Hair and stress

[threadOfGold]

I am going to be sitting my AS Level (higher education) exams in a few weeks and I'm currently extremely stressed as you can imagine. My hair isn't going to be able to cope! I know that there's no way to stop shedding due to stress but do you have any suggestions of how I can treat my hair with any masks etc to cheer it up a bit and make up for the impact of stress? At least when I'm not in school it's constantly in a bun protected and I'm not washing it as often as there's times when I just don't leave the house at all.
any suggestions are welcome!

[Viscountess]

I don't think that adding any masks or treatments will help the impact of stress on your hair. If anything I'd do things to manage stress more effectively - meditate, go for walks and make you drink lots of water, rest and eat well. I went through a horrible situation which left me iron deficient and half my hair fell out. The only thing I could do was to manage as best I could to lessen the impact of the drama and be very mindful of self care.

[eadwine]

I know about hair falling out due to stress, I recently cut back from TBL to the new growth level roughly below BSL. Prolongued stress is not good for the hair, but there is nothing you can do really but just put it up, give it enough rest, and hope for the best. After the stress ends it will stop shedding after a bit. :)

Good luck on the exams!!

[threadOfGold]

Sorry to hear that you've both suffered with stress :( so I'm guessing I should just leave my hair be and focus on keeping myself under control, sounds good to me!
& Thank you so much eadwine!

[jeanniet]

Just do the best you can to eat well, sleep well, exercise, and relax. Stress doesn't necessarily have to affect your hair, so try not to worry about it. I've been through very stressful periods as well (including the suicide of a family member) without any particular increase in hair loss. Just get through it, and take care of yourself as much as you can.

[Hairitic]

There's been some discussion/studies indications coffee/tea (caffeine) rinses may help reduce shedding, at least on a temporary basis. Here is the TLHC thread:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=121903&highlight=Coffee

Hope you find some relief from the stress. Best wishes and blessings. ;)

[Anje]

Honestly, I'd say you're best off taking care of yourself and ignoring your hair. Let it get dirtier than usual if you're pressed for time, don't comb when you're freaking out, bun it. Put a scarf or something on your head if you're prone to playing with your hair or picking at it when you're stressed. The key really is just to not damage your hair during this time (eg, don't flip out at tangles and rip them out or cut your hair off) and to keep the stress from affecting your body too much as a whole (which will translate to less stress-related hair shedding). Neglect your hair and so long as it doesn't mat, it'll be fine when you're able to pay attention to it again.