Help Needed for Frontal Hair Loss Due to Stress'

Name: 

N

Question: I am only 19… I'm at uni and have a clingy girlfriend… I believe the front of my hair is thinning and falling out due to stress… I have seen huge decrease in hair at the front since September when I started… I need help because I hate it!

Answer: Hi, N. If your hair loss is related to stress alone then it should affect the whole scalp, causing shedding from all over your head.

Stress can initiate temporary hair loss conditions that tend to start becoming noticeable around three months after the initial trigger. If the condition is Telogen Effluvium this should last for no more than six months and the hair will often regrow naturally.

If it is the more prolonged version, Chronic Telogen Effluvium, then it will last for more than six months. Although there is treatment available for both these conditions, we would not suspect them to be behind your shedding. Both are more commonly found in females and also, as before, affect the whole scalp. As you mention your hair thinning is located at the front only, this sounds like a receding hairline, which is a classic sign of male pattern baldness.

Although male pattern hair loss is a hereditary condition decided by your genes, it can be accelerated by stress in those with that genetic predisposition. This means that its initial onset or the rate of shedding in existing conditions may speed up.

It would be wise to try to minimise your stress to see if this has any effect on your thinning hair over the next month or so. Then, if the problem is the same or has deteriorated we recommend you have a consultation with a hair loss specialist in order to obtain a diagnosis and information on tailored hair loss treatment courses that could help.