November 2025 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Hair proteomics could be a useful, non-invasive tool for identifying stress-related disorders.
January 2023 in “Research Square (Research Square)” Hair cortisol may be a good indicator of recent mood in people with bipolar disorder.
July 2022 in “Research Square (Research Square)” Hair analysis can somewhat track past testosterone levels but is influenced by factors like hair washing, growth rate, sex, and hair color.
May 2016 in “Endocrine Abstracts” Proximal hair cortisol is a reliable tool for diagnosing Cushing's Syndrome.
501 citations
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October 2008 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Hair cortisol levels can show increased stress during late pregnancy but only for up to six months.
2 citations
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December 2021 in “Scientific reports” Scalp hair sweating is a significant predictor of hair cortisol levels.
5 citations
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May 2021 in “Veterinary medicine and science” Injecting cosyntropin into grizzly bears increases blood cortisol but doesn't change hair cortisol levels.
11 citations
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February 2005 in “Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics/Clinical pharmacology & therapeutics” Hair cortisol could be a marker for chronic stress in pregnancy, but depression affects cortisol levels differently.
3 citations
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June 2021 in “Journal of affective disorders” Hair cortisol and cortisone levels may affect how work stress influences depression in Chinese fishermen.
2 citations
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June 2022 in “Scientific reports” Women with PCOS have higher hair cortisol levels, which are linked to worse metabolic and inflammatory conditions.
August 2019 in “Journal of archaeological science: Reports/Journal of archaeological science: reports” Ancient hair can preserve hormones, revealing health and fertility insights.
8 citations
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January 2015 in “Genetics and molecular research” Researchers found four key proteins that affect the development of a specific hair type in Yangtze River Delta white goats.
19 citations
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March 2021 in “Obesity surgery” Many people experience hair loss after weight loss surgery, especially younger women, and it's linked to lower levels of zinc, folic acid, and ferritin.
July 2025 in “International Journal of Dermatology Venereology and Leprosy Sciences” Higher stress levels may worsen alopecia areata, suggesting stress management is important for treatment.
4 citations
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February 2022 in “Frontiers in molecular biosciences” Chronic stress in mice changes skin metabolism and gene expression, leading to hair loss.
1 citations
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September 2016 in “Brain Behavior and Immunity” Hair cortisol levels can indicate stress and are affected by washing frequency, not cosmetic treatments.
May 2023 in “General and comparative endocrinology” Monkey hair cortisol levels are not affected by how fast their hair grows.
296 citations
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October 2018 in “General and Comparative Endocrinology” Hair cortisol is a reliable way to measure long-term stress in animals.
157 citations
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June 2015 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Hair cortisol and cortisone levels increase with age, are higher in diabetics, vary by gender, decrease with frequent hair washing, and are lower in winter.
567 citations
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October 2007 in “Clinical and investigative medicine” Hair cortisol can be used to measure long-term stress exposure.
2 citations
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January 2009 The procedure reliably measures cortisol in rhesus macaque hair.
33 citations
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January 2017 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Hair dyeing and washing frequency do not affect hair cortisol levels.
January 2026 in “Western Journal of Nursing Research” Hair cortisol levels don't reliably indicate chronic stress in people with multiple sclerosis.
October 2025 in “Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation” Black hair in cats has higher cortisol levels than white hair.
122 citations
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October 2010 in “Clinica Chimica Acta” Washing hair with water or shampoo lowers cortisol levels in hair.
90 citations
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July 2014 in “Conservation Physiology” Hair cortisol levels in brown bears can be affected by both long-term and short-term stress.
June 2020 in “Authorea (Authorea)” First-time mothers had higher stress hormone levels in late pregnancy than mothers who had given birth before.
23 citations
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October 2008 in “Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes” Hair can show increased cortisol levels during late pregnancy.
11 citations
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April 2020 in “Animals” Moving horses to new places can increase their stress levels, as shown by higher stress hormone in their hair.
9 citations
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February 2020 in “Stress” Children with lower inhibitory control experience more stress when starting third grade.