This is a temporary state of hair fall that occurs when the body is traumatized by something. It is a form of hair loss that is normally triggered by severe emotional or physiological stress which could occur about 1 to 3 months after a major stressful event such as pregnancy, surgery, drastic weight loss or extreme stress in which you shed large amounts of hair every day usually when shampooing, styling or brushing.

Telogen effluvium occurs when large numbers of follicles on the scalp enter the resting phase of the hair growth cycle, called telogen, but the next growth phase does not begin. Therefore during the telogen effluvium hair shifts faster than normal from its growing phase into the “resting” phase before moving quickly into the shedding or telogen phase. It can also be a side effect of certain medications such as antidepressants, beta-blockers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It is normally temporarily and you will not have patches of hair loss (bald patches) but rather a generalised thinning.