What To Do For Hair Loss After Pregnancy

What Is Postpartum Hair Loss

So many joys come part and parcel of becoming a new mother. One thing that might have taken you by surprise, though, is the postpartum hair loss. Its a completely natural and common process, but it can still be unnerving for women who have just given birth.

We discuss everything you need to know about hair loss after pregnancy, helping to relieve some of the worry.

Ways To Hide Hair Loss After Pregnancy

Ways to Hide Hair Loss after Pregnancy

Most women suffer from gradual or sudden hair loss after pregnancy and also during pregnancy. This is mainly due to raging hormones.

Hair loss after pregnancy can be noticed in different times after parturition or after nursing stopped. Most of the women get startled after seeing clumps of hair coming out while showering or during combing. It is widely noticed that most of the women experience hair loss after pregnancy especially around six months after childbirth.

Hair loss after pregnancy is mainly due to the fact that womens body is nourishing the new born rather than feeding the hair because the infant and the mother are the important persons not the hair.

There are other reasonso for hair loss after childbirth. The hormones, which are causing normal hair loss are completely lost during pregnancy. Hence normal shedding of hair is not noticed while pregnant. Once the baby comes out of the womb, the womens body returns to normal and the hair, which have not fallen during pregnancy start to shed in conspicuous bundles. The hair loss after pregnancy is mostly noticed in the areas around the ears, close to the hairline, and near the temples.

If you find enough time to look after your hair despite your new baby, the hair loss after pregnancy can be taken care by having woven with lowlights around your face to improve your skin and face by masking the hair falling.

What Causes Postpartum Hair Loss

When you’re pregnant, your body changes in response to the new hormone levels needed for the baby to develop. The new balance of hormones, notably increased estrogen, changes your hair growth cycle. Hair remains in a growing phase longer during your pregnancy instead of shifting to a resting stage. Since the hair doesn’t come to the end of its growth cycle as quickly, you don’t lose as many individual hairs each day. The result is fuller hair.

Hair Growth Cycles. Hair goes through several phases of growth. The first phase is the growing phase, also called the anagen phase, where hair is actively getting longer. The second phase is called the catagen phase, or transitional phase, where hair growth slows and the hair follicle becomes smaller. The third phase is the telogen phase, or resting phase, where the hair doesn’t grow anymore. After the resting stage, the individual strands of hair eventually fall out. A new hair then starts growing to replace the one that came out.

Hairs are usually in the anagen phase for two to four years. You can expect that 85% to 90% of your hair is in this phase at any given time. Once your hair goes into the telogen phase, you can expect it to stay at one length for two to four months. After that, the hair falls out. During your normal hair growth cycle, 100 or so hairs naturally fall out each day.

Continued

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What To Do About Hair Loss After Pregnancy

After the baby is born, though, the extra hair is gradually released, and hair loss after pregnancy is much more pronounced than it was before or during pregnancy.

This is normal, so do not worry about it. It could take up to a year for the hair to return to its normal rate of falling out, a few strands at a time.

So, do not worry if you notice hair loss after pregnancy. It is normal, and a result of your hormones gradually readjusting to their normal pre-pregnancy state.

Hormones affect many parts of the body, including hair, nails, milk production, ovulation, moods, and menstruation.

During pregnancy, nails become notably harder. Just as there is a normal amount of hair loss after pregnancy, the fingernails will also return gradually to the way a woman had normally experienced them.

Pregnancy is a whole body experience. After the baby is born, the motherís body has a lot of things to do in order to return to its usual non-pregnant state.

A mother who is nursing will have a longer period of readjustment than one who is not. Still, always remember, nine and a half months up, at least the same amount of time down!

Besides hair loss after pregnancy, a woman might notice changes in her nails. Besides hair loss after pregnancy, you may have noted other changes in your hair during pregnancy. Hormones affect the whole body, including the hair.

It can take a year for hair to readjust to its normal thickness and straight or wavy state after the baby is born.

When To Worry About Postpartum Hair Loss

If your hair loss continues past the one-year mark and you have other symptoms, its time to consider there may be an underlying cause.

You might be suffering from postpartum thyroiditis, which means inflammation of the thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. This condition happens to 5 to 10 percent of postpartum women.

This thyroiditis will sometimes start with high levels of thyroid hormone in the blood before morphing into levels that are too low. Not every woman will experience both types though.

If you have high levels of thyroid hormone, which will usually happen one to four months after you have your baby, you may have:

• Feeling overly tired.
• Decreased ability to handle exercise.

The reason so many moms dont notice their thyroid issue is because many of the symptoms are common for normal new moms. They may think their fatigue is caused by the midnight feedings, and anxiety and irritability can happen to new moms too.

If it is determined youre suffering from thyroiditis, your doctor may decide to put you on medication.

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What Every Woman Should Know About Postpartum Hair Loss

Your body goes through a lot of changes during and after pregnancy. You expect the growing belly and weird cravings, but there are many things you may not expect, like hair loss.

Postpartum hair loss doesnt happen to every new mom, but it is pretty common. If you experience it yourself, it can be quite alarming when you see strands coming out in chunks or clumps of it collecting on your hair brush. Dont worry its not nearly as bad as it may seem.

Postpartum hair loss isnt really permanent hair loss. Dermatologists refer to it as excessive shedding, or Telogen Effluvium. Just how some women experience thicker and fuller hair during pregnancy from increased hormones, some can experience shedding and thinning as those same hormone levels drop after the baby arrives.

Its normal to have questions about unexpected and startling changes in your body. Dr. Dy has the answers to some of the most common questions women have about experiencing postpartum hair loss.

Recommendations During Pregnancy And After Delivery:

There are a number of things that you can do to have healthier hair and/or reduce hair loss during pregnancy and after delivery:

• Consult with your health care provider to ensure a proper balance of hormones
• Avoid pigtails, cornrows, hair weaves, braids and tight hair rollers which can pull and stress your hair
• Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, which contain flavonoids and antioxidants that may provide protection for the hair follicles and encourage hair growth
• Use shampoos and conditioners that contain biotin and silica
• Hair is fragile when it is wet, so be gentle avoid fine tooth combs
• If you need to use blow dryers and other heated hair instruments, use the cool setting
• Supplement your diet with the following nutrients:
• Vitamin B complex
• Biotin
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Zinc

Want to Know More?

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What Causes Postnatal Hair Loss

So, why do hair fall after delivery? Normally we lose at least 70-100 hair per day. However, the increased levels of estrogen during pregnancy halts this process and most of our hair goes into the resting phase of the hair cycle. Therefore, instead of falling, our hair stays on our head and we get the most desirable volume. Increasing levels of hormones during pregnancy cause your hair to be in a resting phase called telogen, for a longer period.

This, it brings hair fall to its minimum during pregnancy, which makes your hair look dense and thick. This usually occurs after five to six weeks and ends by about six to eight months. Many women notice hair fall after delivery in the first month, while some others say it starts at about 3 months after the babys birth. Some think that there is a relationship between breastfeeding and postpartum hair fall. However, hair fall after delivery is a complete hormonal thing and will subside by itself, but still, you can prevent post-pregnancy hair fall to some extent by using some simple tips stated below. This is because the hormones start getting settled to their pre-pregnancy stage.

What Causes Hair Loss After Giving Birth

All hair on our bodies grows in a cycle that can last anywhere from two to seven years. The active or growing phase of a strand of hair is called anagen and determines the length of our hair. After a period of time, the hair follicle enters a transition phase before entering its resting phase . Shedding occurs and the process starts all over again.

Changes related to your hormone levels before, during and after pregnancy can affect hair growth. Its completely normal to experience hormonal imbalance after giving birth, and one of the symptoms of hormonal imbalance is postpartum hair loss.

The medical term for postpartum hair loss is telogen effluvium. The condition, which is also referred to as postpartum alopecia, is relatively common, affecting between 40-50% of women in the months following childbirth.

Postpartum hair loss occurs after childbirth because of the sudden change of hormones in your body, particularly the change between progesterone and estrogen.

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What Is Hair Rebonding

Hair rebonding is a popular chemical treatment for straightening or smoothening your hair semi-permanently.

Hair rebonding tames down frizzy, wavy curls into glossy, sleek, and straight hair strands. It helps transform your hair into a different style or shape by using chemicals to break the natural bonds in your hair shafts and rearranging them to form new bonds.

Essentially, rebonding breaks the natural cell structure of your hair to restructure it.

Causes Of Hair Loss In Pregnancy

To know how to reduce hair loss in pregnancy, you should first explore some of the causes.

While estrogen slows the natural cycle of hair shedding, in some rare occurrences, one might lose hair because of these triggers:

· Hormonal Shift A hair loss hormonal pregnancy shift can be a trigger. Some women experience hair shedding due to shock and stress. This is calledtelogen effluvium. In the first trimester, the body may be stressed because the balance of hormones shifts to support the growing baby. Also, stress may contribute to telogen or make more hair on the head switch to the resting phase. This means instead of losing the normal 100 hairs a day, you would lose 300 hairs.

· Health Issues While looking to reduce hair loss in pregnancy, you also need to consider underlying health issues that might help you find the right remedy. Health problems may cause telogen effluvium, triggering dramatic shedding, especially if its linked with a lack of essential vitamins.

· Thyroid Problems Disorders like hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism can be difficult to spot in pregnancy. Of these two conditions, hypothyroidism is more common and affects about3 in every 100 pregnant women.

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Hair Growth During Pregnancy

Higher levels of pregnancy hormones tend to prevent normal hair loss. Because of this, any hair on your head that has entered the resting phase will stay there rather than falling out, and as more of the older hairs enter this phase, they too will tend to remain. Meanwhile, the new growth cycle continues for hairs that fell out before you became pregnant. Thus, more hairs remain on your head during pregnancy.

Monitor Your Hair Cycle

While some hair changes are inevitable for many women, there is natural technology that can help keep the hair cycle healthy. Professional activators are topically applied serums that use botanicals such as glycyrrhizin from licorice root, salicylic acid and a blend of botanicals such as sanguisorba and Japanese rose hips that act on the hair growth cycle, preventing excess hair fall and boosting growth. The topical évolis activators can be safely used during breastfeeding and can naturally support a healthy hair cycle, while the companion volume-boosting and fortifying shampoos, conditioners and hair masks have been specifically designed to support during excess hair fall and hair thinning.

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Telogen Effluvium: Say What

Hair grows in cycles. While some of the hairs on your headare actively growing, others are chilling in a resting phase. Eventually, thehairs in the resting phase fall out, and new hairs sprout in their place.

During pregnancy, more of your hair stays in the growthphase, says Dr. McIntosh. Thats nice while it lasts. But as estrogen levelsfall after pregnancy, the hairs finally make their exit all at once. Womenusually shed a lot of hair during those postpartum months, she says.

This increase in shedding is known as telogen effluvium. It usually begins 1 to 6 months after childbirth. While it can last as long as 18 months, most women find their hair bounces back much sooner than that.

Some womens hair will always be a bit thinner than it wasbefore they became a mom. But it will return to normal phases of hairgrowth, Dr. McIntosh says.

I Lost All My Hair After Having A Baby And It Never Grew Back People Think I Have Cancer

Every single hair on Rimas body fell out in August 2018 and she was diagnosed with alopecia

• Tracy Gayton

• 7:54, 13 Mar 2019

A BRAVE mum has told how she lost all of her body hair after the birth of her two kids and that its unlikely to ever grow back.

Rima Theisen, 37, from Margate, Kent, suffered from post-partum hair loss after the birth of her son Tennyson, now three.

Her locks grew back but she battled the condition again in 2017 after having daughter Clementine, now 17 months.

In August 2018, every single hair on Rimas body fell out and she was diagnosed with alopecia.

Here, Rima, who works as cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic and is married to husband Nathaneal, 37, shares her story with Fabulous Digital….

My mop of thick straight hair, so dark brown it was almost black, was once my pride and joy.

After becoming a flight attendant 15 years ago, Id wear it up in a beehive for work, then leave it long and loose on my days off. I loved being able to style it different ways, for different looks.

Nathaneal and I welcome our first child, Tennyson, in March 2016. Six months later, I noticed that when I did my hair, lots of strands were coming out on the brush. I also began finding clumps of hair on the floor.

I went online, to discover that whats known as postpartum hair loss commonly starts around three months after birth, and can be particularly extreme for new mums with long hair.

In July 2018, my maternity leave ended, and I went back to work.

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Post Pregnancy Hair Loss Prevention And Treatment

Pregnancy can cause a number of physical changes, including a few changes in your emotions. These changes occur from the early weeks of pregnancy to several months after pregnancy. And did you know that there are many women who experience hair loss after delivery. Is this normal? How long does it last? And what to do to deal with? Fortunately, there are plenty of options for post pregnancy hair loss prevention and treatment.

First things first, the phase of after delivery is the reverse cycle phase of during pregnancy. When you are being pregnant, your body has higher levels of pregnancy hormones. The increased estrogen during pregnancy, for example, is a good thing to help keep your hair grows healthy as a result, youre likely to have full luxurious head of hair. But the opposite way may occur after giving a birth.

Causes of hair loss after pregnancy and while breastfeeding

Before jumping to the underlying cause of the problem, its much better to understand the natural cycle of your hair growth.

At any one time, most of your hair is continuously growing while the others go to the phase of resting. The resting hairs will fall out every 2 3 months and will be replaced by new ones. Most women shed about 100 hairs /day on average, which is perfectly normal.

After giving a birth, your pregnancy hormones decrease and you get back to the levels of normal. And this causes several consequences, post pregnancy hair loss is one of them.

Eat right!

How To Disguise Thinning Hair

If youre experiencing postpartum hair loss, there are several ways you can disguise your thinning hair until it grows back to its former glory.

1/ Time for a trim

One of the areas where hair loss is at its most visible is at the front. Many women are concerned about the small, thin and weak hairs that grow along the hair line after pregnancy. But this may be the perfect opportunity to try a new hairstyle bangs perhaps? Layers can also be an excellent ways of creating the illusion of thickness and volume.

2/ Change your parting

Another area women notice their hair thinning after pregnancy is along the parting. To disguise this, simply change where you part your hair! A new parting line can also have the added bonus of making your hair look more voluminous.

If you are looking to improve hair density, Serioxyl Volumising Colour Sprays instantly conceals sparse areas on the scalp, for a natural-looking densifying effect.

3/ Update your colour

Hair colour can be a wonderful weapon when it comes to disguising thinning hair. Ask your hairdresser about colour placement: a few well-placed highlights or a radiant balayage can really help give density and shape to flat, thin hair.

4/ Thickening treatments

Incorporate thickening treatments into your haircare routine.

5/ Play with accessories

6/ Styling tricks

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