Postpartum Hair Loss: Why It Happens And How To Deal With It
There are plenty of reasons why we love babies. That intoxicating, sweet, natural scent when you sniff the top of their heads.
Those little itty-bitty toes that are nibble worthy and the adorable tiny booties and socks that go over those toes. The toothless grins that melt your heart, even though theyre probably gas-induced.
That moment when they suddenly grab onto your finger and wont let go. The stinkin cute outfits that make you want to dress them up all the time.
These things make the seemingly endless sleepless nights, poop explosions, and mommy brain worth it. But there are not-so-fun parts of recovering from childbirth. Sore nipples are no joke.
Postpartum depression is real. And when you start shedding hair at an alarming rate, that can be unexpected and scary.
Have A Wholesome Diet
The need of a wholesome diet with enough calories and macronutrients such as proteins is vital for healthy hair growth and prevention of hair fall. It is advisable to avoid crash diets or extreme diets such as liquid diets, fruit diet or keto diet. These may lead to nutritional deficiency, elevating hair loss.
A diet rich in complete proteins such as legumes, soybeans, dark green vegetables or fish and meat should be consumed to meet your bodys daily requirements. Also, have fresh fruits and vegetables, and drink plenty of water.
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Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia
Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia may occur as a result of hair products or styling techniques that damage hair follicles. The use of hair relaxers, blow dryers, curling irons, and hair extensions can cause central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, as can the process of creating a permanent wave, or a perm.
The frequent application of oils, gels, or pomades can also cause this condition, which may be reversible if you stop using these hair products or styling techniques. Our dermatologists may recommend taking medication to help hair grow back.
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Stick To Your Hair Treatment Plans
After selecting the right products for your hair regimen, the next thing you need is patience. Youre not going to notice dramatic results overnight, it takes time for your hair to get used to new products. In some cases, this may be a week. Dry or damaged hair may even take at least a month to reap the benefits.
For those under a hair loss treatment, the growth cycle for new hair to grow from the follicle out of the skin is three months, so it will take even longer than that to see longer hair making a difference in your appearance.
Disclaimer
The information we provide is not intended to mitigate, prevent, treat, cure or diagnose any disease or condition. If you have any concerns about your health, please consult your doctor.
Reference
Hsiang, E. Y., Semenov, Y. R., Aguh, C., & Kwatra, S. G. . Seasonality of hair loss: A time series analysis of Google Trends data 2004 to 2016. 6.
Kunz, M., Seifert, B., & Trüeb, R. M. . Seasonality of Hair Shedding in Healthy Women Complaining of Hair Loss. 6.
Incorporate A Protein Source At Every Meal
Protein after surgery is imperative for recovery, healing, sustained weight loss, and prevention of muscle loss.
Some sources of high-quality protein include eggs, fish, poultry, legumes, or dairy, as long as you can tolerate them well. Your stomach size is smaller following surgery, making it important to eat a solid protein source at every meal throughout the day. Find some of my recommended protein-rich, bariatric-friendly recipes here.
Generally speaking, protein intake should be between 60-100 grams per day, but your surgical team and registered dietitian will offer personalized guidance for your recovery. Its possible that supplemental protein drinks will be recommended to help you meet your needs temporarily.
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Prep For The New Hair Growth
Dont hesitate to take extra measures to invigorate your scalp and follicles. Use hair serum, take supplements, eat foods that support hair health, and massage your scalp daily.
Telogen hair is hair in the final stage of the hair cycle, it will shed regardless of your efforts. Dont let the fallen strands scare you from touching your head.
Traction Alopecia Hair Loss
Got Afro hair? Listen up… If you love a protective style, make sure youre giving your hair a break in between. The most common cause of hair loss in this hair type is traction alopecia. This is the hair loss caused by repeated and prolonged tensile forces applied to the follicles through wearing certain hairstyles such as braids and long dreadlocks, warns Dr Wong. The pattern of hair loss mirrors where the hair is under the most strain and this is typically over the edges/hairline. Just make sure youre going easy on your edges so theyre in it for the long haul.
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Whats Hair Loss In Women
Hair loss in women is just that when a woman experiences unexpected, heavy loss of hair. Generally, humans shed between 50 and 100 single hairs per day. Hair shedding is part of a natural balance some hairs fall out while others grow in. When the balance is interrupted when hair falls out and less hair grows in hair loss happens. Hair loss is different than hair shedding. The medical term for hair loss is alopecia.
Hair grows on almost all of your skin surfaces not the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, lips or eyelids. Light, fine, short hair is called vellus hair. Terminal/androgenic hair is thicker, darker and longer.
Male Pattern Hair Loss
In men, hair loss can begin any time after puberty and progress over the course of years or decades. It starts above the temples and continues around the perimeter and the top of the head, often leaving a ring of hair along the bottom of the scalp. Many men with male pattern hair loss eventually become bald.
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What Are Some Tips For Dealing With Hair Loss In Women
There are some things you can do on your own. You might check with your stylist or try some of these:
- Coloring your hair adds volume to the strands, making your hair seem fuller.
- Massaging your head, like when you are washing your hair, can stimulate blood flow to the scalp and hair follicles.
- Getting your hair cut shorter, and having layers added, can make your hair seem fuller.
- Using the right kind of shampoo can also help. Look for a shampoo that adds volume without using sulfate detergents.
- Using the right kind of product at the right time can also help. There are products that add volume that you add while your hair is still wet. However, using too much product can add weight.
How Severe Can Postpartum Hair Thinning Be
While postpartum hair thinning is commonly a self-limited issue requiring nothing more than time and patience, for some women, this period of increased shedding can be prolonged or even permanent. Why does this vary so much from woman to woman? It may have to do with other hair-related risk factors.
Some experts debate how common postpartum hair thinning truly is. Itâs been suggested that the true underlying issue may be a missed indicator of androgen-sensitive thinning. Cases of hormonal related hair thinning can affect both men and women, despite its common referral as âmale pattern baldness.â In women, it commonly presents as generalized hair thinning over the top of the head. But why would this hair shedding suddenly become more apparent after pregnancy?
With androgen-sensitive hair thinning, an individualâs hair growth cycle is shorter than typical, meaning their hair is quicker to switch from the growth to resting phase in addition to a process called miniaturization, where the hair follicle becomes smaller and smaller. But during pregnancy, some scientists believe that individuals who commonly have a shorter growth phase enjoy a temporary exemption, as their pregnancy hormones allow more hair follicles to stay in the growth phase longer. The downside? Once the hormonal changes of postpartum hit, all of these hairs are shifted out of the growth phase of the hair cycle.
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Emotional Stress And Your Hair
When you’re dealing with a life-altering event, like a divorce or break-up, bankruptcy or other financial problems, the loss of a home, or the death of a loved one, significant emotional stress can also disrupt the normal cycle of hair growth. Significant emotional stressors can cause temporary hair loss, but once stress is brought under control, normal hair growth is usually restored.
When Will Postpartum Hair Loss End And When Should I Be Worried
If you are in good health status meaning your bloodwork is normal, you are eating a nutrient-dense diet and do not have any thyroid issues your postpartum hair loss should subside 6-24 weeks after it began.
Note that I said after it began because the timing of hair loss differs woman to woman. If youre seeing little flyaway baby hairs pop up in the 6-24 weeks after you first began to lose lots of hair, this is a good sign that your hair re-growth phase has begun! Six to 24 weeks is a LONG time, so be patient. Most often, these baby hairs are most visible along your hair line and temples.
If you do not observe any hair re-growth in those 6-24 weeks, you may want to consider getting lab work done to assess if theres an underlying health condition that needs to be addressed.
Anemia: For example, if you had an iron deficiency during pregnancy, are currently deficient, or suspect deficiency, associated anemia has been linked to hair loss in general but is easily identifiable, treatable, and will likely go away with resolution. You may want to request an iron panel to rule out anemia . I also talk about postpartum iron deficiency and anemia here.
If you have ruled out these other issues but are still concerned your hair shedding isnt normal, take a look at your eating habits and stress/mental health.
These are all things that can affect your hormones, and therefore, your hair loss.
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Are There Complications/side Effects Of Treatment
Minoxidil may irritate your scalp and cause dryness, scaling, itching and/or redness. See your dermatologist if this happens.
With Minoxidil you might also see hair growing in other places other than your scalp . Wash your face after you apply Minoxidil and make sure you avoid other areas when you apply it.
Thinning Hair Following Pregnancy
Other hormonal imbalances can also lead to hair loss, especially the wildly fluctuating hormones that occur following pregnancy and childbirth. It takes time after pregnancy for hormone levels to return to normal, so it’s not at all uncommon for post-partum moms to notice thinning hair or even patches of baldness. This often occurs about three months after babys arrival. Don’t worry as the rest of your body recovers, so will your hair follicles. The hair loss is only temporary your hair will grow back.
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If Its Not Real Hair Loss Then What Is It
First, lets understand what actual hair loss is. According to experts, hair loss in women usually first happens along the part line. In addition, hair around the top of the head gets thinner.
Unlike postpartum hair loss, which is triggered by hormonal changes, actual hair loss is triggered by the following:
- Hereditary hair loss
How Long Will It Last
Hair shedding can occur from around 3 months postpartum and should slow down around 6 months postpartum. If you find that it doesnt subside, there may be another underlying issue, and we suggest you speak with your doctor. Do remember that pregnancy, having a newborn, and breastfeeding all take their toll on your body and you must be patient while it resets itself.
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Types Of Alopecia Areata
There are three main types of alopecia areata:
- Patchy alopecia areata. In this type, which is the most common, hair loss happens in one or more coin-sized patches on the scalp or other parts of the body.
- Alopecia totalis. People with this type lose all or nearly all of the hair on their scalp.
- Alopecia universalis. In this type, which is rare, there is a complete or nearly complete loss of hair on the scalp, face, and rest of the body.
When Men Start To Go Bald
In some males, the hair growth process slows right down.
The growth phase of each hair gradually becomes shorter, and the resting phase becomes longer. Eventually the hairs that are growing become so short that they barely emerge from their hair follicle.
The process begins at the sides of the head and at a patch on the crown, and spreads from there. As the hairline recedes backwards, the patch gets larger too.
This is known as male “pattern baldness”, or androgenetic alopecia. It’s the most common type of baldness, affecting about half of all men by the age of 50 and more than 80 per cent by the age of 70.
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Medical And Other Conditions
If hair follicles are uniform in size, or if the hair loss is sudden, it is likely to be caused by something other than heredity, like a medical condition, Rogers says.
There are a wide range of conditions that can bring on hair loss, with some of the most common being pregnancy, thyroid disorders, and anemia. Others include autoimmune diseases, polycystic ovary syndrome , and skin conditions such as psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis, Rogers says.
Though there has been a link between menopause and hair loss, Roberts says she doesnât think there is a direct correlation. It could be that menopause and hair loss just occur at the same age.
Other reasons for hair loss include extreme stress physical trauma like surgery or intense illness dramatic weight loss over a short period of time and taking too much Vitamin A, Roberts says. And hair loss can occur a couple of weeks to six months after any of these experiences.
âSomeone can have surgery and be just fine and then two weeks later their hair starts falling out,â Roberts says. âIt can be very scary when it starts falling out in big clumps.â
Youre Using Hot Hair Styling Tools
As I mentioned earlier, your hair structure has changed, and it needs extra care. This means that if youre already experiencing hair loss, its time to drop all hot styling tools because they cause even further hair breakage. These tools include your blow dryer, straightener and curling wand.
Too much heat makes your hair brittle and dry, leading to breakage. It also affects the hair shaft and, in worst scenarios, burns your hair off.
If you really have to use styling objects, invest in tools with damage control technology to prevent breakage.
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What Are The Cycles Of Hair Growth
Hair goes through three cycles:
- The anagen phase can last from two years to eight years. This phase generally refers to about 85% to 90% of the hair on your head.
- The catagen phase is the time that hair follicles shrink and takes about two to three weeks.
- The telogen phase takes about two to four months. At the end of this phase, the hair falls out.
Your shorter hairs like eyelashes, arm and leg hair and eyebrows have a short anagen phase about one month. Your scalp hair can last up to six years or even longer.
Treating Hair Loss After Stopping Birth Control
Noticing and dealing with hair loss after stopping birth control can be difficult, but there are so many simple things, small lifestyle tweaks that you can do to minimize hair loss. Here are some ways that you can address hair loss after stopping birth control:
- Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet: Consuming foods with nutrients like antioxidants will strengthen the health of your hair follicles and help prevent hair loss after stopping birth control. Foods with plenty of antioxidants include spinach, strawberries, broccoli, garlic, and artichokes. Learn more about dietary supplements and nutraceuticals here.
- Avoiding heat and other chemical treatments on your hair: The NIH linked heat and chemical treatments such as dying and perming to increased hair loss. Consider avoiding these procedures to help prevent hair loss after stopping birth control, particularly during a time when the body is undergoing hormonal changes.
- Exercising regularly: Telogen effluvium, a hair loss phenomenon we mentioned earlier, is caused by stress, and regular exercise has been proven to reducestress. The National Health Service recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week.
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Overview Of Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. Hair follicles are the structures in skin that form hair. While hair can be lost from any part of the body, alopecia areata usually affects the head and face. Hair typically falls out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter, but in some cases, hair loss is more extensive. Most people with the disease are healthy and have no other symptoms.
The course of alopecia areata varies from person to person. Some have bouts of hair loss throughout their lives, while others only have one episode. Recovery is unpredictable too, with hair regrowing fully in some people but not others.
There is no cure for alopecia areata, but there are treatments that help hair grow back more quickly. There are also resources to help people cope with hair loss.