Well well well, I was wondering when another delightful post pregnancy body change would join the party and it appears hair loss is the next guest to arrive!
Yuuuuuck!!
How cruel. It’s not as if I have enough hair to lose anyway, I’m practically bald! I’ve always had very fine, straight blonde hair and have envied anyone with thicker hair than me i.e. everyone! I am all over hair extensions (when I can be bothered these days – think I’ve only worn them once since Isla was born!) and any product that gives me a glimmer of hope of achieving the bouncy volume rocked by the likes of Blake Lively…
When I was pregnant I wouldn’t say my hair got particularly thicker, it just grew faster which was amazing. The problem is I didn’t take advantage and get it cut as much as I should have so I had to get over 2 inches cut off it after pregnancy. Doh!
I must admit I got a bit cocky and totally thought I’d escaped the post pregnancy hair loss when 3 months postpartum came around and I was still holding onto as many hairs on my head as possible. Alas, as of the past few weeks it has been falling out with a vengeance. Clumps come out in my hand, stack up in the plug hole, fill up a whole brush in one go – it’s awful.
I panicked a decided to do a late night google (as you do) to get to the bottom of postpartum hair loss.
Basically, when you’re not pregnant up to 95% of your hair is growing and the other 5-15% is in a resting stage. Once the resting stage is over, the hair falls out. On average we lose 100 hairs a day.
When you are pregnant though, the increased levels of oestrogen prolong your hair’s growing stage and stops it going into the resting stage and falling out. Result – you have thicker, more lustrous hair!
Post birth your oestrogen levels plummet again and more hairs enter the resting stage and fall out. Waah. Cue baldness!
In my case a lot of it appears to be from the front of my hairline. This photo shows the lovely regrowth I’m having at the moment. It looks like I’ve been on the Regaine!!
What comes as a relief is that this increased shedding will start to decrease over time and your hair should be back to normal by the time your baby is one (scary thought!).
As always everyone’s different and you might even be lucky enough not to have to deal with it.
Top tips for dealing with postpartum hair loss…
1. Get a new cut – this will help keep the ends in good condition. Last thing you want is a bunch of new wispy hair growing in whilst the rest if your hair is splitting left, right and centre. Not a good look!
2. Avoid pulling it into tight buns or ponytails – this will put more strain on the roots of your hair which can never be a good thing when your hair is falling out.
3. When hair is wet, avoid brushing it harshly because this will cause additional, unnecessary hair loss. I have a tangle teaser which does the job perfectly!
4. Avoid overusing heat stylers and hair driers as much as possible. Definitely easier said than done! I’ve started trying to naturally dry my hair till it’s about 80% dry then blow drying it. Otherwise it looks ridiculous!
5. Use coconut or other hair oils overnight to add in some extra nourishment. Leaves hair lovely and soft.
6. Take supplements. I know that my diet is lacking in some nutrients (due to being in the go 24/7!) so taking some vitamins to top up levels and suppy hair with all it needs to grow back healthily will always be a old option!
A few things I do anyway, due to being eternally cursed with thin hair, that might help trick people into thinking your hair is still as thick and lovely as it was during pregnancy are:
– Pin your fringe up, creates immediate volume – see photo:
– If your hair is straight, curl it!
– Use dry shampoo and only wash your hair every other day. On the second day there is always much more volume going on.
– You can buy pin on buns or the spongey hair pieces to create bigger buns. Definitely a winner in motherhood with little fingers trying to pull what little hair is left out!
Have you experienced post pregnancy hair loss? What have you done to try and counteract it?
