I held my breath. A flood of familiar emotions welled up in my stomach. It was also a time of major transition in my life, so I’m sure the constant stress didn’t help either. In fact, the link between stress and hair loss1 is well-documented—research has found that when your hormone regulators (the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal glands2) are out of balance due to high stress, it can exacerbate hair thinning and loss. A few years after those horrible months, I had begun to heal, but my hair hadn’t yet returned to its original lion’s mane, and I feared it never would. Regardless, Here are a few things that helped me when my hair was falling out like crazy: The bristles also lightly massage the scalp, which increases blood circulation and helps deliver oxygen and healthy nutrients to the follicles. Research even links the stimulation with hair growth: Regular scalp massages have actually been scientifically shown to promote hair growth3 in human studies. While there are a lot of very effective remedies to help maintain healthy hair (find them here) the above have worked the best for me throughout the years. But hindsight is 20/20, no? Oh, and one more thing: Last summer at a music festival, a complete stranger walked up to me and told me I have beautiful hair. The fact that my hair looked healthy enough for her to walk on over and say that made my confidence swell, not with vanity but gratitude. So many people have the luscious locks that I know I’ll never have again, but I’m beginning to make peace with my own hair through loss and through life, and for that I am grateful.
