RELATED: 7 Reasons Why Your Hair Might Be Falling Out
It’s crazy to think that emotional trauma caused Khloé to lose her hair, but Gary Goldenberg, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, says it happens. “Hair loss can occur after a period of emotional or physical stress—illness, pregnancy, surgery, or a stressful situation such as death in the family,” he says. “This type of hair loss, known as telogen effluvium, is common.”
Learn how to blow-dry fine hair to make it look fuller:
Telogen effluvium happens because a person’s body shuttles nutrients away from the hair follicles to more important organs after they suffer a stressful emotional or physical event, Goldenberg explains. Then, the hair follicles die. “When the body finally recovers, new hair follicles grow and push out the dead ones—this causes shedding,” he says.
Luckily, Joshua Zeichner, M.D., a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist says this kind of hair loss is usually temporary. “It will return on its own, usually in about a year,” he says.
If you’ve suffered hair loss and you suspect that it’s tied to stress or trauma, Zeichner says Rogaine foam can help (it helps enhance delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your scalp to promote hair growth and it may extend the actively growing phase of hair growth). Your dermatologist can also do something called platelet rich plasma injections or a new light-based device called theradome, which can help your hair grow back, Goldenberg says. (We also love this voluminous shampoo to help you fake fullness while your hair grows back.)
Hair loss happens, and it’s normal to some degree. But if you suffer from it and it bothers you, call your doctor.