What can you expect to experience with hair loss after pregnancy?
Many women experience excess hair shedding after pregnancy. This hair shedding is most prevalent at around 4 months post pregnancy.
Why Do Women Experience Hair Loss After Pregnancy?
Hair loss after pregnancy is normal and common. It happens because of the changing hormone levels in our bodies during and after pregnancy. During pregnancy, especially during the third trimester, our bodies increase the amount of estrogen produced. This increased estrogen causes more hair development than pre-pregnancy. After pregnancy, our levels of estrogen decrease, and this causes us to stop producing as many hair follicles.
How Do I Treat the Hair Loss?
There is nothing available to treat postpartum hair loss, but oftentimes there is no need to treat it either. Most women find that their hair returns to its normal state at around one year after delivery. If you are concerned about your appearance during the postpartum hair loss stage there are a few tricks that you can try to help feel your best during this time:
- Try a new hairstyle. Some hairstyles can make your hair appear thicker
- Try a volumizing shampoo to add an appearance of fuller hair
- Try a lightweight conditioner and only use conditioner on the ends of your hair so that your hair is not weighed down
- Avoid tight hairstyles that can pull at your hair
Things to Watch Out for With Postpartum Hair Loss
It’s possible that strands of hair may wrap around parts of your baby’s body causing pain and damage to their circulation. This is called a “hair tourniquet” and is considered rare. Be sure to check on your baby, and, if you notice a hair tourniquet either remove the hair strands or contact your baby’s healthcare provider to remove them.
Additionally, if you’ve noticed that you’re still excessively shedding hair at one year postpartum, you should consider speaking with your healthcare professional as there could be another cause of your hair loss.
References
- “Hair Loss In New Moms”. AAD, American Academy of Dermatology. 5 August 2010.
- “Postpartum Hair Loss”. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic. 13 June 2022.
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