How to know if it is telogen effluvium or androgenetic alopecia?

The telogen effluvium vs androgenetic alopecia call comes down to three things. Telogen effluvium starts suddenly two to four months after a trigger, sheds diffusely across the whole scalp, and reverses once the trigger clears. Androgenetic alopecia comes on gradually in a crown-and-temple or central-parting pattern and progresses without treatment.

Does high cortisol lead to hair loss?

Yes, sustained high cortisol can lead to hair loss. Chronic stress activates the body's stress-hormone axis and can push a large share of growing follicles into the resting phase at once, producing the diffuse shedding of telogen effluvium two to four months later.[2:2] The shedding usually reverses once the stress resolves.

How to know if it's AGA or TE?

The fastest way to separate AGA (androgenetic alopecia) from TE (telogen effluvium) is pattern and timeline. TE is diffuse, sudden, trigger-linked, and reversible. AGA is patterned, gradual, often hereditary, and progressive. When both seem to fit, a trichoscopy reading the vertex against the occipital reference zone settles it.

At what age does AGA start?

Androgenetic alopecia can begin any time after puberty. In men the average onset is in the early-to-mid twenties, and the condition becomes more common with age. In women it can begin earlier but rises markedly after menopause.[4] Early onset does not predict how fast it will progress.

What is the difference between telogen effluvium and anagen effluvium?

Telogen effluvium sheds resting club-rooted hairs two to four months after a trigger. Anagen effluvium instead breaks growing hairs and appears within roughly two weeks of a cytotoxic insult such as chemotherapy.[5] Telogen hairs fall out intact, whereas anagen hairs snap at the shaft.

What is the difference between telogen effluvium and alopecia areata?

Telogen effluvium causes diffuse shedding across the whole scalp. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that creates well-demarcated round or oval bald patches, often with short tapering exclamation-mark hairs at the edges.[6] The patchy, sharply bordered loss is what distinguishes alopecia areata from the even thinning of telogen effluvium.

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Telogen Effluvium vs Androgenetic Alopecia, How to Tell Which One You Have

October 23, 2026 - Hair & Scalp Analysis

Shedding more hair than usual and unsure whether it is reversible stress loss or the start of permanent genetic thinning? This guide puts telogen effluvium vs androgenetic alopecia side by side. You get a clean five-row comparison table, a five-signal checklist you can run at home, a section on the female-pattern case, and an honest look at the overlap case where a stress trigger uncovers a genetic pattern that was already quietly progressing.

Dermatoscope and dark hair strands on cream counter, the calm telogen effluvium vs androgenetic alopecia diagnostic scene

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Telogen Effluvium vs Androgenetic Alopecia, How to Tell Which One You Have

Telogen Effluvium vs Androgenetic Alopecia Explained

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