It has been said that stress can make you go gray, or cause you to lose your hair. But can it? Hair loss due to stress can occur after a traumatic life event such as divorce, death or severe financial worries. This temporary hair loss, called ‘telogen effluvium,’ can also be caused by factors such as hormonal changes (think menopause or post-pregnancy), illness or poor diet. The significant stress of some sort may spark a change in your body’s routine physiological functions. Hair evolves in a cycle of growth (anagen); transition (catagen); and resting (telogen). Prolonged or extreme stress can cause hair to prematurely enter telogen and break off more easily. When you have a really stressful event, it can shock the hair cycle, pushing more hair into the shedding phase.

Jenna Wilcox, www.jennawilcox.monat.com