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—Catherine T., fourth-year student, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado
It certainly can be, yes.
The process is called telogen effluvium. It is benign and gets better on its own (without medication or treatment) within about six months. In fact, it is the recovery process that causes the hair loss people notice.
Here’s how telogen effluvium works
Each of our scalp hairs goes through several life stages: active growth (anogen), which lasts two to four years; resting phase (telogen), which lasts two to four months; and hair fallout. Ordinarily, about 85 percent of your hair is in anogen and 15 percent in telogen. The lifespan of your scalp hairs is broadly and randomly distributed. For example, the hairs on any particular patch of scalp might range from a few days old to a few months or years old. Most will be in anogen, some will be in telogen. When they reach the end of their lifespan, they are pushed out by a new hair growing in place of the old one. Most people notice a certain amount of daily hair loss (especially if they are the one responsible for cleaning the shower). A young, healthy person will lose about 100 scalp hairs a day.
Sometimes, a stressful event such as an illness, accident, surgery, new medication, major diet change, hormonal shift, or major life stressor can accelerate the transition of some hairs from anogen to telogen. Usually, the proportion of hairs in telogen is increased by double or triple the normal number. When these hairs complete their time in telogen, they fall out. When this starts happening, the rate of daily hair loss may double or triple, a change most people notice. This may be accompanied by visible thinning of scalp hair. This thinning is distributed fairly evenly. Localized hair loss that leaves bald patches is likely to be from a different cause and should be promptly evaluated by your primary care provider or a dermatologist.
Interestingly, the accelerated transition from anogen to telogen does not change the duration of telogen, so it may take two to four months for the hair to fall out. And the good news is it’s still a new growing hair that pushes out the old one, so the falling hair is actually a sign of new hair growth. In most cases, telogen effluvium resolves of its own accord after about six months.
