Hair Loss from Stress Is Real and the Covid Hair Loss Stories Prove It

Hair Shedding After Covid Is One of the Lingering Symptoms of Covid-19

Hair loss from stress can happen anytime you’re going through a stressful period in your life. And hair shedding after Covid-19 is so common that I only have one client who hasn’t suffered any significant hair loss.

Now, we all understand the feeling of being so stressed that we’re “pulling our hair out.”

Well, it turns out that’s not far from the truth — only we’re not actually pulling good hair out of our head. We’re pulling out shed hair. That’s hair that our body has released because it’s allocating nutrients elsewhere. It’s completely normal and nothing to be ashamed of.

Hair loss affects everyone. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how healthy you eat, how much sleep you get — if you’re going through a stressful period of your life, you will lose some hair.

Chances are if you’ve lived through the past 2 years, you’ve been put in unexpected and, yes, stressful situations. I mean…Covid, work from home, virtual school, isolation, house arrest, sickness, death in the family…need I go on?

Listen, we’re all experiencing or have experienced some level of increased stress over the past 2 years. So it’s not surprising to me when my clients come in with stories of hair—lots of hair!— coming out in the shower.

The covid shed is just as bad as the post-partum shed. But if you’ve noticed your hair shedding after Covid-19, I’ll tell you just like I tell my new moms: There is hope!

Let’s calm these fears you have about your hair shedding after Covid, so you can spend less time stressing in front of the mirror and more time being gorgeous.

What amount of Hair Loss Is Normal?

Now before you get too worried over nothing, it’s absolutely normal to lose 50-150 strands per day. If you only wash your hair once a week like me, that means it’s 100% normal to have 250-500 shed hairs get pulled out while I’m detangling my hair.

For those of you who are visual learners, that’s a little smaller than a ping pong ball.

Is Hair Loss a Possible Side Effect of Covid-19?

Yes, hair loss is a side-effect of covid-19. That means the virus itself doesn't cause it. But when your body gets sick with something like Covid-19, it takes a toll on your body. Your immune system is working hard to fight off the virus and produce antibodies. So it uses every bit of the nutrients going through your body to fight it.

Now, crassly speaking, our hair is really just a collection of dead skin cells that we choose as a culture to glamorize. So when your body’s like “I’m dying over here” the first thing it cuts off support to is your hair.

That’s right. Your body stops sending nutrients to your hair and puts them toward more important things like saving your life.

Unfortunately, that does mean that some of your hair starts falling out. But I’m sure you’ll agree with your immune system prioritizing your health over your hair.

Now if you’ve experienced the Covid Shed, then you know your hair doesn’t just fall out in clumps leaving bald spots behind—not unless you were an extreme case. In fact, most of my clients don’t notice it until 3-4 months after they’ve recovered from Covid. Why is that?

Well, the cliff notes version is that your individual hair strands are at different stages in their growth cycle when the body signals the nutrients to stop. This triggers telogen effluvium, which sends the hair to its resting phase.

So hair that would normally fall out gradually because their growth phases are staggered, are now synced up. All that hair falls out together upon completion of their final growth phase.

That’s when you start pulling large amounts of hair out. The shed hair completes its phase and falls out together. You could lose 300 strands of hair every day.

If you wash your hair once a week that’s 2,100 strands – or about the size of a tangerine. (The puny store-bought kind. Not the fist-sized delicacies that grew at my grandma’s house.)

How Long Does Covid Hair Loss Last?

Hair loss after having recovered from Covid-19 usually starts 3-4 months after having Covid. How long Covid hair loss lasts depends on if you’re still under the stress of recovering.

For some people full recovery takes months. Naturally, your hair loss is going to be more intense and last longer.

But for most people, the hair loss will last about a month, and – here’s some awesome news – your hair starts to grow back immediately.

Does Hair Loss from Stress Grow Back or Is It Permanent?

The great news here is that once you’ve shed that hair, new hair will grow back. I repeat. Hair loss due to stress from illness or life circumstances is not permanent.

In fact, you’ve probably already noticed a change in your hair.

Oh sure it’s thinner. But besides that, you’ve probably found yourself getting frustrated with the sudden appearance of “baby hairs” around your face and at the back of your neck.

I know they can be frustrating to style, but these are worthy of joyous sounds and dancing happy dances. Why? Because their appearance means that your body is healing. It feels able to support your hair again, and that’s great!

Now, I understand. Those soft hairs that don’t like to be pulled back in a ponytail or pinned out of the way. They may even grow straight up out of your head so it looks like you have a perpetual frizz halo.

Yes, they can be frustrating. But remember, they’re newly grown hairs that have not undergone keratinization yet. So be gentle.

The last thing you want to do is damage these baby hairs before they even get a chance to grow out for you.

Can I Take Vitamins for Hair Loss After Covid?

Can you take vitamins for hair loss? Absolutely, BUT I have a warning for you. Taking vitamins for hair loss only works if you’re nourishing your body first.

Remember what I said about your body allocating nutrients. Well, it does that all the time. Not just when you’re sick. And your hair, skin, and nails are always the last items on the list to get nutrients.

That means when you’re popping hair vitamins, while eating junk food, not exercising, not drinking water, and not getting enough sleep, then all those B vitamins, Biotin, and such like are going to your undernourished body – not your hair.

Instead, form healthy daily habits, then set back and watch your hair grow.

Hair Loss and Stress — Seriously, Don’t Stress

It’s hard to look in the mirror with the expectation of what you used to look like lurking in the back of your mind. But give yourself some grace.

You’ve grown over the past two years. Sometimes in ways that you didn’t know were possible.

You empathized with people you hardly knew. You became a more present parent as you watched your child struggle with virtual school. You found ways to stay connected when all the places you used to connect were closed.

You’ve grown. Your hair will grow back too.

In the meantime, go be gorgeous!