A severe trauma, like the loss of a parent, spouse, or child, or the end of a job or marriage, can send your hormones into a seesaw of frantic changes and result in hair loss.

Hair can start to fall out a few weeks up to three months after the acute event.

However, if things get back to normal and your life rights itself, the hair will stop falling out in a few months.

Another time to expect significant hair loss is when you are taking medication like chemotherapy, heavy-duty drugs for chronic illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, or other immunosuppressant drugs that alter the natural hair follicle growth and shedding cycles.

Again, when things right themselves — the medications are stopped and no longer influence your body’s chemistry — the hair starts coming back and a few months later the normal hair-growth cycle returns.

Sometimes people who had straight hair get curly locks, which marvels many.