Can stress trigger hair loss?

Crown Clinic‘s surgeon Asim Shahmalak is often asked to list the primary causes of hair loss.

By far the most important reason is genetics. Put simply, if you have a strong hair loss gene in your family, the chances are it will be passed on to you.

Put even more simply, if your dad is bald, chances are you will be, too.

You only have to look at the royals to see how this pans out in real life – from Prince Philip to Prince Charles and now to Prince Williams that baldness gene is going from one Windsor male to the next. Pity poor Prince George, the next in line.

But what other causes of male pattern baldness are there?

One factor which comes up time and again in patients’ discussions with Dr Shahmalak is stress.

Can stress really make your hair fall out?

The answer is yes.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that this type of hair loss is unlikely to be permanent and, when the anxiety is relieved, there is every chance that the hair which has fallen out will grow back.

So a hair transplant– either FUE or FUT implants – might not be the solution to stress-induced baldness.

The subject came up because of recent comments by the record producer and superstar DJ Mark Ronson, who said the stress of making the biggest song of the decade lead to his own hair loss.

We all love Uptown Funk, Ronson’s dance classic witih Bruno Mars which has been a hit all over the world, but Ronson said the stress of trying to finish it drove him nuts.

Ronson said: “I had everything going on. Hair loss, anxiety attacks, vomiting and finally collapsing in a restaurant. I’d lost an inch of my hairline because I was so worried.”

At 40, Ronson is the perfect age for hair loss. Around half of men have experienced some element of male pattern baldness by this age. Mark may well be losing his hair naturally and stress was not a factor in his hair loss.

But Mark probably knows his body best, so the good news is, Mark, you may well get that hair back now Uptown Funk is such a huge hit and there is nothing further to worry about!

At Crown Clinic, we are famous for our work with celebrity clients such as the model Calum Best, the TV doctor Christian Jessen and the football pundit Didi Hamann.

So if Mark Ronson is ever in need of some professional help with his hair, he knows who to call….