How to Help Your Hair Following High Stress

Knowing how to help your hair following high stress periods can help you restore damaged hair and feel better about your appearance.

I have found that a few months after stressful events I have stretches of hair loss. This is upsetting. Women value hair and having damaged hair or excessive hair in our brushes, especially as a result of stress, can be upsetting.

This post is primarily aimed at women’s haircare and products I have found helpful. I am not a haircare or healthcare professional. I am hoping to share personal experiences from the last decade and a half of special needs parenting, multiple hospitalizations, and major health diagnoses and behavioral challenges.

My hope is the tips and products can help caregivers who find themselves with hair they would like to improve following a stressful event. AND I hope to help caregivers wanting to prepare themselves with a strong routine to prevent hair damage in the future.

Stress and Your Hair

Periods of high stress can result in continued typical hair loss and slower hair regrowth. As a result, I have found the damage is doneby the time I can refocus on my hair. I typically show up for a haircut with lots of short whispy hairs and damaged ends.

When we are in more stressful periods of our lives, we may be more likely to ignore our haircare. For example, we may put our hair in frequent ponytails. Or, skip a few too many shampoo and condition days. Stress can also affect our diet. This can also affect our hair.

I have seen people talking about having to help restore their hair following periods of depression and low mental health. Special needs parents experience similar challenges.

I hope some of the ideas in this post will also help you. The tips and products have helped me following stressful events. I also follow these steps to help better prepare for future stress.

Haircare in the Shower

I have added both a shampoo brush to help products reach my scalp and a shower/wet-hair specific brush to help rinse out shampoo and conditioner and prevent build up. Brushing my hair gently before showering also prevents hair from clogging the drain.

Taking steps to both encourage hair growth with scalp care and taking care to keep the hair you have from breakage is important. I have found these products help me reduce breakage and improve my scalp health.

Haircare Out of the Shower

When our hair is wet, it is vulnerable to breakage. You can help speed up drying time with an absorbent towel (like this one) designed to dry hair quicker. You can also protect your hair with heat protectant products (I like to use this one) when using a blow-dryer.

If you are noticing breakage following updos and ponytails, you may want to try these hair ties. Not only do they prevent hair creases, but there is less hair breakage compared to standard elastic-type hair ties.

You may want to try leave-in conditioners targeting strengthening hair and reducing breakage. I have noticed an improvement using this leave-in conditioner.

Lastly, you can protect your hair while you sleep. I have stopped going to sleep with wet hair! I also find silky pillowcases (like this one)

Summary: How to Help Your Hair Following High Stress

Stress can take a toll on our hair. Remember to give yourself grace and patience while repairing your hair. I hope this post helps you both repair damage and prevent future damage.

You may also be interested in trying some strategies from Ways to Reduce Stress-Related Side-Effects.

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