Having a baby is, of course, a joyous thing—but it’s not without some potential side effects. Hair loss is one that is especially frustrating. Here at HT&RC, we hear from many women who had a baby months or even years ago, and experienced thinning hair afterward. Often, these women wait, assuming the hair will grow back—but it doesn’t, perhaps because of stressful life events that further impact their natural hair growth cycles.
Expectations for Pregnancy and Hair Loss
Here, in brief, is what we say to women who experience hair loss following pregnancy: It’s natural. Give yourself some time to recover, and often you’ll find that the shedding and the hair loss do subside.
If you give yourself that recovery time and are still dealing with hair loss, though—and if it’s something that bothers you—then we recommend seeking treatment. It is by no means a must, especially not if your hair loss levels are acceptable to you—but if you find yourself distraught over the hair you’re losing, treatments from HT&RC can certainly be effective.
How Pregnancy Impacts Hair Loss
Why is hair loss following pregnancy so common? To understand that, you first need to understand what happens to the hair during pregnancy.
Many women will tell you that, during pregnancy, their hair became thicker and longer than ever before. That’s because your hair follicles normally alternate between resting and growing phases, part of their natural rhythm. The hormones experienced during pregnancy effectively block that resting phase, though—so while you are normally shedding hair each day as part of that natural process, during pregnancy you don’t shed any, which makes your hair seem longer and fuller.
After you give birth, though, your hormones will effectively level out again—and so, two or three months after you have your baby, it’s not at all unusual to experience shedding. This shedding might alarm you, but again, it’s normal—part of your hair growth cycle reverting to normal.
After the shedding tapers off, it usually takes about six months for your hair start to grow back just like it did pre-pregnancy. If you don’t find this to be the case, we do encourage you to seek treatment—and, assuming you aren’t nursing your baby, there is really much that can be done.
Treatment for Post-Pregnancy Hair Loss
Some of the treatments we can provide you with here at HT&RC are basically just lifestyle changes, and might include some nutritional supplements or vitamins. In more extreme cases, we might recommend a laser cap, or even a hair transplant—all of which can replace the hair you’ve lost and help curb further shedding.
The best way to start treatment is to come see us for a one-on-one consultation. We recommend doing this sooner rather than later, too; if you’ve experienced shedding for more than six months and it’s bothering you, that means it’s time for you to schedule your consultation. Contact HT&RC today to learn more.
