Is Stress Causing Kanye West Hair Loss?

Reported links between stress and hair loss are well-documented and it seems no-one is more stressed right now than Kanye West.

The artist, producer, fashion designer, self-proclaimed genius, and aspiring future POTUS has caused concern recently thanks to a number of erratic public appearances and Twitter meltdowns. During some of these he asked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for cash to help fund his creative ideas given he claims to be $53 million in debt.

In a clever piece of headline-grabbing marketing, a website offering free product samples has created a page of freebies aimed at Yeezy, including some hair thickening fibres designed to conceal hair loss.

The tongue-in-cheek offer was made because, says the website, “Financial misery can bring on premature hair loss, and the flash of the paparazzi shows every flaw.”

Hair loss caused by stress

The statement certainly has a ring of truth to it, and various hair loss conditions can be caused or exacerbated by stress.

West's wife, Kim Kardashian was reported to have herself experienced thinning hair due to the pressures of balancing her intense workload with family life following the birth of their first child. Since then, the Kardashian-Wests have both continued to expand their separate business empires as well as their family, with their second child, Saint West, having been born in December 2015.

Mark Ronson and Kanye West pictured with Paul McCartney at Paris Fashion Week, in early 2015

Whilst women are far more prone to temporary shedding specifically caused by stress, such as from Telogen Effluvium which is characterised by an all-over thinning of the hair, this does occasionally affect men too.

It can also trigger or accelerate signs of genetic hair loss in those with an existing predisposition towards the hereditary condition, as fellow musician Mark Ronson recently discovered. The celebrated producer recently revealed how anxiety over recording Uptown Funk led to him losing an inch off his widow's peak hairline - a classic sign of Male Pattern Baldness.

$500/day haircuts

Kanye keeps his hair incredibly short thanks to having a personal barber on the payroll to keep up with his penchant for daily $500 haircuts. Even so, pictorial evidence suggests that Ye's hairline is holding up and he has no immediate concerns when it comes to thinning on top either - although there is always the possibility that he is taking preventative measures.

This is not as uncommon as you might think, especially among image-conscious men who are in the public eye or who have client-facing professions and fear that hair loss would affect their look, or how they are perceived. Proactively following male hair loss treatment courses is also something considered by men who have a long family history of baldness.

Once the first tell-tale signs become visible, men who want to keep their hair should seek the help of a specialist who can tailor a bespoke treatment plan based around their specific requirements and pattern of shedding.  By combining clinically-proven treatments with hair growth boosters for a comprehensive approach, many men manage to stave off thinning - a number of examples can be found in our photographic Success Stories gallery.