Anyone that has ever picked up a magazine, knows all too well that stress can wreak havoc on your health and wellness routine. But did you know that stress can cause a series of beauty nightmares, from brittle nails that chip to skin breakouts. Believe it or not, stress can also cause serious damage to your hair. This less talked about beauty secret could be holding you back from having the hair of your dreams this summer. So we want to let you in on three ways stress may be impacting your hair so you can nip it in the bud just in time for summer.
Three Ways Stress is Impacting Your Hair Health
It's Dry
Feeling constantly stressed or overworked could be causing your hair to lose its natural moisture. A stressful job or the feeling of being unappreciated is sure to make anyone feel a bit down, but there’s a good chance it is making your hair lose it’s its shiny exterior and bounce too. This happens because when you have had a few stressful days or weeks, your body naturally increases certain hormones and pro-inflammatory chemicals to respond to the stress. When your body increases production of these hormones, it compromises the scalp’s barrier function, making it easy for moisture to escape, leaving you with a dry scalp and general hair damage.
How to Fix it:
When you are experiencing a dry hair or scalp, it is a good rule of thumb to take a break from washing your hair daily. When you shower less frequently, it allows the natural oils to build up and moisturize the area. For a little extra help try a deep conditioning treatment once a week to give your hair a little extra love and the boost it needs!.
Hair Breakage
If you’re like us, then you probably have a whole arsenal of products hiding under your bathroom sink to help prevent the dreaded hair breakage. Whether you color your hair or put heat on it throughout the week, you are bound to experience a little hair breakage at some point. But did you know that your stressful lifestyle could also be to blame? Not only can stress naturally cause some breakage through our body’s chemical response to a stressor, but it can make lots of people fidget with their hair without realizing it. Fidgeting can be harmless, but when done excessively can cause breakage to the root of the hair follicle.
How to Fix it:
Try investing in a stress ball or other items that can keep your hands busy and off of your hair when you’re having a stressful week! Another great way to prevent further damage is sleeping on a silk pillowcase. Silk prevents minor breaks from becoming worse because this delicate material creates less friction than other textiles.
Hair Loss
Just like with hair dryness, stress hormones are responsible for hair loss as well. It is totally normal for everyone to experience some hair loss every day, but when it turns into losing large clumps at a time then stress could be the culprit. Along with hormonal changes happening in the body, lifestyle changes could be contributing to the problem. When we are stressed we often neglect our general diet and stop making healthy decisions. After missing meals and starting on a path of poor diet choices as a coping mechanism, it can cause some of the biggest impact on your hair regrowth and health.
How to Fix it:
Look for signs of stress before they start to affect your hair. Try to eliminate the stress factors as much as possible through living a healthy lifestyle that includes a nutritious diet and exercise. In the meantime, if you’re noticing your hair is thinning, use volumizing products to make your hair look more full and lively. Overall, it is important to keep your stress levels in check by taking time out of each week to do something for yourself and focusing on what makes you the happiest!