Three Ways Stress is Impacting Your Hair Health
Many of us have been told that stress can affect our mood, weight, and skin. But did you know that stress can cause some serious damage to your hair too? This less talked about beauty secret could be holding you back from having the hair of your dreams. Below we will share with you three ways stress may be impacting your hair and what you can do now to start repairing it. Breakage No matter your hair type, breakage can happen to anyone. Add a stressful lifestyle and the problem can only get worse. Not only can stress naturally cause breakage through our body’s chemical response to a stressor, but when stressed, people have a tendency to fidget with their hair without realizing it. Twirling and picking at split ends when stressed out, although seemingly harmless, can cause breakage to the root of the hair follicle. How to fix it: A great tip when you find yourself stressed, try pulling your hair back with a non-breakage hair band or scrunchy! Keeping your hair out of your face will help you resist the temptation to fidget with your hair. Stress also leads to sleepless nights! Another great way to prevent further damage if you find yourself tossing and turning is to sleep on a silk pillowcase to prevent minor breaks from becoming worse. Dry Hair and Stress
Stress? Yes it’s a fact of life, but having chronically high stress levels day in and day out can cause your hair to lose its natural moisture. When your moisture levels diminish it can cause hair to lose it is its shiny exterior and bounce even when using the best of products. The start of brittle and dry hair happens because while you are sleep deprived, your body is unable to regulate hormone levels. Next, pro-inflammatory chemicals increase to respond to the stress as well. When your body increases production of the wrong hormones, it compromises the scalp’s barrier function, making it easy for moisture to escape. This can lead to a dry and flaky scalp and hair damage. How to fix it: When this happens, it is a good idea to stop washing your hair everyday. When you shower less frequently, it allows the natural oils to build up and moisturize the area. For a little extra help try a deep conditioning treatment once a week to help restore you hairs natural moisture. Stress and Hormones Many factors contribute to compromised hair health. This includes hormonal changes that may be happening in the body due to the lifestyle changes that have come with the increased stress levels. In other words, when we are stressed we often stop making healthy decisions and life style choices that lead to using food as a coping mechanism, thus affecting our digestive system. The link between digestive problems and hair loss is nutrition. Making dietary changes to improve your digestive system can help to restore hair growth. How to fix it: Even when you are stressed out, try to maintain a healthy balance of diet, exercise, and sleep. Correct nutrition is instrumental in healthy hair growth and a vital part of any regime. A balanced diet of lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and fatty fish (salmon) and low-fat dairy products are potential aides to healthy hair. Face it! Sometimes the world throws us a bunch of not-so-nice stuff our way! From stress to digestion, multiple things can impact your hair wellness and contribute to compromised hair health. Although stress is inevitable, there are also treatments that are available to help you in your fight against hair loss. At Sanctuary Salon & Med Spa, we have products that specifically target hair loss including Zenagen. Zenegan, is awarding winning professional product that has a 2-step hair loss treatment system for both men and women. Revolve combats DHT, which is the hormone responsible for 95% of pattern baldness in men and women and Evolve is their 2-step hair repair and acceleration system that heals damaged hair, optimizes scalp environment and increases length, strength and shine. In addition to this topical system, we also carry Nurtafol. Nutrafol has 3core formulas that were formulated by physicians with potent blends of nutraceuticals that have been clinically tested and are 100% drug free. These breakthrough formulas have patented stress adaptogens, DHT inhibitors and super antioxidants which have been clinically shown to increase hair growth, improve strength shine, texture, density, manageability and softness of the hair after 3 months. Nutrafol won Allure Magazines 2018 Breakthrough award.
Don’t forget massage therapy! Massage therapy and stress relief go hand-in-hand. Research has shown that it can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, relax your muscles and increase the production of endorphins, your body’s natural “feel good” chemical resulting in a feeling of calm relaxation that makes chronic or habitual as well as acute or short-term stress much easier to overcome, thus helping you to achieve a much healthier lifestyle. Proven to be a powerful ally and investment in your health and overall wellness, consider regular massage therapy visits as a self-care plan. With over 30 years of massage therapy experience combined, the professional team of massage therapist at Sanctuary Salon & Med spa are committed in understanding the body’s healing ability and the benefits that massage therapy will bring to each client to alleviate the effects of stress and tension. Call today to find out more about these amazing treatments all designed to help you achieve health, happiness and wellness.