To maintain the reply easy: Yes, stress may cause hair loss. “Significant stress can result in shedding and hair loss,” board-certified dermatologist Christine Shaver, M.D., FAAD, of Bernstein Medical Center for Hair Restoration in Recent York City tells mbg.

Stress causes a spike within the hormone cortisol (which is why it’s called the “stress hormone”). When excessive cortisol is present within the body, it could wreak havoc: With hair, it could force the hair to enter and stay in resting phase (telogen) as nutrients are redirected to other, more vital areas of the body. (It’s actually a survival mechanism.)

This was shown in a recent study done on mice, where researchers studied corticosterone levels (which is the such as our cortisol) as they related to hair growth. They found that chronic and prolonged stress meant that the mice’s hair follicles stayed in resting phase1.

Nevertheless, you likely won’t notice this hair loss immediately. “When high stress occurs, the hair begins to shed about three to 6 months later,” Shaver explains. “It would proceed to shed until the underlying reason behind stress has been addressed and resolved,” she says.

Certainly one of the toughest parts about hair loss is the cyclical pattern—stress results in hair loss, which might result in more stress, more loss, and it goes on. Because of this stress management is so essential—more on that in a bit.