It can come as an unpleasant surprise when you notice your hair thinning a few weeks after your baby is born. You may find a surplus of loose hair strands on your bed, your clothes, or even clogged in the shower drain. And this is perfectly normal. This excessive shedding of hair is caused by the sudden decline in hormonal levels after pregnancy.
However, the good news is that this abnormal shedding is temporary, and you do not have to do anything to fix it. For most women, their hair regains its normal fullness by their baby’s first birthday. Many women tend to regain their normal hair growth even earlier.
Below, we will discuss more about hair growth, postpartum hair loss, and what you can do about it.
How Does Hair Grow?
Hair keeps growing and shedding from tiny pores called follicles present in the skin of your scalp. This cycle can be divided into three phases that continue throughout your lifetime.
- Anagen phase: Anagen phase, or the active hair growth phase is when hair actively grows and can last between 2-6 years. Almost 85-90% of your hair is in this phase at any given time.
- Catagen phase: The catagen phase is a short, transitional phase where the hair follicles shrink, detaching the hair strand from its blood supply.
- Telogen phase: The telogen phase is the resting phase of your hair growth cycle that lasts about 2-4 months. After that, the follicle releases the hair and it sheds.
What Causes Postpartum Hair Loss?
During pregnancy, your hair remains in the growing phase (anagen) for a longer period instead of shifting to the resting stage (telogen). After childbirth, the rapid decline in hormonal levels (estrogen and progesterone) triggers your hair to go back to the cycle of growth, resting, and falling out. A significant amount of your hair will enter the resting phase immediately, and several months later, it will start to fall out.
On average, you have 80,000 to 120,000 hair on your scalp and naturally shed up to 100 hair per day. However, during the postpartum period, this hair loss exceeds, and you lose more than 100 hair daily.
How Long Does Postpartum Hair Loss Last?
The increased hair loss after pregnancy is not a sign that you will lose your hair permanently. Postpartum hair loss is only temporary. The shedding should last less than six months, and your hair should regain its fullness by the time your child turns one.
What Can You Do About Postpartum Hair Loss?
You can’t prevent postpartum hair loss. It’s a normal part of the recovery process from pregnancy. And, unfortunately, there is nothing that has been proven to prevent or slow down postpartum hair loss.
But if your hair loss is bothering you, here are a few ways you can try to make your hair look fuller and healthier.
1. Avoid styling your hair
Heat-styling your hair can make it look thinner. Try not to use any fancy hair styling and let your hair air-dry till the thinning tapers out.
Brushing your hair too hard can also cause it to fall out in bigger chunks, so be gentle when brushing, and avoid brushing your hair more than once a day.
2. Eat a healthy diet
Consider including a variety of foods rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in your diet to make sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs.
Foods that are known to improve hair health include dark leafy greens (for iron and vitamin C), sweet potatoes and carrots (for beta carotene), fish (for omega-3s and magnesium), and eggs (for vitamin D).
3. Don’t forget your vitamins
While vitamins can work as a supplement if your diet is not well-balanced, they should not replace a varied and nutritious diet.
While no specific vitamins have been shown to strongly affect hair loss, multivitamins are important to support overall health during and after pregnancy. Prenatal vitamins are often recommended even after your baby is born, especially for breastfeeding mothers.
4. Use volumizing shampoo
Sometimes, conditioning shampoos can weigh your hair down and make it appear thinner and more limp. Using lightweight conditioners and volumizers may add volume to your hair and help it look fuller and healthier.
Can Hair Loss Affect Your Baby?
Postpartum hair loss is a normal part of pregnancy and childbirth, and it won’t affect your baby. But this hair can often get wrapped around your baby’s fingers, toes, or other body parts. This is called a hair tourniquet syndrome and can cause pain and block blood supply into the area. If you notice this, immediately unwind the hair, cut it very carefully, or call your baby’s healthcare provider.
When Should You See Your Healthcare Provider?
In most cases, your postpartum hair loss is completely normal and is not anything to worry about. However, if you continue to lose hair for more than six months or even a year, you may need to consult a healthcare provider to make sure there isn’t an additional cause for your hair loss, like iron deficiency or thyroid condition.
Conclusion
Many new moms experience excessive hair loss after pregnancy. However, it is important to understand that it is temporary and is just a natural part of the hormonal changes occurring during pregnancy and after childbirth. Embracing a healthy lifestyle, and consulting with a healthcare professional, if required, can help you better understand and manage this phase with confidence.
Reference
Gizlenti, S., & Ekmekci, T. R. (2014). The changes in the hair cycle during gestation and the post‐partum period. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 28(7), 878-881.
Trost, L. B., Bergfeld, W. F., & Calogeras, E. (2006). The diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency and its potential relationship to hair loss. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 54(5), 824-844.
Ebrahimzadeh-Ardakani, M., Ansari, K., Pourgholamali, H., & Sadri, Z. (2021). Investigating the prevalence of postpartum hair loss and its associated risk factors: a cross-sectional study. Iranian Journal of Dermatology, 24(4), 295-299.
Author – Ankita Mondal (Content Writer, INFS)
