope you are doing well with this issue of hair loss. Women I feel don't have enough information to help them with this problem because it's always been something geared toward men. I hope that we can soon have more alternatives that can help us. Especially those that face more permanent and hereditary forms of hair loss.

[Tracy C]

Hi Steph,

I started taking Biotin because of this success story in my family and my mom is considering taking it as well.

For what its worth, I take it too. I don't know if it actually helps or not but I figured it can't hurt.

I hope you are doing well with this issue of hair loss.

Considring I have Androgenetic Alopecia, I am doing well. It has taken a long time though to get to the point that I no longer need to wear a wig.

Women I feel don't have enough information to help them with this problem because it's always been something geared toward men.

Compounding the problem is that it is very difficult to determine what is causing a women to loss her hair. In the case of my sister and I it was pretty obvious. Just look at our mother and her sisters and you can tell it is hereditary hair loss.

I hope that we can soon have more alternatives that can help us. Especially those that face more permanent and hereditary forms of hair loss.

It's all about determining the cause - and finding that cause as early as possible. Once you find the cause you treat it. Once the cause is resolved, the hair generally grows back. Even in cases of Androgenetic Alopecia - if it is caught early and treatment is started soon enough.

There are better treatments on the horizon. They can't be made available to the public soon enough. I am doing acceptably O.K. now - but I really want that treatment Replicel is working on.

Take care,

Tracy