What To Do Hair Loss After Pregnancy

How Does Your Body Change In The Weeks After Giving Birth

Many things are happening in your body right after you have a baby. During pregnancy, your body changed a lot. It worked hard to keep your baby safe and healthy. Now that your baby is here, your body is changing again. Some of these changes are physical, like your breasts getting full of milk. Others are emotional, like feeling extra stress.

Many discomforts and body changes after giving birth are normal. But sometimes theyre signs or symptoms of a health problem that needs treatment. Go to all of your postpartum checkups, even if youre feeling fine. These are medical checkups you get after having a baby to make sure youre recovering well from labor and birth. At your checkups, your health care provider can help spot and treat health conditions. Postpartum care is important because new moms are at risk of serious and sometimes life-threatening health complications in the days and weeks after giving birth.

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Treating Hair Loss During Pregnancy

If youre pregnant and experiencing hair loss because of stress or hormones, or if you are in the postpartum phase, there may not be anything special you need to do. In these conditions, time is most often whats needed.

If you do feel there is an underlying condition, a professional can help you navigate the choices to find the best and safest treatment for you. Some treatments for hair loss, such as minoxidil, are not considered safe during pregnancy. On the other hand, medications such as levothyroxine, used to treat hypothyroidism, can be safely taken, as it has been categorized by the FDA as having no proven increase in the frequency of malformations or harmful effects on the fetus. Given the different types of treatments available, speaking with your doctor is the first step in coming up with an actionable and safe plan for treating hair loss while pregnant.

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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What Are The Causes Of Hair Fall

Women usually enjoy good hair health during pregnancy. This is because, normally, 90% of our hair grows at a given point in time while the other 10% is resting. After the resting phase, the hair falls off and is replaced by new strands of hair. During pregnancy, the majority of the hair is in the resting phase, resulting in thicker hair. The pregnancy hair fall, to an extent, is much lesser compared to the aftermath of postpartum. After pregnancy, the Estrogen levels come down to normal, and the hair cycle comes out of the resting phase, leading to hair fall. This is known as Telogen Effluvium and usually persists for three to six months after delivery. However, certain external factors such as lack of sleep and stress of handling a newborn baby can make it worse.

But, dont worry, ladies! With some good care and persistent efforts, we are sure youll get those beautiful locks back in no time.

Hair Care And Styling Tips

When youre experiencing significant shedding its important to be extra gentle with your hair. Scott Ade, senior hairstylist at Larry King Hair, says to avoid all chemical services, the use of high heat when styling, and even brushing as much as possible. When you do brush your hair, always start at the ends and work your way back towards the root, he suggests. If you start at the root and comb down towards the end you will compound tangles and theyll be even harder to get out. This can result in further, unnecessary shedding. I highly recommend using a Tangle Teezer, he says.

In addition to this effective detangling brush, to prevent knots Ade says to try the Larry King Liquid Hairbrush, a brilliant, lightweight detangling conditioner, followed by Redken One Unitedspritzed through your mid-lengths when the hair is damp if you have mid-to-long length hair. Go easy on sticky or heavy styling products such as mousse, wax and gel, he adds.

If the loss leaves your hair looking significantly thinner or patchy, a root concealer is a good temporary solution to replace some lost density. Try a product originally designed for those experiencing hair loss like Manes Hair Thickening Spray, applied along the hair line and parting, while your hair regrows.

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Give Your Hair Some Well

Most new moms toss their hair into a quick bun to keep it out of their way. And indeed, it is necessary so that you can do what you need to do to care for your little one. But in those rare moments you have to wash your hair, make sure you are using the best shampoo products that also help with hair re-growth. Wash and condition your hair with the REVITA shampoo and conditioner to stimulate new growth while protecting and nourishing healthy strands.

Can Breastfeeding Cause Hair Loss

Breastfeeding has not been shown to cause women to lose hair at excessive rates. There is no reason to stop breastfeeding when postpartum hair loss occurs.

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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.

Does Pregnancy Cause Abnormal Hair Loss

Hair loss that is connected to pregnancy usually occurs after delivery. During pregnancy, an increased number of hairs go into the resting phase, which is part of the normal hair loss cycle.This condition is not serious enough to cause bald spots or permanent hair loss, and it should begin to diminish within 3-4 months after delivery. If you feel that you are experiencing unusual hair loss while you are pregnant, this may be due to a vitamin or mineral deficiency.

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Hair Loss After Pregnancy

Hair loss can sometimes continue even after pregnancy. For some women it only begins after they have given birth. The hair loss after pregnancy usually starts three to six months after giving birth. As with hair loss during pregnancy, luckily this is only temporary. Hair growth usually recovers by itself. If this does not happen, we advise you to make an appointment with your doctor.

When To Worry About Postpartum Hair Loss

If your hair loss continues past the one-year mark and you have other symptoms, its time to consider there may be an underlying cause.

You might be suffering from postpartum thyroiditis, which means inflammation of the thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. This condition happens to 5 to 10 percent of postpartum women.

This thyroiditis will sometimes start with high levels of thyroid hormone in the blood before morphing into levels that are too low. Not every woman will experience both types though.

If you have high levels of thyroid hormone, which will usually happen one to four months after you have your baby, you may have:

• Feeling overly tired.
• Decreased ability to handle exercise.

The reason so many moms dont notice their thyroid issue is because many of the symptoms are common for normal new moms. They may think their fatigue is caused by the midnight feedings, and anxiety and irritability can happen to new moms too.

If it is determined youre suffering from thyroiditis, your doctor may decide to put you on medication.

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When Does Postpartum Hair Loss Start And Stop

During pregnancy, you likely experienced a full head of hair. This is due to how pregnancy hormones affect the hair cycle along with your nutritional state from prenatal vitamins. However, once you are no longer pregnant changes occur.

It is estimated that at least 50% of women will experience some degree of postpartum hair loss. The medical term for this hair loss is telogen effluvium. The hair loss typically begins occurring around 10-16 weeks postpartum.

How Much Postpartum Shedding Is Normal

If youre finding a surplus of strands on your pillow or clogging the shower drain, youre not imagining things. Salinger explains that when you havent just had a baby, losing about 80 hairs a day is normal, but that new moms shed about 400 hairs a day. By six months postpartum, the hair loss should slow to pre-pregnancy amounts.

If you feel the shedding is not slowing down, chances are good that there are other health issues at play. Pregnancy can change your level of ferritin and can put your thyroid out of whack, so make sure to tell your doctor that youve noticed a lot of hair loss, and ask to have blood tests done to check both.

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What Causes Hair Loss After Giving Birth

All hair on our bodies grows in a cycle that can last anywhere from two to seven years. The active or growing phase of a strand of hair is called anagen and determines the length of our hair. After a period of time, the hair follicle enters a transition phase before entering its resting phase . Shedding occurs and the process starts all over again.

Changes related to your hormone levels before, during and after pregnancy can affect hair growth. Its completely normal to experience hormonal imbalance after giving birth, and one of the symptoms of hormonal imbalance is postpartum hair loss.

The medical term for postpartum hair loss is telogen effluvium. The condition, which is also referred to as postpartum alopecia, is relatively common, affecting between 40-50% of women in the months following childbirth.

Postpartum hair loss occurs after childbirth because of the sudden change of hormones in your body, particularly the change between progesterone and estrogen.

Targeting The Root Causes Of Your Hair Loss

Forget about one-size-fits-all serums and medications. Your customized treatment kit will be designed to target the specific root causes of your hair loss, resulting in healthier, thicker hair.

• Stress
• Menopause

Forget about one-size-fits-all serums and medications. Your customized treatment kit will be designed to target the specific root causes of your hair loss, resulting in regrowth of healthier, thicker hair.

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Taking Care Of Yourself

The postpartum period is one of the best times while also being one of the toughest times.

During the postpartum period, it is important to take good care of yourself. Taking care of yourself will help to reduce your postpartum hair loss.

Good nutrition is important, as you read about in this post. But you need to take care of your whole self. It can be tough but you should also pay attention to what you are putting on your body.

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Dont Panic Postpartum Hair Loss Is Normal

It can be an alarming discovery. Youre going about your regular hair-care routine savoring those moments alone where you can tend to your own self-care. When all of a sudden you look down at your brush and find large clumps of your hair tangled in the bristles!

Dont panicpostpartum hair loss is normal. Learn more about what causes postpartum hair loss, how long it lasts, and some postpartum hair loss remedies to help treat it.

Signs & Symptoms Of Postpartum Hair Loss

Not all women will experience hair shedding after pregnancy. Additionally, you may experience hair loss after one pregnancy and have no trouble after another. Women with hair loss after childbirth encounter large clumps of hair falling out while washing or brushing hair. You may also notice an accumulation of hair strands on your pillow. One of the surest signs of postpartum hair loss is hair thinning around the temples. If youre unsure if your hair loss is from childbirth or other reasons, consult with your doctor about your symptoms and treatment options.

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