What the heck! My hair is falling out!
Postpartum Hair Loss! Who knew it was actually a thing.
Postpartum Hair loss? Is your hair falling out a few months after the birth of your baby? Did you know that this is a totally normal? Not much fun. Looks a little funny. But it is all normal. And, you can blame those darn hormones again.
Postpartum Hormones
It’s been a few months since the birth of your baby. Your bleeding has stopped. Your milk production seems to have evened out. You start to think that “maybe, just maybe, things are beginning to normalize”. Then, Boom. Your hair starts falling out. In clumps. In chunks. What the heck?!
Many postpartum moms report that their hair begins to fall out around the 3-to-4 months mark. Actually, it PEAKS at the 4 month mark. Before that you just didn't quite notice the chunks and clumps coming out like they do around 4 months. I really want to say, “Don't Panic, Momma”, but you know what, you’re gonna panic anyway. So, let me tell you why this is normal and welcome you to the very large Postpartum-Hair-Loss-Club! The good news is that it doesn't last forever and your hair will likely be back to normal by baby's first birthday. The bad news is that you may be expecting your next baby by the time your baby feathers have filled in around your temples and then it begins all over again!
But why does this happen?
In our normal non-pregnant lives, we shed about 100 hairs a day. But, during pregnancy, estrogen prolongs the growing phase of your hair follicle and shortens the hair follicle resting phase. Which means, you aren’t losing those 100 hairs each day…That's why it seems like your hair is thicker and fuller during pregnancy. After birth, the estrogen levels drop drastically and more hair follicles enter a resting phase and, all of a sudden, your hair is falling out everywhere!
And when it grows back in… It’s like a bunch of little baby hair feathers!! Did you experience the same thing?
Postpartum hair regrowth. Oh! The baby feathers!
So what can you do?
Well… Not much, really. Take comfort that you are not alone in this and if you can add this to the crazy stuff that happened to you during motherhood, that’s probably a good approach. Here are some tips from the American Academy of Dermatology Association:
Use a volumizing shampoo that might make your hair look fuller.
Avoid ‘‘conditioning shampoo” that weighs down the hair.
Use conditioner for “Fine Hair” and only on the ends of your hair
Avoid teasing or pulling on your hair during this time.
Try a new hairstyle that will make your hair look fuller.
Avoid over processing your hair
Stay away from curling irons and over drying your hair
Keep taking your prenatal vitamins
Embrace the baby feathers that come in as the hair grows!
Did you experience this?
What tips do you have to add to this? Put them in the comments below so that I can add them to the blog!