Heartbreak Hair Loss for Kristen Stewart?

Photo by PR Photos

Is Kristen Stewart suffering from heartbreak hair loss?

New photos of Stewart show the young actress, 23, with noticeably thinning hair, with many attributing the hair loss as a result of months of stress following her public breakup.

So can stress really cause you to lose your hair? While we all know stress is bad for your health, many people don't realize the impact it can have on our hair. From the photos, it appears Stewart is in fact seeing some thinning, and is most likely suffering from temporary hair loss known as telogen effluvium.

Stress alone doesn't cause permanent hair loss, but it commonly contributes to temporary hair loss in both men and women. When the body goes into a state of shock, from for example extreme stress, the hair goes into a resting state of the hair growth cycle prematurely, resulting in sudden hair loss. This type of hair loss is often triggered by extreme stress associated with pregnancy, death of a loved one, surgery, serious illness or, according to one study, divorce.

The good news is, this type of hair loss can usually be reversed by reducing your stress. However if you want to speed up the hair recovery process, you may also want to consider a regimen of low level laser therapy and a vitamin supplement like Viviscal to help stimulate healthy hair growth.