Stress Hair and Skin

It is quite natural to feel concerned about how stress can affect your body.

For many years I have researched the links between stress, hair loss and skin problems.

Here’s what you should know.

Stress plays a pivotal role in hair loss, resulting in 2 common forms of hair loss. We all loose hair’s naturally. It is quite normal for around 12-20% of hair’s to be in the resting phase. Persistent stress can push more follicles than usual into a “resting” phase so that they don’t produce new hair strands as quickly as they normally would. This is know as Chronic Telegen Effluvium. If you’ve ever found yourself literally pulling out your hair when you’re stressed or tense, this is called trichotillomania. This is more common amongst girls.

Stress also plays a pivotal role in skin challenges. Stress can cause hormonal imbalances and inflammation which may either trigger or aggravate existing skin disorders. These commonly include eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea,vitiligo, hives, seborrheic dermatitis. When you’re under stress, your body pumps out more of certain hormones, such as cortisol. These hormones cause glands under your skin to produce more oil. Excess oil can get trapped inside hair follicles, along with dirt and dead skin cells, and produce pimples. If you already have a skin condition like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, vitiligo, hives and seborrheic dermatitis, stress can make it worse. These skin conditions are worsened by inflammation which can be fueled by stress. That’s why people often get flare-ups when they’re stressed and stress will also make existent conditions even worse.