Hair Loss After Pregnancy

Here's the good news -- you won't go bald. Some people really get the hair loss thing bad after pregnancy. I did. No way to stop or slow it, but you don't want to slow it anyway, 'cause the sooner those hairs get out of there, the sooner the new hairs will grow back in. If I remember correctly it starts at about 3 months, then it's pretty bad for about 3 months, then it slows and the thickness will start coming back within the first year. It's scary the first time but trust me, it will all come back. It just sucks a little for a while.

J.,

I had the same thing too ... it is normal. On the average, people lose 100 hairs a day. When you are pregnant, you stop losing hair. After giving birth, you have a whole lot of dead hair just waiting to drop off. Just think about the accumulation of 100 hairs a day, and you can understand why you are losing a lot now!
Hope this helps!

My large amounts of hair loss was like Shawna who responded on May 15th. It started around 4 months and ended about 6 weeks later and went to a "normal" amout of hair loss. And now I too have all these little spiky fligh away hairs (my son is 13 months). What happens when we have another child? More hair loss? I guess it's short hair for the next couple of years. You're not alone.

Hi, My hair stylist highly recommends Nioxin. He has had several postpartum women and cancer patients use it. The women who had babies took it for up to eight months postpartum they said that it helped a lot.

I looked up the ingredients on the internet, and it looks like it is natural, mostly vitimans. I was skeptical and didn't try it... but, since you study Holistic Nutrition, maybe you would have a better idea.

Hi,
For me, hair loss was worse around 3-4 months post-partum. It seems like the hair loss has significantly slowed down now that my baby is 5 1/2 months old. So it should not last forever. If it does not improve 6 months post-partum ask your doctor about a thyroid test (like someone else suggested). Other symptoms of low thyroid are fatigue and weight gain.

Hi J.,
I feel for you! I have always had thick hair and started losing tons after my 2nd child and was sure I would be bald soon. My Dr. put me on birth control pills again for a year to see if that would balance out my hormones. It worked! My hair was back to normal thickness within a couple of months. Good luck!

I know it can be scary to see half of your hair on the bathroom floor. It lasts a few months, but don't worry. It will grow back. You'll be taming cowlicks for quite some time after.
L.
Mother of Diego, 2

Dear J.,
Congratulations on your baby!
Honey, I went through hair loss with both of my kids and it's most likely hormonal. I have extremely thin hair to begin with although it was long and losing it terrified me. I'm pretty sure you won't go bald! I think some women just go through a natural "shedding". I did. But my hair went back to normal.
I would say be sure you are getting enough nutrition and vitamins, but you certainly seem to have those bases covered! It happened to me after delivering my daughter with a fairly uneventful pregnancy, although I had to quit work early due to trying to go into premature labor. Then, after my son, and I wasn't surprised as I was in the hospital on all types of meds for most of that pregnancy.
Even being under too much stress can make your hair fall out. So, relax, be good to yourself and the main thing is to be very gentle with your hair. Use products that are gentle, be gentle when you wash and rinse, be gentle when you comb it out, be gentle with it as far as any heat from a blow dryer, curling or straight iron.
In the meantime, think of it as a re-generating process. If it's not better in a couple of months, talk to your doctor or health professional. But you should be just fine.
(Let's not leave out that you lost a lot of weight, (You go, girl!) got pregnant, gained weight, had a baby, lost weight......). Your body has been through a great many changes. You'll get levelled out.

Take care!

Dear J.:

Hair loss affects many people as a result of heredity, hormonal changes, stress and aging. When you combine two or more of these issues the affects can be traumatic.

I manage a medical spa in Redding, California, and my husband and I started an organic farm a year and a half ago. As an extension of our farm I make a line of natural products for people and pets, and you might have some luck with my hair care products.

Clients, friends and family who have been suffering accelerated hair loss due to pregnancy/post-partum, care-giving and job stress, aging and heredity have had great luck with regrowth using my shampoo, conditioner and detangler spray. Each of these products contains an infusion of vitamins, nutrients and oils designed to improve the condition of hair and stimulate growth. Of course, you won't notice the change overnight, but in the course of three or so months, you should see a flush of new growth. More importantly, you should see the fall-out stop within a week or so (this was the case with my best friend who had been caregiving for her mother -- senile dementia -- for several years just after her mother passed away).

Please take a look at my website: www.mccluckfarms.com or email me for more info.

Best of luck!

V. T

I know that you do lose some hair after pregnancy, but also it could be a combination of the pregnancy and your thyroid. Remember it takes a minimum of 1 year to get your body back to it's normal hormonal levels and that is only if the pregnancy went perfect with no abnormalities/difficulties etc. There are many holistic ways to get your thyroid back on track if that is the problem. Also if you are interested in great nutrition I know of a great product called MonaVie that has helped alot of people I know. You can email me at ____@____.com if you would like some information on it.

Hmmm...I don't know about hair loss. I myself have such thick hair that my hair loss (significant) seems to not diminish my thick hair.

I have four children myself, and am curious as to any weight loss advice you could give me! I am at my heaviest that I've ever been right now!!!

Thanks,
N.

J.,

Please have your doctor check your thyroid levels. Hair loss like you mentioned is a symptom of both hyper and hypo thyroid. It could be temporary with the hormones from pregnancy...many new moms have to use synthroid to level out the hormones until after they have finished breastfeeding and return to "normal" hormone level. However, it could be permanent. Have it checked out because if it is the thyroid you will eventually experience anxiety/depression, weight loss/gain, exhaustion/hyperactivity, etc.

I was diagnosed when I was 20 and have been living with hypothyroidism for 15+ years. :D Feel free to email if you ar diagnosed and want to chat.

Take care!

--C.

PS: Would love to hear how you lost the weight. With the hypothyroid I struggle WAY more with metabolism than others. I have been happy to only have gained 30 lbs with 3 children over the last 13 years. Lost weight and did not gain as much during pregnancy with my 3rd, but now have regained plus some!

Stop worring. IT well stop i promise. I think James about 6 months when it stoped and did not look bald. I think you just don't realize how much hair you gained during your pregnacy. It can really be a lot.
A.

I have baby fine hair too (although mine is straight, so I'm jealous of you! =). For the first time in my life, when I got pregnant I felt like I had this thick, full head of hair... and then the baby came and all of it fell out! (Well, not ALL of it, but it did fall out in big clumps.) I would brush my hair and it would literally fill up my hairbrush. That happened with both babies for me. Now that my youngest child is 3, I have the same amount of hair that I had before I had kids, but it was pretty wild to go from having thin, fine hair, to thick, beautiful hair, and then back again, all in the space of a year - and do it twice! I'm sure it's related to all the hormones, but that doesn't make it any less of a bummer!

I was right there with you...certain I was going bald. It started to slow down around 5 months and by the 6th I felt I was back to normal...however, now I have all these new little hairs sticking up all over my head...I have never used so much hairspray in my life!

Hi J.!

I had the same issue (baby fine and stick straight hair). I figured it was the post-baby thing which it was ... in addition to a thyroid issue. I hadn't had a thyroid problem prior to baby but it went way out of whack postpartum. The only thing that prompted me to go to the DR was a stiff neck and she did some blood work and found out my thyroid rate was at 1/3 of the normal rate.

Now -- I take synthetic thyroid medication daily and everything is fine.

May not be your issue at all but thought I should bring it up ... just in case!

Good Luck!

oh good God, it was worse after my 2nd baby. You can try some herbal oils on the scalp but they stink and are messy(1st baby post pardum). I used my husbands Nioxin shampoo and conditioner. Its for people with thinning hair. Its supposed to tighten the follicles. I think it really just has to run its course though. I too was told that your follicles expand as do your mucus membranes when preggers so you don't shed. Postpardum, all sweeling goes down and those hairs are released, in droves. Now you get to look forward to the awesome baby hairs growing out and looking oh so stylish and overprocessed or something! Good Luck, try Nioxin, beauty stores and salons only I think.

I have fine hair too. I was so scared I would be bald! My hair did get very very thin but I never got bald spots and eventually it did stop. Hang in there!

Our hair has a normal cycle of growth, resting and falling out. During pregnancy your hair doesn't fall out. That part of the cycle stops. Once you deliver the falling out cycle resumes and all the hair that should have fallen out during that 9 months now does. It can seem to be overwhelming amounts. It will eventually stop and you will get back to your normal pre-pregnancy cycle of growth, rest and falling out.

Hi J.,

Good for you on your 'anti' stand.

Hormones, hormones, hormones - I know it's nerve-wracking, but this too shall pass:) You may want to use nutritional supplements to support your adrenals, thyroid, etc. Major lifestyle changes (even those we look forward to) take a toll on our adrenals, and you know how one organ/gland makes a difference in the chain of events.

You also may wish to do something to help balance/relax yourself - massage, reflexology, etc. But I it's usually just a matter of time.

Enjoy your little one,

B. C., CR, CNHC, CCI, BCRS,
Certified Natural Health Consultant
Certified Newborn Massage Instructor

very normal, I have really thick, wavy hair & I thought I would go bald too! You don't lose hair during pregnancy so after delivery the hormones change & the hair sheds. All the hair that didn't shed during the pregnancy starts falling out & it is overwhelming! It does goes back to normal after a few weeks. My twins are almost a year old, still nursing & in the last week I've noticed that I'm losing a lot again. It's either the Spring/Summer shed or another change in hormones as we begin the weaning process.

I know it totally sucks. Its part of the metabolic processes associated with pregnancy and there is nothing you can to do stop it. However if you’re not eating well that can make it worse (hair loss is common with people with eating disorders and lets face it, its easy to forget to take care of yourself when you’re focused on taking care of others.) So make sure you’re eating and taking your vitamins. Other than that I just tried to brush my hair a lot to get out all the loose hair in a controlled fashion rather than leaving it all over the house and then having to take apart the vacuum to clean the beater brush (my hair is long this is an ongoing issue for me.)