How stress affects your hair health
Stress is unfortunately often a part of everyday life nowadays: Most people know that this is not healthy in the long run. But did you also know that excessive stress can affect your hair health? In this blog article, you will learn about the connection between stress and your hair, how to prevent hair breakage, and how collagen can help your hair.
Content of this blog article:
Stress and Its Effects on Hair Health
First, we need to clarify: From when is it actually considered stress?
Stress is more than just a feeling – it is a physical reaction that brings about various hormonal changes. When we are stressed, our body produces increased amounts of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone. This hormone not only affects our overall well-being but also our hair follicles and the health of our hair.
The causes of stress are diverse and can be individual for each person. For some situations, stress can even be useful as it helps us to manage difficult tasks. However, if we remain at an elevated stress level for an extended period, some physical reactions may occur.
Hair breakage due to stress
One of the most common side effects of stress on hair is hair breakage or even hair loss. Studies have shown that emotional stress alters the hair cycle by shortening the anagen phase (growth) and prematurely initiating the catagen phase (shedding). Emotional stress also leads to the release of cytokines, which trigger an inflammatory response around the hair follicle.
Overall, hair is weakened by stress, the structure is damaged, the hair becomes thinner and breaks.
What helps against damaged hair?
There are various methods to treat damaged hair and counteract hair damage caused by stress.
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Healthy Nutrition: Care from the inside plays one of the most important roles for your hair health. So pay attention to a diet rich in vitamins and minerals to help build up your hair.
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Sleep: A classic, but truly essential; not only for your hair health but also for your overall well-being. Take enough time for a restful sleep and make sure to recover especially well during stressful weeks.
→ Bonus tip: Especially gentle and kind to your hair while sleeping is a silk pillowcase, which does not roughen the hair structure and is pleasantly soft!
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Stress Management: There are various techniques for stress management, ranging from meditation and yoga to targeted breathing and mindfulness exercises. Surely, there is something for you that helps you relax!
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Me-time: Equally important as healthy lifestyle habits are targeted breaks that you should take regularly. Because only in this way can you and your hair recover from everyday life!
But equally important is the choice of the right hair care products, which are specifically tailored to damaged hair. Especially if hair breakage has already occurred, the hair should be rebuilt as best as possible through targeted care.
Broken Hair Due to Stress – The Solution
When it comes to restorative care, the right ingredients should always be at the forefront, those that have the ability to nourish the hair and strengthen the damaged hair structure.
With this focus, we have the Collagen Care Series developed by ESTEL. As the name suggests, the most important ingredient in this series is collagen. As an essential structural protein, collagen is the key to strong and healthy hair. Especially for brittle hair, the high-quality collagen shampoo helps to strengthen the hair structure and reduce damage.
If you want to learn more about the versatile benefits of collagen and find out which other hair problems it can help with, feel free to check out our article on the topic:
Advantages of the ESTEL Collagen Care Series
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Strengthening the hair structure:Collagen provides more firmness and resilience to the hair. Hair roots stressed by tension can be strengthened with the shampoo and conditioner. This way, your hair grows back stronger!
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Improvement of hair elasticity:The hair fibers become smoother and less prone to breakage.
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Regeneration of damaged hair: The hair structure is rebuilt and revitalized, while newly forming damage is prevented.
Product details and application tips
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HC Luxury Collagen Shampoo: Gently cleanses and provides the hair with essential nutrients to strengthen the structure. The shampoo is extremely important in your care routine to prepare the hair for subsequent treatment!
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HC Luxury Collagen Balm: Intensively moisturizes and improves combability for smooth and shiny hair. The conditioner smooths the hair structure, leaving it looking freshly styled from the salon.
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HC Luxury Collagen Care Spray:Provides intensive care that strengthens the hair from within and protects it from external influences. Simply spray the product onto damp hair after washing, without rinsing it out.
Collagen is especially effective against hair breakage because it penetrates directly into the hair structure and strengthens it from within. Regular use of the collagen care series from ESTEL can help minimize the negative effects of stress on your hair.
Care Tips for Brittle Hair
Even though the right hair care products have the greatest effect on the appearance of your hair, proper handling of your hairstyle also supports its look. Therefore, here are 3 tips on how to care for your hair to avoid breakage:
1. Use the right brush
What actually sounds logical is often neglected in everyday life, after all, we brush our hair several times a day. If your hairbrush is too rough or you don't style your hair gently enough, many hairs can be pulled out, including fine hairs that are just starting to grow back. So pay attention to bristles that do not get caught in your hair structure but optimally distribute the natural oil layer in your hair, and always work your way up from the bottom when brushing.
2. Avoid heat
Heat styling does create the most beautiful curls or the smoothest sleek look, but it should only be used in moderation and always with heat protection spray. The heat damages the cuticle layer of your hair and strips it of the essential moisture. The result is a loss of elasticity and an increased susceptibility to hair breakage.
A high-quality heat protection spray protects your hair from the most severe damage, so if you like to style your hair with a curling iron or straightener, spray it on beforehand. HC 1.3 BATISTE Heat Protection Sprayon your hair and enjoy the styling!
3. Loose Hairstyles
Ponytail or bun are your faithful everyday companions? We all love the feeling of having our hair out of our face or neck – however, braids should not be too tight and should not always be tied in the same spot. This way, you don’t pull too much on individual hairs and the hair tie doesn’t constantly rub in the same place. So, change up your hairstyles from time to time and also wear your hair down occasionally to give it a break.
Conclusion
Of course, the best thing is to avoid stress from the outset. But since we all know that this is simply not possible in certain phases, you should make sure to manage it as best as possible and not cut your recovery time too short. If stress-related hair breakage has already occurred and you notice effects on your mane, proper revitalizing care is the priority. With collagen, you also strengthen damaged hair and regain your radiant hair glory.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the nourishing effects of ESTEL products!