According to a recent article on HealthKey.Com, stressful events can cause a woman to lose up to 50% of her hair.

Although there isn’t much talk about it, hair loss in women is a stark reality and can be very burdensome. According to the article, roughly 90 percent of our hair is still in the growing phase. Dermatologist, Dr. Rebecca Euwer says that hair goes through 3 different stages: growing, resting and falling out. After a physical or psychological trauma, hair follicles are shocked into a resting phase and remain dormant for up to three months, when it begins to fall out. Euwer estimates that it’s normal to lose about 1% of our hair each day (approx. 100 hairs) – most of which grows back on its own.

As women age, their hair begins to thin as their hormones naturally decline. In addition, women also use a variety of chemicals and styling products that can oftentimes damage hair follicles and stunt further growth.

The two primary types of stress-induced hair loss in women are telogen effluvium and alopecia areata. The most common and least severe is telogen effluvium. This occurs when the hair stops growing and falls out 2 or 3 months later – usually growing back within 6-9 months. Alopecia areata is a more serious condition where white blood cells attack the hair follicles. With this type of hair loss, hair oftentimes falls out within a matter of weeks. When this happens, treatment is usually necessary to stimulate follicle growth. In addition to stress, alopecia areata is also caused by hormonal imbalance. It’s common for women and men to experience significant hair loss during menopause and andropause (the male menopause).

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