Stress May Affect Success Ratio Of Hair Transplant

July 24, 2019 | By Dr. Sangay Bhutia (Hair Transplant Specialist in Delhi)

Modern living has many perks—technological innovation, connectivity, and the availability of solutions to most problems known to humans. However there are cons as well—pollution, noise, traffic, and most importantly, stress. While most people suffer from stress, which can be about money, work, relationships, exams, it can sometimes take a more chronic form, making it difficult for a person to lead a normal life. Stress sometimes manifests itself physically, causing conditions such as headaches, high blood pressure, diabetes, or even heart disease.

Stress is also known to cause hair fall. It can result in a condition called Telogen Effluvium. Stress triggered by trauma, or a sudden shock to the body caused by emotional trauma, chronic illness, or malnutrition can lead to hair fall. This causes temporary hair fall, by sending hair follicles into a resting phase, which means that the hair won’t grow during this .

Anxiety and stress can also cause Trichotillomania or a condition where people pull their hair from their eyebrows, head, or other parts of the body. This is common in people dealing with negative emotions. Besides these, stress can also cause Alopecia Areata, a condition found in people suffering extreme stress, wherein their own immune system starts attacking their hair follicles, causing hair fall. Alopecia Areata can cause bald spots on a person’s head.

While stress is a major reason behind hair loss, it can also impede the growth of hair after a hair transplant surgery, and therefore determine the success of a hair transplant. A lot of clinics while diagnosing hair fall and recommending a hair transplant fail to address is whether the patient is dealing with stress. If hair fall is caused by Androgenic Alopecia or male pattern baldness, doctors assume that the patient doesn’t suffer from stress, anxiety or depression.

This is why patients have to be forthcoming during their initial consultation with the hair expert or surgeon. If a patient suffers from stress, they should mention it during the consultation with the surgeon. This should be kept in mind and should be dealt accordingly. The patient should not put themselves in a position where they have undergone a good hair transplant surgery but then it failed work because stress affected hair growth.



There are ways to address stress when people are looking to get a hair transplant surgery. For mild stress, mindful activities like meditation, engaging in art and craft, listening to music, yoga, exercise, can all be helpful. Deep breathing and other such relaxation techniques are also helpful in de-stressing. Apart from these, eating a healthy diet or taking multivitamins is also recommended.

However, if the patient has chronic stress or depression, they should consider therapy before they go in for a hair transplant surgery. It is always a good idea to first deal with mental issues before undergoing the surgery. In fact the anxiety caused by undergoing surgery may aggravate their condition and negatively impact hair growth. This can be both physically and mentally damaging for the patient.

Hair transplant is an excellent procedure, which can change the lives of people, but people should ensure that they are prepared, and in a good mental condition to undergo it.