How To Stop Hair Shedding After Pregnancy

September 28, 2022

What To Do If The Hair Does Not Grow Back

Postpartum Hair Shedding-Natural hair/Wash routine/Tips

If the situation with hair loss does not change after a full year from childbirth it is time to take action. First of all, check the condition of hormones and scalp. Then, guided by the recommendations of experts, go one of three ways:

Taking hormonal drugs After childbirth, progesterone rapidly decreases, because of this, the activity of estrogen decreases. A combination of tablets, injections, and ointments can balance these hormones.

Physiotherapy Procedures of external influence on the scalp, which treat and tone the dermis. The most common are cryo and electro massages. In the first case, with the help of low temperatures, the hypodermis layer is restored and the hair nuclei are stimulated. The second procedure is aimed at activating the sleeping bulbs.

Transplantation Invasive hair transplantation from other parts of the body to the scalp. This operation is quite expensive and does not give a 100% result.

In order not to start the situation before such a case, it is worth paying attention to preventive practices. Proper nutrition and meditation will help to cope with the passage of pregnancy and childbirth with dignity and beauty.

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Postpartum Hair Loss Is Totally Normalbut There Are Things You Can Do To Stop It

Your hair is falling out in clumps, and youre starting to panic. Hair loss after pregnancy is quite common. Heres when it will stop and what you can to slow down the shedding.

A few months following the birth of her third child, amid the sleep deprivation and endless nursing sessions, 29-year-old Alicia Mideys hair started coming out in alarming clumps. It really started to accelerate three months after I gave birth, says the Chesapeake, Va., mom. I knew it was a part of the postpartum process, but that didnt make dealing with the bald spots around my hairline easier. It was worse than it had ever been with my first two children.

Stephanie Black, a 38-year-old mother of one from Charlton, Ont., had a similar experience, though her hair loss was delayed. In my case, it didnt start until about a year after I had my son, and it happened so fast I thought I was going bald, Black says. My doctor said it was likely pregnancy related, but I was surprised that it took so long to take effect, since I only breastfed for a few months and didnt go back to work until months after my hair started falling out.

Shedding hair at a noticeable rate in the first two to six months after having a baby is not unusualonline parenting groups and social media status updates are full of new moms posting, Is this normal? Im freaking out! But the experience can vary among women.

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Postpartum Hair Loss: Your Guide To Shedding After Pregnancy

You might notice some excessive shedding around 3 months after welcoming your baby, and thats totally normal. Read on for what new mums need to know about postpartum hair loss.

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I was clogging up the shower every time I washed my hair around 4 months after I gave birth and didnt stop until 11 months. I have a lot of hair but it was quite hard to experience that. I lost so much hair on the hairlinesad

Contents

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Hair Shedding Reason #: Hair Falling Out During Or After Pregnancy

Postpartum hair shedding is a common situation among women, especially those who are giving birth for the first time. Studies show that accidents, surgeries and pregnancy usually have their toll on a womans hair and cause it to shed in the matter of two or three months after the actual incident.

During this period, the body takes a rest from hair growth and focuses its resources on healing the injured/stressed organs.

Sounds a little bit horrifying, but the good news is that another hair-growth cycle will begin six to nine months later.

Avoid Hot Styling Tools And Over

Things that damage your hair, like hot styling tools and hair dye, may make postpartum hair loss worse or more noticeable.

Try washing your hair less frequently, with a good quality shampoo. There isnt one shampoo for postpartum hair loss but over-washing can damage your hair more. Your hair may take a few weeks to adjust to a new washing schedule but washing your hair once or twice a week is supposed to be best for hair health.

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What Is The Best Supplement For Postpartum Hair Loss

DISCLAIMER: Although we conduct thorough research while writing our blog posts, we are NOT a doctor. All content and information on this website is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice and does not establish any kind of doctor-client relationship by your use of this website. Although I strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not intended for the prevention or treatment of disease and it is not a substitute for medical or professional advice. You should not rely solely on this information. Always consult your physician in the area for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any exercise or dietary decisions. The Postpartum Wiki is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Who Is At Risk Of Getting Telogen Effluvium

Telogen Effluvium can affect both men and women irrespective of age groups. However, it’s more common in women. In women, it is more visible among the ones with thick and long hair. Women with normal hormonal functions too may experience prolonged phases of telogen effluvium that includes tremendous hair loss over years. Someone with consistent telogen effluvium hair loss might be experiencing a chronic one that might even extend to over 6 years.

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How Does Hair Grow

Hair grows from small pores in the skin on your scalp called follicles. Your hair is continuously growing and shedding. This cycle of hair growth has three phases that repeat throughout your lifetime:

Anagen phase is the phase of active hair growth. It can last between two and six years. Most of your hair is in this phase at any given time.
Catagen phase is a short, transitional phase where the hair follicles shrink.
Telogen phase is a resting phase that lasts about three months. After, the follicle releases the hair and the hair falls out.

Another name for postpartum hair loss is telogen effluvium.

Postpartum Hair Treatments To Try

Here’s What Causes Postpartum Hair Loss & Shedding

Its normal for your hair to thin out after pregnancy. If its not worrying you, you dont need to do anything to treat it. And, unfortunately, there is nothing that has been shown to prevent or slow postpartum hair loss. But if your hair loss is bothering you, there are treatments you can try to make your hair appear fuller and healthier.

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The Life Of The Hair Follicle

It would be more accurate to call the condition postpartum hair shedding, says Dr. Joseph Chappelle, an obstetric scholar at Stony Brook University in New York. Hair follicles stay on the head for 3-5 years and have a four-stage life cycle. The growth, or anagen phase, lasts for 2-4 years. At any given time, 85%-90% of the hairs on a persons head are in this phase.

The catagen, or transition phase, begins when the hairs growth begins to slow down and eventually the hairs shrink. It lasts for approximately 10 days. 5% of your hairs in this phase at any given time.

Next is the telogen or resting phase. In this phase, hairs have stopped growing but have yet to shed. It lasts about three months, and approximately 10%-15% of scalp hairs are in this phase.

Finally, hairs go through the exogen or shedding phase. Lasting 2-5 months, the scalp sheds 50-100 hairs daily.

How Hormones Affect Your Hair

Hormones are the biggest reason for your pregnancy hair changes and postpartum hair loss.

During pregnancy, your high levels of estrogen prevented your usual rate of hair loss. Normally, your hair falls out in small amounts every day. During pregnancy, your hair loss decreases. The effect is compounded by your increased blood volume and circulation, which also causes your hair to fall out less than normal.

So after your baby arrives and your hormone levels drop, your hair makes up for lost time by falling out in much bigger clumps than it normally does. The total volume of your hair loss probably isnt more than you would have lost over the last nine months, it just seems like it because its happening all at once.

Postpartum hair loss can set in any day after your baby arrives, and it sometimes continues as long as a year. It usually peaks around the 4-month mark, so if your baby is a few months old and youre still losing clumps of hair, that doesnt mean its time to panic!

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How Hormones Affect Your Hair Growth

In pregnant, postpartum and menopausal women, estrogen is the leading hormone that affects your hair growth.

During pregnancy, your body increases the amount of estrogen it produces which signals more follicles to enter the growing phase than the resting phase of the hair growth cycle. During this time, you may experience fuller, thicker hair. You may also notice that your hair grows significantly faster during pregnancy than it did before you were carrying your little one.

Following childbirth, estrogen levels drop , prompting the hair follicles to enter the resting phase and fewer hairs to grow. After about 100 days in the resting phase, the hair begins to shed.

In addition to the estrogen and progesterone changes in the postpartum period, stress and nutrition impact hormone levels, which and can also influence hair growth.

Thyroiditis, caused by inflammation of the thyroid gland, results in an imbalance of thyroid hormones which can also affect your hair growth.

Is Hair Loss After Pregnancy Normal

Yes, its very common. During pregnancy women tend to find that their hair stops shedding and as a result becomes thicker. After childbirth, this excess hair tends to shed over a short period this is not hair loss in the traditional sense, simply the loss of the excess hair that built up during pregnancy.

In some cases, postpartum hair loss may be related to the stress of childbirth. Its believed that childbirth can trigger telogen effluvium, a type of hair loss characterised by widespread thinning on the head.

When Should I See My Healthcare Provider

Talk with your provider if you continue to lose hair for more than six months. You might have another condition that causes hair loss, such as iron deficiency or thyroid disease.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Adjusting to having a new baby can be stressful. Postpartum hair loss can cause additional stress and anxiety. But hair loss after childbirth is normal and very common. And while you cant prevent it, the right hair products and hairstyle can help while youre waiting for your hair to grow back. By your babys first birthday, your hair should be full again.

Hair Shedding Reason #: Iron Deficiency

To understand the link between hair shedding and iron deficiency we must first understand why oxygen is so important to your hair.

In one study, a research team from the Massachusetts General Hospital increased the hair volume of male mice by 70 percent by expanding the blood vessels in their scalps. The team also found that such expansion depended mostly on the amount of oxygen reaching those blood vessels.

I.e., more oxygen = bigger vessels = thicker hair follicles

Now guess which nutrient is responsible for regulating the oxygen supply that reaches the scalp cells? Yes, its iron, and its deficiency, according to some studies, can cause both hair shedding and female pattern baldness.

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Does Postpartum Hair Loss Grow Back

There is no one definitive answer to this question. It is possible that postpartum hair loss will grow back, but it is also possible that it will not.

There are a number of factors that can affect whether or not hair loss will grow back, including the individuals genetics and the type of hair loss.

Some women may experience temporary hair loss after giving birth, while others may experience more serious and permanent hair loss.

If you are worried about postpartum hair loss, it is important to speak with a healthcare professional to determine the best course of treatment.

How To Identify Telogen Effluvium

Why you are LOSING HAIR AFTER PREGNANCY | Postpartum hair loss tips

Telogen Effluvium can initially be characterized by thinning of hair on your scalp that’s either limited to one particular area or is spread across all over. However, the The most obvious symptom of telogen effluvium is an increased amount of hair fall. You may notice large amounts of your hair falling out more than usual while brushing or washing.

The top of the scalp is the most affected area. In rare cases, it may cause your hairline to recede. But, it’s also unlikely that you will lose all of your hair.

Some of the common symptoms are:

An increased amount of hair shedding

The scalp may look less dense than usual

Does Pregnancy Affect Your Hair

In short, yes.

Pregnancy can affect your hair in all sorts of different ways including making it thinner or fall out.

And thats all thanks to your hormones.

When youre pregnant, your estrogen and progesterone hormones start pumping hard.

Thats because they help support your fertility and make a nice comfy home for baby, firstly.

But these hormones do other things too.

Modify Your Hair Care Routine

You may find that modifying your hair care routine can help stop further hair loss. Try using a postpartum hair loss shampoo that is fortified with biotin and silica and a deep-moisture conditioner.

Hair is more fragile when wet so brush gently after you wash your hair or wait for it to dry. Set your hairdryer to a cool setting and avoid using hot rollers or straightening irons to prevent further damage that can be caused by excessive heat.

Your hair may also benefit from other specialty products that a dermatologist can recommend, like scalp sprays and hair masks.

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Why Does Your Hair Get Thicker During Pregnancy

Its thought that excess hair growth in pregnancy is related to oestrogen. During pregnancy the body releases oestrogen, which causes the hair growth and loss cycle to slow down. So rather than shedding hair as normal, the scalp retains it. As a result you may notice that your eyelashes, the hair on your head and eyebrows grow thicker during pregnancy.

Not all women will find that their hair grows thicker and shinier during pregnancy in fact some may even experience hair loss during this time. Hair loss during pregnancy is relatively uncommon, but you can expect your hair to go through several changes over the course of your pregnancy.

Be Aware Of Hair Tourniquets

Something to be aware of as a new mom, but especially if you are experiencing postpartum hair loss is hair tourniquets. A hair tourniquet is when a hair falls out of your head and gets wrapped around your babys finger, toe, or any other body part. This can cut off the circulation to that area for your baby. If you notice your baby crying for an unexplained reason, check their hands and feet for a hair tourniquet. If you find one, remove it by gently unraveling it. If you cannot find the loose end from which to unravel it, gently cut if off with small scissors. If you are struggling to remove the tourniquet, seek help from a healthcare professional immediately.

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It Might Be An Underlying Health Issue

Growing a baby is a lot of work for your body. It increases your risk of several health issues, including:

Got iron?

Pregnancy increases your risk of iron deficiency anemia. If youre carrying multiples , have severe morning sickness, or got pregnant soon after giving birth, your risk is even higher.

Low iron levels mean you dont have enough red blood cells to efficiently carry oxygen through your body. This causes hair thinning, along with several other symptoms:

shortness of breath
frequent headaches

Since anemia isnt a preggo-only condition, your hair probably wont get its volume and shine back until you address your iron levels.

If youre pregnant and think you might have anemia, talk to your doctor. A simple blood test can determine whether you need iron supplements.

Signs Of Hair Loss After Baby

Women, in general, lose close to 100 strands of hair every day even when they are not pregnant. However, about 4 to 6 months after delivery, you may observe clumps in your hairbrush or clogging in your drain. This is the first and only sign of postpartum hair loss, and the same gradually reduces as your baby gets ready to blow the candle for her first birthday.

In case the hair fall persists, consult your physician for treatment.

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