Hair Loss-Divorce Correlation: Study Suggests Splits Cause Hair Loss In Women

Getting divorced is tough. Splitting your finances, your property, your kids, your time -- all of those factors can lead to high levels of stress. And according to a new study, all of that stress can lead to increased hair loss in divorced women.

Dr. Bahman Guyuron, the study's lead author, found that women who have had multiple marriages (including widows and divorcees) suffer more hair loss than those who are happily married. In men, marital status did not appear to impact hair loss patterns; genetics and excessive smoking were the top factors. He analyzed the lifestyles and hair patterns of 66 identical male twins and 84 female twins to determine which external factors contribute to hair loss.

So why does divorce affect women so differently? Dr. Guyuron, a Cleveland-based plastic surgeon, attributes his findings to gender differences: "The stress of going through a divorce may not be as troublesome for a male as it is for a female. They [men] may jump from one relationship to another relationship a lot faster," he told The Huffington Post. "[Women] take relationships more seriously and perhaps they are more uncomfortable for a longer period time because of a divorce. It takes its toll on them a great deal more than on males." He says his explanation does not have scientific proof, but is based on common sense and his experiences with men and women in his practice.

The study, which is being presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' annual conference in Denver on Sunday, also revealed that other external factors can contribute to hair loss in women. In particular, sleeping more than eight hours per day, excessive smoking and sun exposure can increase your risk.

So what can women do to combat hair loss? Dr. Guyuron has a few suggestions: Wear a hat and sunscreen outdoors, drink coffee in moderation, limit the number of hours you sleep each day, avoid smoking -- and "stabilize your marriage."

Comments

[minidriver]

10:24 PM on 09/25/2011

Hair loss in men is probably a cause for divorce.

[Catsun]

08:47 PM on 09/25/2011

It's the stress. I'm losing hair for months now and it's because of the stress and I'm not divorcing - not yet, anyway.

[Maria Dorfner]

08:56 PM on 09/24/2011

Ridiculous. Hair loss has nothing to do with gender or divorce. I'm not a physician, but I can tell you nutritional deficiencies are at the "root" (lol) of temporary hair loss. I'm not talking about male pattern baldness, which has a genetic predisposition. I'm talking about those times of stress when males or females find more hair on their brush or in their shower than on their head. Stress causes people not to eat right. The best advice is to eat 3 to 5 healthy meals a day that include at least a tablespoon of fat. Yes, fat. A pat of butter. Olive oil. Your hair needs the fat to shine and grow. So, if you're experiencing stress, albeit due to work, divorce, finances or anything in life --make sure to eat right and your hair should stay on your head.

[s ci]

08:20 PM on 09/22/2011

This article unnecessarily stereotypes men as being less concerned about relationships than women. If a scientist wants to speculate based on anecdotal evidence, well anybody can do that. It could be that divorced women are more concerned with their looks, with how people perceive them, therefore they brush their hair more, making hair fall out more.

[Tikvah Bethany Adler]

09:28 PM on 09/24/2011

or they put a lot more crap in their hair than men do (in general), not to mention blow-drying, dying, bleaching, etc

[KCathy]

06:06 PM on 09/22/2011

I lost a lot of hair after separating from my husband, even though I'm under significantly less stress now (better money, more stability, and less loneliness, believe it or not). I had similar hair loss a couple of months after each of my children were born, which makes me wonder if this hair loss is linked somehow to hormones such as Oxytocin that might not be present in equal quantities without a lot of physical touch.

[avicenna]

08:20 PM on 09/23/2011

Post-pregnancy hairloss is related to the withdrawal of pregnancy hormones (estrogen and progesterone) which actually reinforce hair growth during pregnancy. Stress induces the release of adrenal hormones (such as cortisol, DHEA and some androgens) which has a negative impact on hair follicles resulting in stress induced hair loss in women who are sensitive to this effect. This kind of hairloss is often characterized by a small white bulb at the end of the hair shaft which indicates the hair was shed before it actually entered the resting phase.

[arliobserver]

02:52 PM on 09/22/2011

Nothing warmed my heart like seeing my bitter abusive ex wife 3 years later and noting that her hair had dramatically thinned. So thinned she may need a hair transplant - but girly stuff was not her forte anyway - if hair loss makes her scary looking all the better to torment her opponents at work. And if the scalp is not a good donor site.......

[Barbara0817]

12:49 PM on 09/22/2011

I know someone Who got divorced and Her hair fell out, This seems Weird .but it was just that one person

[MrPragmatic]

12:41 PM on 09/22/2011

There seem to be gaps in this article. So does coffee cause hair loss? If so, how? And sleeping more than 8 hours causes hair loss? Evidence please. That claim seems dubious.

[hereinlou]

03:58 PM on 09/22/2011

I agree. Those seem like some pretty worthless suggestions to combat hair loss if you ask me... I was always under the impression that wearing hats to frequently could actually CAUSE hair loss.

[MrPragmatic]

11:59 PM on 09/22/2011

I thought the same about hats. And are they saying that the sun causes hair loss? Not buying it.

[avicenna]

08:25 PM on 09/23/2011

It's likely not the fact that one sleeps more than 8 hours a day - it is known that people who are depressed often sleep excessively (some in our previous studies slept up to 16 hours a day). It is the metabolic state of depression and sickness behaviour that is related to hair loss - but the doctor never bothered asking about mental health status to understand the context of his fairly general survey questions for which he drew correlations with hair thinning.

[DaniFoxy]

11:55 AM on 09/22/2011

Happened to my sister. She got divorced and immediately got a Brazilian.

[knowcomment]

01:04 PM on 09/22/2011

Was his name Javier?

[negogato]

08:34 AM on 09/23/2011

Paulo? Raul? Ana-Maria?

[KCathy]

06:07 PM on 09/22/2011

LOL!

[sabrinanardi]

11:18 AM on 09/22/2011

This is true, it happened to me. I lost half my hair during my divorce, and it grew in curly and dark.

[MrPragmatic]

12:01 AM on 09/23/2011

Oh my. Curly and dark? Are you sure we're talking about your head?

[KarateKid]

09:43 AM on 09/22/2011

And staying together causes hair loss in men.

[news360]

09:01 AM on 09/22/2011

Re: ""[Women] take relationships more seriously...' He says his explanation does not have scientific proof, but is based on common sense and his experiences with men and women in his practice."

HP consistently posts articles that make sweeping generalizations about men and women without citing valid research. It is junk advice - read at your peril. Its fine to read to commiserate with individuals, but know that these articles are not saying anything that would be more broadly applicable.

[roshni]

09:00 AM on 09/22/2011

Why is this shocking? Major life changes, good or bad, cause stress and hair loss is a result of stress.

[Elle1019]

08:50 AM on 09/22/2011

Oh, the crap that gets passed off as "research......"

[wdw808]

08:26 AM on 09/22/2011

too funny