Stress Related Hair Loss

(also known as Telogen Effluvium)

Telogen Effluvium is a sudden stress related hair loss, which appears as thinning throughout the entire scalp.

Telogen Effluvium occurs when sudden or severe stress causes an increase in the shedding of the hair. In Telogen effluvium a sudden or stressful event can cause the hair follicles to prematurely stop growing and enter into a resting phase. The hair will then stay in the resting phase for about 3 months after which time a large amount of hair will be shed. Often the person involved will have recovered from the event before the hair loss occurs. In most cases the hair loss is temporary and the hair soon recovers. However in some cases the hair loss continues until the underlying cause is fixed. Telogen effluvium appears to affect more women than men because women experience more of the precipitating events such as childbirth.

Temporary loss can be caused by:

• Child birth
• Pregnancy termination
• Starting or stopping birth control pills
• Dieting drugs
• Severe emotional stress