As someone who recently experienced losing a cat-sized quantity of hair in a single shower session, I've become preoccupied with learning more about what makes hair thin out versus grow in thick and strong. In my case, the explanation for the former is obvious—the birth of my third child (pregnancy is known for giving hair Victoria's Secret model volume only to take it all away, and then some, once baby arrives). But as I try to encourage the fine baby hairs sprouting all over my hairline—super fun to style—to multiply and thrive, I've been researching different supplements. Ever taken a look at the hair/nails vitamin section of Whole Foods alone? It's overwhelming enough to make you pull out the rest of your hair.
Meanwhile, the worst thing I can do for my wonky, sparse hair is to stress about it—or anything else. At least that's my takeaway from a fascinating new article in The Atlantic that breaks down how emotional angst can cause hair to thin. Put very simply, when you go through a stressful period—a layoff, surgery, breakup, etc.—hairs prematurely come out of growth mode and go into resting mode, after which they eventually fall out. This is a normal progression, but under ordinary circumstances, hairs go through those phases at different times during their two- to six-year lifespan, so you only shed an average of 50 to 100 a day (which sounds like a lot but really isn't, when you consider that the average person has up to 150,000 strands on her head). But a stressful event can make it happen to lots of hairs at the same time—meaning small cat in your shower drain.
Here's the weird part: Those hairs don't fall out right away. Mirroring hair loss after childbirth, stress-induced shedding takes place well after the trauma. Like clockwork, the "resting" hairs remain on your head for about three months before finally dropping. The Atlantic story quotes Kurt Stenn, author of the new book Hair: A Human History, which I need to read yesterday: "It’s a rule of thumb that if a patient comes into a dermatologist’s office worried about hair loss, the first thing they’ll ask is, 'What happened three months before?'" Goes to show that the stress angle is no joke. In fact, he says stress can lead you to lose up to 10 times as much hair as usual. So, possibly a thousand strands in a day. Gahh!
While the exact reason stress sabotages our hair isn't yet proven, it appears that stress hormones like cortisol might be at the root of the problem. So I'm thinking that, just like with acne and weight gain, one of the most important things I can do for my hair (in addition to that perfect supplement, which I WILL find) is manage my stress better. Which, of course, means those same-old boring basics like getting enough sleep, working out, eating right. As always, they're easier said than done, but I do appreciate this new motivation. In the meantime, allow me to leave you with something more easily doable: 15 volumizing hair tricks that will change your life.
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