How Stress Impacts Your Hair Health During the Holidays

The holiday season brings a mix of celebration, connection, and tradition. It also brings a level of busyness and emotional demand that many of us underestimate. Between family gatherings, travel, work deadlines, year-end goals, gift-giving, financial pressures, and the weight of what this year has held, stress can quietly build in the background. Sometimes it shows up as tension. Other times as disrupted sleep or feeling scattered. And for many people, it shows up in their hair.

As a trichologist, I see the effects of both acute and chronic stress every day. Stress is the second leading cause of hair loss and one of the most common contributors to shedding, thinning, and overall changes in hair quality. Yet most clients don’t realize how deeply it can influence the hair growth cycle.

How Stress Disrupts the Hair Growth Cycle

Your hair follicles are incredibly sensitive. When your body perceives stress, it shifts into protection mode and diverts resources away from non-essential functions. Hair growth is one of the first areas to be impacted.

Stress can:

• Slow the growth phase

• Disrupt the natural cycle

• Push follicles into a resting or shedding state

• Prolong excessive shedding

• Exacerbate underlying issues like hormones, nutrition, and inflammation

This is why sudden or prolonged stress often leads to increased shedding a few months later. It can feel alarming and frustrating, and for many women it becomes a hamster wheel that’s hard to get off.

Acknowledging Your Stress Matters

So many clients dismiss stress as “just life.” But emotional overwhelm, pressure, grief, change, or simply doing too much all take a toll on your scalp and overall health. During the holidays especially, it’s important to pause and acknowledge what your body may be carrying.

If you’ve experienced:

• Family stress (good or challenging moments)

• Loss of a loved one or friend

• A job change or job loss

• Health concerns or a new diagnosis

• Year-end pressure or unmet goals

• Financial strain

• A season of simply being stretched too thin

Your hair may be feeling the impact.

Simple Ways to Support Your Hair by Supporting Yourself

Reducing stress isn’t about eliminating responsibilities. It’s about giving your nervous system moments of calm so your body can rebalance. Here are practices I encourage:

1. Gratitude as a reset

You can’t feel anxious and grateful at the same time. Even naming three things you’re grateful for shifts your mindset. Some of my clients keep a notebook by their bed and jot down a few lines each night.

2. Breathing exercises

Slow, intentional breathing helps calm the stress response. A few minutes throughout the day can make a measurable difference.

3. A relaxing activity you genuinely enjoy

Reading, knitting, playing music, taking a walk, or trying something new. I personally started hand lettering to help my brain focus on something creative and soothing. If you’re interested, I’ll link the hand lettering books I use here. And they make wonderful gifts.

4. Consider an infrared sauna session

Infrared sauna therapy is one of my favorite ways to decompress. It supports stress relief, circulation, detoxification, and overall wellness.

How I Assess the Role of Stress in Your Hair Loss

Sometimes you feel stressed. Other times your body shows the signs before you do. Hair follicle testing is an incredible tool that helps us understand how stress may be influencing your hair and overall health. It identifies imbalances, nutrient needs, inflammation patterns, and areas of stress that may be contributing to shedding or slowing regrowth.

When we know what your body is asking for, we can create a plan that supports healing and promotes stronger, healthier hair.

Creating a Plan That Helps You Move Forward

If you're noticing more shedding right now, you’re not alone and you’re not doing anything wrong. Stress-related shedding needs time to run its course, but with the right support it becomes far less overwhelming. The goal is to interrupt the cycle rather than feel like you’re stuck in it.

If you’ve noticed changes in your hair during this season, I’d love to help you understand what’s driving it and what you can do next.

Schedule a consultation to get clarity, support, and a personalized plan for growing thicker, healthier hair.