Will College Lifestyle Choices Cause Long-Term Hair Loss?

Tom

Question: Hi. I notice that I have been losing hair ever since I started my college life. It might be the stress from school, and/or the bad sleeping habit I have developed. I tend to sleep very late, and sometime also very little, and I also love to use my phone to watch youtube videos until both my body and mind grow tired and then I would fall asleep. Beside this, I have a very “active” sex life since my college life so I don’t know if that plays a part in my hair loss issue.

I have now graduated and want to change all the above mentioned lifestyles I have with the hope that my hair will regrow back to how it was 4 years ago before I started college. Please let me know what else I can do to fasten this process. Thank you.

Answer: Hi, Tom. Your hair loss may be due to a number of issues, but you are right to think that your college habits may have caused or at least contributed to it.

In terms of the lifestyle factors you mention, stress is a well-known cause of hairloss. Interestingly, lack of sleep is also a form of stress. Your sex life will not affect your hair fall, however. It is definitely wise to address the issues that are affecting your sleep patterns as these can have negative effects on the condition of your hair, making it drier and more brittle, as well as causing hairloss.

If your hair loss was being caused solely by the strain these stressors were placing on your body, then it is likely your hair growth will return to normal. The temporary hair loss condition Chronic Telogen Effluvium can be triggered when the body is placed under duress for a prolonged period of time. This presents as diffusely thinning hair all over the scalp and tends to last for at least six months. The hair will generally regrow naturally, in time, though there is also specialist chronic telogen effluvium treatment which can often help to accelerate this process.

If you have been experiencing thinning hair for the duration of your college life, this suggests the problem may be more long-term. One of the problems with stress-related hair loss is that, where a person has an underlying predisposition towards male pattern baldness, this can speed things along. This means that stress may, through a sequence of biological events, either bring about the onset of male hairloss or exacerbate shedding from this condition if it was already present.

Male pattern hair loss only affects the top of the scalp and hairline, often causing distinct areas of hair fall, such as a thinning crown, hair loss on top or a receding hairline. It is possible for both conditions to exist simultaneously which tends to give the appearance of an overall drop in hair density, with intense thinning being more noticeable on top and around the temple areas.

In order to know what is the best route for you to take in helping you regrow your hair and for preventing baldness moving forward, a consultation is recommended. That way the precise cause(s) of your hair fall can be diagnosed and a suitable hair loss treatment course, customised to your individual needs, can be tailored accordingly.