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How To Treat Post Pregnancy Hair Loss

How Your Hormones Change During Pregnancy And Postpartum

How to Treat Hair Loss Problem Post-Pregnancy – Postpartum Hair Loss Natural Treatment – Tips

During pregnancy, your hormones change dramatically.

One of the first to spike is human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG. Thats the hormone your pregnancy test measured and its rising levels indicated that you were pregnant. Pregnancy also causes several other hormone levels to rise, including estrogen, progesterone, oxytocin, and prolactin. Your blood volume also rose during pregnancy, to as much as 50 percent greater volume than normal by your due date.

Immediately after your baby is born, several of your hormone levels drop quickly, including estrogen and progesterone. Those hormones will be almost back to normal levels within 24 hours after birth, although prolactin will stay high as long as youre breast-feeding.

Your blood volume also decreases, but its drop is more gradual. It gets back to normal a few weeks after your baby arrives.

Hair Falls Out For Many Reasons

Many new moms experience excessive hair shedding after pregnancy. Hair shedding usually peaks about four months after giving birth. By their childs first birthday, most women regain their normal hair growth. If your hair does not regain its normal fullness after one year, you may want to see a dermatologist. Something else may be causing your hair to fall out. People lose hair for many reasons, and an accurate diagnosis is essential for effective treatment.

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How To Stop Postpartum Hair Loss Naturally

Postpartum period is one of the busiest and overwhelming phase of a woman’s life. The last thing you need during this period is an added stress of losing hair quickly. It starts slowly, but you may start noticing thicker chunks of hair falling out in the shower, or increased strands of hair on your hairbrush and the bathroom floor. Before you panic, you should know that it is normal during postpartum period.

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Hair Loss During Pregnancy: Telogen Effluvium

Approximately 90% of your hair is growing at any one time, while the other 10% enter a resting phase. Every two to three months the resting hair falls out and allows new hair to grow in its place. Telogen effluvium is the excessive shedding of hair that occurs one to five months following pregnancy. Hair loss during pregnancy is not uncommon, as it affects somewhere between 40 to 50% of women but like most changes during pregnancy, it is temporary.

What Should I Eat For Thick Hair

All The Long

A healthy and nutritious diet during and after pregnancy can be really beneficial for preventing hair loss and maintaining good health. Drink plenty of fluids and eat a balanced diet to replenish all the lost minerals & nutrients from your body. Ensure you include food items from these groups for a healthy diet:

  • Fruits and berries
  • Beans
  • Soya rich food products

Foods rich with antioxidants provide excellent protection to hair follicles. Keeping tonnes of vitamins like A, C, D and E as well as essential proteins like biotin in your diet can help you a lot.

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What Should I Eat To Stop Pregnancy Hair Loss

Hair is made up of proteins therefore ensuring you have a balanced diet will help to encourage regrowth.

We caught up with expert Tina Farey, Editorial Director at national hairdressing group Rush, to get her advice on how to cope with the initial thinness and the best styling tips to disguise it during that inbetween stage.

“Dark leafy greens, berries, protein-rich foods like red meat, fish, tofu and lentils are all reputed for their hair-strengthening properties,” says Tina.

And brunch will take on a whole new meaning when you learn that those perfectly poached eggs are a fantastic source of protein and biotin too, which may promote growth. So get to know your nutrients and eat your way to feeling fabulous!

Now is also a good time to check youre not depleted in any vitamins and minerals, however before taking any sort of supplement, its worth checking with your doctor if you are breastfeeding.

Krastase Spcifique Aminexil Hair Thickening Treatments For Follicle Scalp Internal Growth And Loss Prevention

These daily leave in treatments promote blood flow and blood circulation to help encourage hair growth, and more hair to grow out of the follicle, it also helps to wake up dormant follicles. This product helps promote blood flow so these are fantastic treatments to begin prior to having your baby to help prevent hair falling out at all!

How to use: Use these treatments every time you wash your hair and use the pipette to squirt the treatment on the scalp, massage it in and ensure it is fully absorbed into the scalp!

Who should be using these: People experiencing hair loss from stress, postpartum, and illness.

Also Check: Are Hair Loss Treatments Safe

Best Treatments Of Hair Loss After Pregnancy

As the due date comes near and you are ready to break your water, it implies that you are nearly about to see your infant finally. But at the same time, one thing that can concern you is hair loss after pregnancy, and this is the thing that you might not see forward to loose is your thick, shiny pregnancy locks.

It is not just about their myth or thoughts. Many women think that pregnancy makes their hair dense. However, it is not the anxiety of being pregnant that lets your hair fall out. Here in this article, you will get some detailed information on what to expect during postpartum and what can be done about it:

Ayurvedic View Of Postpartum Hair Loss

PRP (platelet rich plasma) for Hair loss post pregnancy | Dr. Yazdan prp treatment for hair loss

In Ayurveda, the balance of three vital energies in your body, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha determines your hair health. As per Ayurveda, postpartum hair loss is caused when Vata and Pitta doshas increase in the body.

”Your hair undergoes rapid burning at the roots when high Pitta combines with Vata,” says Dr. Zeel.

Ayurveda recommends Vata-Pitta pacifying treatments to women from the beginning of the pregnancy with regards to herbal therapies, diet, and lifestyle, which can prevent excessive postpartum hair loss.

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Is It Normal To Lose Hair After Pregnancy

Losing hair after pregnancy is quite normal, so there is no need to worry. About 85% of our hair grows actively while 15% of it is in resting mode this 15% usually falls out during hair wash or combing during a period called the shedding period, and it makes way for new hair follicles.

The high levels of oestrogen during pregnancy prolong the growing stage of hair. This hormone increases the flow and circulation of blood, thus strengthening the roots. There are very few hairs in resting mode and the overall hair fall is low. As a result of this, women have thicker and stronger hair during pregnancy.

However, things change post-delivery. The oestrogen levels in the body fall and the hair follicles go into rest mode and start falling abruptly. A sudden change in hormones, thus, causes hair fall post-delivery, but it is not permanent. After pregnancy, mothers go through a shedding period which usually lasts only for 6 to 8 months. Hence, this drastic change is only temporary.

It is also important to note that the amount of hair fall post-pregnancy will differ from one mother to another. For instance, this sudden increase in hair fall may become more prominent in women with longer hair. You must consult your physician if you think that your hair fall is increasing by the day.

Signs Of Hair Loss After Baby

Women, in general, lose close to 100 strands of hair every day even when they are not pregnant. However, about 4 to 6 months after delivery, you may observe clumps in your hairbrush or clogging in your drain. This is the first and only sign of postpartum hair loss, and the same gradually reduces as your baby gets ready to blow the candle for her first birthday.

In case the hair fall persists, consult your physician for treatment.

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Dealing With Postpartum Hair Loss

While postpartum hair loss is normal, there are medical conditions that can cause hair loss, such as thyroid problems or anemia. If you feel like youre shedding a whole lot with no end in sight, mention it to your doctor to rule out other problems, says Dr. McIntosh.

The only treatment for post-pregnancy hair loss, though, is patience. Theres no magic vitamin or secret supplement that can prevent the shedding, she adds.

If your thinner hair is bugging you, try a new haircut or invest in a volumizing shampoo. And look on the bright side: With a new baby demanding your time and attention, your hair was probably going to end up in a ponytail, anyway.

What Causes Postpartum Hair Loss And When Does It Start

Postpartum Hair Loss Treatment at Home

Hair will most commonly begin to shed about three months postpartum. After birth, hair is usually stable and then the telogen effluvium or intense hair shedding starts around three to four months postpartum, says Dr. Mariwalla. Unfortunately, that often coincides with poor sleep and overall exhaustion from having a new baby in the house.

This combination can make hair loss an emotional event. It can sometimes make new parents feel vulnerable and uneasy.Dr. Mariwalla tells her patients to remain calm during this time. The key thing is reassurance that they will not go bald but it can take almost a year for all of the hair to grow back, says Dr. Mariwalla.

Unfortunately, there are still questions as to why hair loss happens, aside from the hormone fluctuations new parents experience. What we do know is that hair loss is a very real side effect.

Postpartum telogen effluvium remains understudied and is lacking hard data to prove any theory , says Bridgette Hill, founder of Root Cause Scalp Analysis, and a certified trichologist.The theories range from increased levels of progesterone and increased iron intake to nutritional deficiencies.”

Breastfeeding is also a factor for hair loss, since it can be quite taxing on the body.”Breastfeeding can also impact the hormonal and nutritional balances, which can result in hair shedding, Hill notes.

Read Also: What Causes Hair Breakage And Loss

Consider Getting A New Style

One way to get your hair groove back is a style refresh.

According to Tina, hair loss is often most visible at the front, with small, thin, weak strands growing along the hairline, so why not try out a new look by experimenting with a fringe?

“Whether its a blunt fringe or curtain bangs theyre a great way to add volume and texture to your hair, helping it to appear fuller and thicker.” Says Tina.

“Alternatively, try a shorter do as they often make fine hair appear fuller, and are easier to manage when it comes to small hands reaching and grabbing! Short styles dont pull the hair downwards in the same way longer looks might, thus giving it more lift.”

Why Does Your Hair Fall Out After Having A Baby

A dramatic fluctuation occurs in your hormone level during and after your pregnancy. Pregnancy causes a rise in the levels of estrogen, progesterone, oxytocin and prolactin. Also, the volume of your blood rises by 50% more than the normal level, by your due date.

Thus, during pregnancy days, you see a reduction in your usual hair fall rate. After delivery, your estrogen and progesterone levels drop quickly to their normal levels within 24 hours, while your blood volume drops back to normal within a few weeks.

This is when your scalp makes up for the lost period by shedding hair in much larger amounts than it generally does. In fact, the whole volume of your hair loss may not be more than that you would have shed over the last 9 months.

You just feel like you are losing more hair as it is happening all at once. This type of temporary hair fall due to hormonal imbalances is called telogen effluvium .

Read Also: What Deficiency Causes Hair Loss

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The Shift From Pregnancy To Postpartum

Dealing with Post Pregnancy Hair Loss | Best Treatment For Postpartum Hair Loss

When someone is postpartum, their normal hair shedding cycle resumes. This often makes people feel like they are losing more hair than normal, but sometimes this is just because less hair falls out when you are pregnant.

Normal hair sheds 50-100 hairs per day, regularly, says Luis Pacheco, master hair expert, colorist, and founder of wellness-based beauty and lifestyle brand TO112. It’s called the exogen phase, or resting phase, of the hair follicle. This is when it stops growing and rests between growth cycles and sheds the hair shaft to make way for new growth.

Once hormone levels dip after giving birth, the body lets go of the hair, resulting in shedding. Hair loss that occurs in the postpartum period is known as telogen effluvium, notes Dr. Mariwalla. She explains that this type of hair loss has nothing to do with pregnancy itself, but rather, is caused by the stress of delivering a baby.

This type of hair loss occurs after any kind of stressor including illnesses, general anesthesia, and even a happy occasion like the birth of a child, she adds.

Telogen Effluvium is when a stressful event, like childbirth, forces hair into the “resting state.” This basically means hair will not grow, and a symptom of this condition is hair loss. This is a reversible condition.

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Cluster Of Hair On The Brush

One may notice some hair clusters on the brush when they are combing or brushing their hair. This may be evidence that they are experiencing hair loss that thrived during their pregnancy period. These hair losses do not lead to patches like in other types of hair loss, so you do not need to stress yourself about it.

What Can You Do While You Wait For Your Hair To Return To Its Normal Growth Cycle

Get a good haircut. Some moms choose this time to get a shorter haircut or one that requires less care. Experiment with different hairstyles. A good quality shampoo and conditioner may help. Try different styling products, such as mousses or texturizers that bulk up the appearance of your hair. Avoid using a brush or comb that pulls or stresses the hair.

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Postpartum Hair Loss Is A Dispiriting Reality Heres How I Found Help And Hope

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It started in the shower. I have thick, curly hair and am accustomed to shedding when washing or combing100 strands a day is, apparently, normal. What I was not accustomed to was when, around two months after I gave birth to my son last May, seemingly thousands of hairs began leaving my head every time I shampooed. Soon it was no longer just in the shower: It was when I gently raked my hair back into a ponytail and my hand emerged with a competing ponytail of escaping strands or when my pillowcase appeared to be covered with floating clouds of dark coils or, God forbid, when I actually brushed it and an American Girl dollsworth of hair clogged the bristles. Worse still is that I began noticing patchy spots around my hairline. My scalp was newly visible and I was not pleased to see it. Was the muffin-top of residual baby weight hanging over my C-section scar, and my ballooning, milk-leaking breasts not enough aesthetic trauma to suffer? Apparently not.

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