Hair loss from telegenic effluvium is often confusing, because the stressful event that triggered the loss occurred 3-4 months before the loss of hair.
Frequently the person losing hair has recovered from the event, and then they start shedding their hair in clumps! The condition is usually temporary, and new hairs soon grow back. Within a few more months the normal random cycle of hair follicle growth and rest resumes.
Delayed Shedding
Telogen effluvium is when a sudden severe stress causes noticeable shedding of hair after the stressful event. The hair loss is always delayed, usually 3-4 months and sometimes 5 or 6 months after the stressful event. The event can be a physical stress such as a heart attack, a sever illness with a high fever,
a sudden weight change, or a major surgical procedure.
Sudden severe emotional with a high fever, a sudden weight change, or a major surgical procedure. Sudden severe emotional stress can also trigger telegenic effluvium, including the death of a loved one, a divorce, or a job termination.
All Together Now:(Transition to Resting Phase)
In telegenic effluvium, the sudden stressful event causes a high proportion of hair follicles to halt their growth phase prematurely, and to begin a transition to the resting phase at the same time. 3-4 months after the stressful event, a high proportion of follicles shed their hairs all at about the same time, as they prepare for a new cycle of growth.
Randomly Distributed Hair Loss
Usually telegenic effluvium results in random hair loss from all over the scalp. Often the effect is not noticeable to others, although seeing the increased quantities of shed hairs is disturbing to their owner. Treatment for telegenic effluvium includes waiting for the new hairs to grown in, styling to give a fuller look, and counseling to address the stressful event, if appropriate.
Hair Loss after Childbirth
Childbirth, termination of pregnancy, a discontinuation of birth control pills, can also be severe stressful events and can trigger telegenic effluvium
primarily because of hormone level changes. During pregnancy, a higher proportion of hair follicles continues growing hairs, and do not enter the resting stage.
Some pregnant women notice that during their pregnancy their hair seems fuller than before, and this pleasant effect is because more of their hair follicles are growing hairs.
Shortly before childbirth however, the hair follicles that had delayed entering the resting stage over several months during pregnancy begin to make the transition to the resting stage all at the same time. As a result, within a few months of childbirth, however, some women will experience increased shedding of hair, sometimes in alarming amounts.
Hair Loss from Other Pregnancy Terminations
In addition to childbirth, other forms of pregnancy termination, including miscarriages and abortions, can also result in telegenic effluvium, if a high proportion of the women’s hair follicles had begun to postpone entering the resting stage during pregnancy.
Most birth control pills work in part by adding hormones to fool a women’s reproductive system into thinking it is already pregnant. The hormones added can affect hair growth. In some cases, discontinuation of birth control pills can trigger telegenic effluvium, similar to that suffered after childbirth.
Micro graft Hair Shedding
Telogen effluvium also usually affects newly transplanted hair follicles in micro graft procedures. Surgery is a sudden shock to the individual hair follicles. The newly transplanted hair follicles make a transition to the resting stage shortly after they are transplanted, and 3-4 months later begin to grow new hairs.