We might all think that Tyra Banks keeps it together all the time, and she normally does.  But she recently spoke candidly about how the stress in her life hit her in a tough place – on her scalp.

During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Banks revealed that  “I got a little alopecia from the stress.”

By “the stress,” Banks was referring to the time she spent writing her book “Modelland,” for young adults, while trying to manage everything else she has going on.

“How can I say this without tearing up?” She asked.

“Writing a book can definitely be a stressor that can lead to hair loss, or alopecia” says Orr Barak, MD, a dermatologist at Main Line Dermatology in Philadelphia.

Dr. Barak believes that Banks had “telogen effluvium,” a form of hair loss that is caused by stress.

Dr. Barak says that the reasons for this kind of hair loss boil down to the fact that when you are stressed, your hair spends less time in the “growing phase” and more time in the “resting phase.”  Typically, our hair is growing 80 – 90 percent of the time, and resting for the remainder.

“When the body undergoes a stressor, the hair follicle is affected and a new equilibrium is set for the hair cycle,” Barak says. The rate may fall to say, 60 percent of its time in the growing cycle and 40 percent in the resting phase. This down shift causes more hair to fall out, and you see more of it in your brush or shower drain.”

So, it’s been established.  Tyra Banks’ career may be growing, but her hair is not.  Maybe she needs to slow down.

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