Can the stress caused by Covid-19 cause us to lose our hair?

Our hair says a lot about our state of health. While the Covid-19 pandemic has been raging for almost a year, many people are reporting hair loss, which worries dermatologists.

The first losses come three months later

Hair loss due to stress usually occurs a little more than three months after a stressful event. It is currently difficult to understand precisely why this drop appears so late. One of the hypotheses put forward is that the body can prematurely force the hair to enter a dormant phase during its growth cycle. The hair then becomes finer and finer until it falls from the root.

“I’ve had patients come in recently with stress-related hair loss, says Ohara Aivaz, dermatologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (USA). They told me they were worried about dying earlier this year or even contracting Covid-19. However, the effects are not seen until three months later. This destabilizes the patient because the stress is gone, and yet the physical manifestation is happening now.”

With the progression of the pandemic and the anxiety it engenders, talk about hair loss is increasing across the Atlantic. In the United States, the professor of medicine at the University of Indiana, Natalie Lambert, launched a vast study to understand where this hair loss came from.

Thanks to the answers collected on the Facebook group Survivor Corps, which is dedicated to “survivors” of Covid-19, she was able to identify 98 long-term symptoms in patients with coronavirus. Among the 1,500 responses received by the researcher, more than 400 of them mentioned hair loss. In the testimonials posted on the group, some even report hair that leaves in handfuls.

What to do in case of hair loss?

If you ever lose your hair, dermatologist Ohara Aivaz advises first seeing a doctor to check your thyroid and see if you are anemic. If the stress is really related to hair loss, it is possible to take supplements to strengthen it, but it will take time to change the situation. “If you remove the trigger and the stress level goes down, most of the time the hair loss stops on its own, and the patient regains the lost hair, because their follicles are still active and healthy.

Finally, note that hair loss can also be accompanied by dandruff, acne breakouts and even eczema, especially in older people. In this case, it is recommended to take lukewarm showers and use a perfume-free soap on the most affected areas, without insisting too much. “When skin is really dry, even mild soap can strip natural oils. Don’t wash anything that isn’t soiled. Lather soap in your hands and skip the washcloth, which can also strip your skin”, concludes Ohara Aivaz.