What is Alopecia? Alopecia is generally considered a lack of hair or loss of hair from areas on the body which normally contain hair. Most commonly alopecia affects the scalp area, leaving people either partially or fully bald. Alopecia can occur at any age and in general it affects about 1% of the population.

Different Types of Alopecia. Alopecia can come in many different forms. Here are just some of the forms of alopecia which can occur: Alopecia Areata - hair loss occurs in patches all over the body. Alopecia Totalis - total scalp baldness. Alopecia Universalis - total body baldness. Alopecia Barbae - Loss of facial hair (for a man) especially in the beard area. There are several other forms of alopecia which I won't go into here.

The way in which Stress Causes Alopecia. Normally we all lose 30 to 200 strands of hair every day, when we are in a healthy state. Depending on a few different factors this number can change dramatically. Stress is the number one cause of alopecia but there are other causes. Alopecia can be caused by either emotional stress of physical stress or both. Stress factors such as over training or god forbid losing a loved one can cause stress related alopecia. Stress related alopecia is just the body's way of handling the stress. Your body is too busy dealing with the stress to have time to produce hair so shuts down hair production.

The Cycle of Stress and Alopecia. Stress and alopecia together can become a vicious cycle. The alopecia is caused by stress initially but then the reverse happens and the alopecia causes you to be stressed making the alopecia worse. You end up losing more and more hair the more stressed you become.

Stress and Alopecia - How do you manage them both? What is the solution? Remember that you're not alone. There are many thousands of people who suffer from alopecia caused by stress all over the world. There are treatments that work for alopecia. If you start using these treatments every day you will, in time, get you're your hair back. Yes, I said in time, unfortunately these alopecia treatments can take time to work, so be patient. You will also need to ensure you look at managing and treating the stress which caused the alopecia if it doesn't subside on its own.