Postpartum Loss of Hair

By Alison Heyerdahl

During pregnancy, you probably noticed that your hair thickened and became healthier than at any other time in your life, adding to that pregnancy glow.  Now that baby has arrived, your hair is falling out!  It’s not in your imagination, and it’s not the stress of having a newborn that causes this phenomenon.  Read on to find out more.

At a glance:  Postpartum hair loss is a fairly common phenomenon.  It occurs in the first year after giving birth and usually peaks at around the four to six month mark.  Hair loss is generally nothing to fret about, but you may want to take some measures to make your hair appear healthy and full.  Eating a varied diet and taking vitamin-supplements, focusing on self-care activities, skipping the styling, and only shampooing when necessary can help prevent excessive loss of hair. 

What causes postpartum loss of hair?

The average person loses about 100 hairs a day, but it doesn’t all fall out at once.  However, once baby has arrived, and for the first 6 months after birth, you may notice that your hair tends to fall out in clumps, which can be disconcerting.  This phenomenon is known as postpartum alopecia.

During pregnancy, the hormone estrogen increases to the highest levels of your life.  As a result, your hair loss decreases.  This effect is compounded by an increase in blood volume and circulation, which also prevents you from losing hair.  After birth, and with the dramatic shift in your hormones, your hair falls out in large clumps, making up for lost time.   The total amount of hair you lose after birth is not more than you would have lost over the nine months of pregnancy, but it seems this way because it happens in such a short period of time. 

How long does postpartum hair loss last?

Don’t worry, you are not going bald, it is just your hair volume going back to its pre-pregnancy state.    Postpartum hair loss can start any day after birth and can continue for as long as a year. According to research, it commonly peaks around four to six months after birth.  Take comfort in the fact that once your baby hits a year old, your hair will be back to normal. 

Tips for dealing with postpartum hair loss

As mentioned before, postpartum hair loss is a common phenomenon, and if it’s not worrying you, you do not need to treat it.  Furthermore, nothing has been shown to prevent or slow postpartum hair loss.  However, the following treatments can make your hair appear healthier and fuller:

• Eating a healthy and varied diet, and taking your pregnancy vitamins can help.  The stress of taking care of a newborn can put a lot of strain on your body, as can breastfeeding.  Foods that are suggested by some to improve hair health include dark leafy greens (for the iron and vitamin C), sweet potatoes and carrots (for the beta carotene), eggs (for the vitamin D), and fish (for omega-3s and magnesium).  Eating a diet that has plenty of protein also aids the growth of hair.
  

• Take time for self-care activities.  As a mother, you tend to put your own needs and wants on the back burner, focusing primarily on work obligations and those of your family, which is not sustainable.  Take time each day to focus on yourself.  Exercise, meditation, getting enough sleep, and having a bath while listening to your favorite music are good ways to re-energize yourself. 

• Avoid using blow-dryers and curling and flat irons if you can. Put off any chemically based treatments like highlights, perms, and straightening sessions until the shedding stops.

• Only use shampoo as necessary (because this can dry your hair), use a good conditioner and a wide-toothed comb to decrease tangling.  Try and avoid tying your hair up in rubber bands, which can pull your hair out when you loosen it, use scrunchies or soft hair bands instead.  Also, don’t pull your hair into a tight ponytail, as this can also pull your hair out.