That moment when you're washing your hair and suddenly there's enough in your hands to make a small wig. Your heart drops. You start noticing hair everywhere—on your pillow, in your brush, on your clothes. It feels like your body is betraying you, and the more you panic, the more it seems to fall out.
If this sounds familiar, you might be dealing with telogen effluvium. And let me tell you, as someone who's helped hundreds of women through this, that overwhelming fear is completely normal. But here's what you need to know: this type of hair loss is almost always temporary. The key is understanding why it's happening and what actually helps.
Why Your Hair Is Falling Out NOW From Stress That Happened MONTHS Ago
Think of your hair growth cycle like a factory. Normally, about 85-90% of your hairs are in the growing phase (anagen), while the rest are resting (telogen) before they shed.
When your body goes through significant stress—whether physical or emotional—it can shock your system. That stress forces a huge number of your growing hairs into the resting phase all at once.
Here's the frustrating part: there's a 3-4 month delay. The hair loss you're experiencing today is likely from a stress event that happened back when you thought you were fine. Your body is essentially cashing a stress check from months ago.
Beyond "Just Stress": The Hidden Triggers We Often Miss
While everyone talks about stress, what most people don't realize is how many different things can trigger this response, like:
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Rapid weight loss from extreme dieting
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Surgery or hospitalization
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Iron deficiency that's gone unchecked
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Thyroid fluctuations
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The Emotional & Hormonal Stressors:
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Grief or relationship breakdowns
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Work pressure that never lets up
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Postpartum hormone shifts
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Perimenopause transitions
The scary part? Many women experience multiple triggers at once without realizing it. We had a client who had COVID, then started a strict diet, then dealt with a family crisis—all within three months. By the time the shedding started, she was completely overwhelmed.
How to Know If It's REALLY Telogen Effluvium
The pattern of telogen effluvium is usually different from genetic hair loss:
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Generalized thinning all over your scalp, not just at the part or hairline
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Excessive shedding—we're talking 300+ hairs per day
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Hair comes out easily with gentle pulling
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Noticeable loss of volume when you put your hair up
But here's what keeps me up at night: many women are misdiagnosed. What looks like telogen effluvium might actually be unmasking underlying genetic hair loss or an inflammatory condition like CCCA. This is why proper diagnosis is everything.
The 2-Step Approach: How To Treat Telogen Effluvium
1. Identify AND Remove the Trigger
This seems obvious, but most people miss the second part. We need to address the inflammation it caused. And for that, we use lab tests to look at supplement levels, thyroid function and other inflammation markers etc.
2. Support the Recovery Phase
While your hair cycle resets, we focus on creating the ideal environment for regrowth with multivitamins, anti-inflammatory procedures and scalp therapies.
Ready to Stop the Shedding Cycle?
If you're tired of finding hair everywhere and you also worry about how much you've already lost, book your Hair Therapy Evaluation for just $99 and let's figure this out together. We'll help you identify whatcaused the hair loss, address any issues and create a plan to support your body's natural recovery.
