Stress causes baldness. “That’s one of the most common myths I hear, and it’s not true,” says Dr. Reid Waldman, a board-certified dermatologist and the CEO of the hair loss company, Veradermics. “We tend to see in clinical practice a family history of hair loss on both sides of the family,” he says. What usually happens when you’re stressed, is a temporary shift in your hair growth and hair loss cycle, says Erdoğan. The connection likely comes from the same elevated DHT levels that drive hair loss, which can also interfere with sperm production, explains Bauman.