Two Hair Truths: Stress and Worry do wreak havoc on hair.
- Stress is known to make hair fall out. This is true because of the imbalance stress brings to a hair’s “resting” phase. Stress can make hair enter this phase prematurely and hair will fall out over three months after a traumatic event. There are other culprits out there other than stress that cause hair shedding, so check with a doctor regarding a hormonal imbalance, drug side effect or an underlying illness. Some ideas to deal with stress are to take a break, take deep breaths and take a walk (or exercise). Stress does not have to rule the day nor your hair.
- Worry can cause hair to prematurely gray. Our emotions and how we feel directly affects other parts of our bodies. When we worry overly much, this disturbs the hormone adrenaline. This hormone influences the pigment that gives hair its color and when adversely affected, it produces no color and so, a gray/white hair appears. Negative emotional states, including worry, bring about a change in our bodies and usually the first thing affected is hair because it is considered less necessary than a vital organ. Some tips on worrying less are to laugh, focus on what can be done, and cut yourself some slack. Limiting worry can keep your hair healthy and colorful.
A Hair Lie: “Switch up your shampoo because hair gets use to it.” Or “Switching shampoos is good for your hair.
- As Philip Kingsley puts it in The Hair Bible, “The same shampoo, used on the same hair under the same circumstances, always gives the same result.” So, switching shampoos is not necessarily the root cause for hair not appearing in its usual state. Hair is affected by internal bodily changes over our lifetimes, different seasons of the year, traumatic experiences, and even the type of water we use. Physically, over time our bodies decline in health, hair included. Depending on the season of the year, our hair will have various reactions to the outside elements (wind, humidity, dry, cold, etc.). Having traumatic experiences can cause our bodies to go into shock which puts a pause on diverse body systems with hair being one of the first to be affected. Water’s mineral content fluctuates from place to place. The amount of minerals (soft to hard to very hard) is known to contribute to static electricity, lack of body, and dry/coarse/brittle hair. Blaming shampoo for hair’s altering states of being does not tend to solve the issue. Getting to the root of hair problems requires a broader look than just what is in front of us or on the surface.