80 citations
,
January 2011 in “Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM)” Hair cortisol levels can reflect salivary cortisol levels in humans.
April 2011 in “Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature” Hair cortisol is a reliable long-term stress marker during pregnancy.
August 2018 in “Psychological Science” High-stress mothers had lower hair cortisol than low-stress mothers, and daughters' cortisol was linked to their stress response.
42 citations
,
November 2019 in “Frontiers in Endocrinology” The document suggests creating a validated score to diagnose Cushing's Syndrome and considers plasma steroid profiling as a simpler diagnostic method.
2 citations
,
June 2021 in “Medicine” High levels of cortisol in hair are linked to a greater risk of brain aneurysm rupture.
August 2021 in “Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research” Plant extracts in shampoo improved hair thickness and density in men with hair loss.
Hair hormone levels can indicate stress after a medically indicated abortion.
10 citations
,
December 1992 in “PubMed” Early detection of Cushing's syndrome during pregnancy is crucial to prevent severe complications.
May 2016 in “Endocrine Abstracts” Proximal hair cortisol is a reliable tool for diagnosing Cushing's Syndrome.
501 citations
,
October 2008 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Hair cortisol levels can show increased stress during late pregnancy but only for up to six months.
3 citations
,
June 2021 in “Journal of affective disorders” Hair cortisol and cortisone levels may affect how work stress influences depression in Chinese fishermen.
November 2025 in “Journal of Laboratory Medicine” Chronic stress increased after lockdown, especially in young adults and females.
May 2023 in “Animal Reproduction Update” High levels of cortisol in hair show long-term stress which can lower fertility in animals.
January 2023 in “Research Square (Research Square)” Hair cortisol may be a good indicator of recent mood in people with bipolar disorder.
7 citations
,
January 2014 in “Case reports in endocrinology” A woman's excessive hair growth was caused by a rare benign tumor in her adrenal gland, which was successfully removed.
5 citations
,
May 2021 in “Veterinary medicine and science” Injecting cosyntropin into grizzly bears increases blood cortisol but doesn't change hair cortisol levels.
8 citations
,
October 2020 in “Infant behavior & development” Collecting hair for cortisol analysis is possible in low-income mother-toddler pairs.
April 2025 in “Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad” Alopecia areata patients may have higher T3 and cortisol levels, suggesting a hormonal link.
August 2019 in “Journal of archaeological science: Reports/Journal of archaeological science: reports” Ancient hair can preserve hormones, revealing health and fertility insights.
16 citations
,
August 2007 in “Histopathology” A woman's rare adrenal tumor caused high testosterone and cortisol levels, which normalized after the tumor was removed.
January 2026 in “Western Journal of Nursing Research” Hair cortisol levels don't reliably indicate chronic stress in people with multiple sclerosis.
47 citations
,
January 2016 in “MethodsX” Hair cortisol analysis is a reliable tool for monitoring long-term stress in captive chimpanzees if certain variables are controlled.
16 citations
,
March 2013 in “Clinica Chimica Acta” Cortisol and cortisone release from hair increases in steps over time during incubation.
October 2008 in “Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes” Long-term unemployment leads to higher stress levels.
50 citations
,
November 2020 in “Physiology & behavior” People with depression often have higher hair cortisol levels, while those with PTSD tend to have lower levels, but more research is needed to understand this fully.
11 citations
,
April 2020 in “Animals” Moving horses to new places can increase their stress levels, as shown by higher stress hormone in their hair.
1 citations
,
July 2023 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Hair cortisol is a reliable marker of long-term cortisol levels and is linked to daytime saliva cortisol but not morning levels.
1 citations
,
January 2013 in “Journal of S C C J” Scalp massage reduces stress, increases relaxation, and improves blood circulation.
February 2026 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Lower family income is linked to more stress in parents and more behavior problems in children.