The first time I noticed hair loss was in 2016. The company I worked for announced they were shuttering and I was laid off. Then, in the winter of 2019, I went through a brutal breakup, followed by another layoff due to COVID-19 in March 2020. Unsurprisingly, my hairline once again thinned out. After seeing a doctor and doing a few blood tests to rule out any health issues, I discovered my hair loss was stress-induced.
Now, it’s 2025 and I’m happier than ever, but to my horror, I recently noticed my hair shedding irregularly again in my shower. It turns out, chronic stress struck again — my stressor this time? Wedding planning. But since I absolutely cannot have my hair looking sparse on my big day, I knew I needed fast-acting solutions.
Luckily, my job allows me to test a lot of products, and eventually, I found my holy grail — well, it's a combination of three products, and according to Dr. Bradley Glodny, a board-certified dermatologist in NYC, that’s the best way to approach hair loss. “Regimens [involving] multiple mechanisms of action will always work better than using only one ingredient or treatment,” he explains.
Every product in my regimen helped yield noticeable results — so much so that they were recently crowned Shop TODAY Hair Award winners for 2025. The first successful product I tried? The Nioxin Hair Fall Defense Shampoo.
My hair type
I have a lot of hair, albeit it has an ultra-fine texture, which gives it a thinner appearance. While I’ve always loved my hair type, it’s been prone to breakage from heat damage and tight hairstyles. After years of this, my hair naturally looks thinner than it did in my younger years.
Luseta Rice Water Shampoo and Conditioner Set
Best Strengthening Set
$36.00
Luseta Beauty
$28.04
$38.00
Amazon
Lola From Rio Rapunzel Strengthening Hair Mask
Best Hair Mask for Strengthening
$16.99
Amazon
$16.99
Lola from Rio
dpHUE Color Dream Demi-Permanent Kit
Best Long-Lasting Semi-Permanent Hair Dye
$33.00
Amazon
$16.50
$33.00
Ulta
Revlon One-Step Root Booster Round Brush Dryer and Styler
Best value Multistyler
$21.85
$44.99
Amazon
$54.99
Ulta
Not Your Mother's Clean Freak 3-in-1 Dry Shampoo
Best 3-in-1 Dry Shampoo
$11.99
Ulta
$11.99
Not Your Mother's
How I treated my hair
As mentioned, I took a three-pronged approach when treating my hairline. First, I began by using this Nioxin shampoo every day, which utilizes niacinamide, caffeine and lauric acid to help stimulate the hair follicles and support stronger hair growth from the root. It also deeply cleanses the scalp to remove buildup and create the optimal environment for hair to grow.
According to the brand, a clinical study found that 93% of users saw less hair fall out after using this product for 12 weeks. For testing, I used this product for the same amount of time, lathering up my hair once per day, focusing on my hairline area.
My next course of action was to try a red light cap. Red light has a ton of beauty benefits — and boosting hair growth is one of them — so I was excited to try this cap by HigherDose. It looks like a regular baseball hat but has 120 diodes of red light bulbs that use FDA-cleared technology to stimulate hair growth. The brand recommends using it once per day for ten minutes. Since it’s cordless, it’s super easy to use while watching TV, cleaning or even while cooking each night. According to the brand, you should start to see some slight hair growth at the three-month mark, and more visible results with continued use after that.
Dr. Dhaval G. Bhanusali, a board-certified dermatologist in NYC, confirms that red light can be potentially beneficial for hair loss: “While the specific mechanism is not known, it’s believed that at specific wavelengths, the red light can stimulate hair follicles and stimulate cellular function.” Studies agree, and according to the brand, red light therapy works by stimulating blood flow to the scalp, helping to promote a strong environment for potential hair growth.
Finally, the last product that yielded results was a scalp serum by SickScience, a biotech brand founded by two molecular scientists whom I met at a PR event last year. I was excited to try this one out after knowing the scientific background of the two founders, and I was not disappointed.
This serum uses garlic and wheat-derived plant exosome technology (which the brand patented in their NX35 formula) to support hair growth and strengthen hair structure while also increasing hair diameter and thickness. The brand says to use this serum once a day on damp or dry hair and then apply it to areas of concern while massaging in with fingertips. Admittedly, I wasn’t as rigid in my usage of this serum, only using it about two to three times per week. The liquid-serum texture was easy to apply and, when massaged into damp hair, didn’t leave a residue.
According to the brand, a clinical study found that 100% of volunteers experienced an improvement in hair thickness after eight weeks. Plus, it’s hypoallergenic, which, for those who have tried scalp treatments before, know is a big deal (there’s nothing worse than an itchy reaction on your scalp!).
How to regain hair loss from stress
As mentioned, for me, chronic stress caused hair loss. It's a condition called Telogen Effluvium, which is when physical or emotional stress leads to hair shedding, and it's more common in men and women than you might think. While topical products and red light therapy worked for me as a treatment, there are other ways to treat hair loss from stress. For one, it's important to find effective ways to manage stress in the first place. Whether that's through meditation, therapy or other outlets, lowering stress levels should have a positive effect on the appearance of your hair. Be sure to prioritize exercise, healthy eating and a regular sleep routine, too.
What to consider
Hair loss isn’t the same for everyone
Hair loss is extremely nuanced, so what works for one person might not work for the next. The important thing to remember is to find out the root cause of your hair loss so that you can appropriately treat it.
“It’s important to note that losing up to 100 hairs per day is normal, and only if there is a sudden increase, you should be worried,” explains Dr. Bhanusali. “If you are noticing more hair loss than normal, we recommend seeing a board-certified dermatologist as soon as you can. From there, they can rule out potential medical causes, where specific conditions or even internal issues may be evident on lab testing.”
Focus on the health of your hair and preventing breakage
This should come as no surprise, but healthy hair will naturally appear thicker, and breakage will give your hair a thinner look. “Healthy hair starts with preventing damage rather than trying to fix it later,” explains Rogerio Cavalcante, my go-to hairstylist and owner of The Second Floor Salon in NYC. “Limit chemical treatments and heat styling, as over-processing and daily heat use are major causes of breakage. Avoid consistently tight hairstyles like sleek buns, which put stress on the hair shaft, and always use a leave-in conditioner or detangler before brushing wet hair to prevent snapping.”
Cavalcante also emphasizes the importance of keeping the scalp clean by using high-quality products and not going too long between washes because this could exacerbate buildup around the hair follicle, which could inhibit hair growth.
More hair products to shop
How we chose
We spoke to experts about the causes, risk factors and proven solutions for hair loss. From there, we tried various hair loss products, testing their efficacy and ease of use. Then, we pulled previous expert recommendations for the best products for thinning hair. Julie Ricevuto is the commerce editor and producer for Shop TODAY, with over a decade of experience covering beauty, health, fitness and lifestyle content.
Meet our experts
- Dr. Dhaval G. Bhanusali, MD FAAD, founder of Hudson Dermatology & Laser Surgery
- Dr. Bradley Glodny, board-certified dermatologist at Park Avenue Dermatology.
- Rogerio Cavalcante, stylist and owner of The Second Floor Salon.
