From Lifetime Stressor Exposure to Daily Stress Experience: Associations with Hair Cortisol

Stress can trigger hair loss, with treatments like minoxidil, finasteride, and dutasteride being used to manage it. Some users report improvement with medications like Lexapro, while others emphasize the impact of stress and life events on hair health.

Stress can lead to hair loss by affecting hair-follicle stem cells, and this loss is harder to recover from if one has male pattern baldness (MPB). Treatments like finasteride and minoxidil are used to address hair loss, but stress-related hair loss differs from androgenic alopecia.

Caffeine might raise stress hormones, potentially worsening hair loss. Telogen effluvium is often misattributed to minor stressors rather than significant life events.

User experienced hair thinning due to high cortisol and thyroid issues, along with insulin resistance. They are taking magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, calcium, and selenium as supplements.

The user has been taking 1mg finasteride daily for a year with no improvement in hair loss and reports low cortisol levels, sleep issues, and anxiety changes. The conversation includes discussions on the potential effects of finasteride on cortisol and neurosteroids, with suggestions to consult a doctor and consider other factors.

Stress can increase androgen sensitivity, potentially worsening hair loss. Treatments discussed include Minoxidil, finasteride, and RU58841.