More Postpartum Fun: Hair Loss & 5 Tips for Dealing with it

​Pregnancy can work wonders for your skin, hair and nails. At least for me it did, especially my HAIR. It was full of volume, shine and had amazing texture. I’ll never forget my hairdresser telling me how luscious it was. Then, she told me something that I thought was completely insane.
 
“You know your hair is going to fall out post pregnancy, right?”
 
My jaw dropped.  
 
“Think about it,” she said. “Has there been any hair in the shower drain or in your hair brush lately?”
 
“No,” I thought.
 
And she was right. Not one strand of hair fell out when I was pregnant then boom, three months post pregnancy, and my hair was falling out like crazy.
 
An average woman sheds about 100 hairs a day but not all at once so you don’t notice them. During pregnancy, increased levels of estrogen prevent fewer falling out each day, so you have thicker, more luxuriant tresses. However, after you give birth, your estrogen levels take a tumble and a lot more hair follicles will shed.
 
“It’s perfectly normal to start shedding more hair than usual in the first few months after giving birth. The good news is you will not go bald. Your hair needs to shed since it didn’t while you were pregnant. This unusual shedding will taper off and your hair will be back to its pre-pregnancy thickness about six to 12 months after you give birth,” says Norma Romero of Vivo Salon in Island Park, NY.  
 
Many new moms experience this. “I've had a lot of loose hair coming out regularly and like crazy in the shower, said Megan Robbins from Lakeland, FL. “I'm 4 months postpartum and I find hair in my little one’s hands all the time too, getting wrapped around her fingers.”
 
“I clean my brush three times a day, plus the shower wall, and probably five handfuls out of my hair that are just hanging loose, not to mention the hair all over my shirt, down my pants and on my pillow. I don't see how I'm not bald,” said Nola Branch from Little River, SC.
 
“This happens with so many of my clients,” says Romero. “Especially women in there 30’s because their bodies change a lot more than a women in her 20’s during pregnancy. Women in there 30’s need a little more TLC.”
 
Romero shared 5 Tips for New Mom’s Experiencing Hair Loss:

1. Take a collagen supplement. Collagen is a major component in hair growth, because it fights off free radicals that can affect your hair’s texture, growth and thickness. Restoring collagen in the hair shaft can improve hair growth. Collagen capsules strengthen hair and increase the diameter of individual hairs, giving your hair an overall fuller appearance.
2. Go for a nice trim to shape up your hair or even just a blow out to make you feel good, suggests Romero. Many women feel down after pregnancy and getting your hair done can make you feel good.
3. Brush your hair slowly. No need to yank at the pieces that are falling out, she says. That only makes it worse.
4. Take prenatal vitamins to keep your hair healthy.
5. Use shampoo and conditioner that has protein in it. It helps make the cuticles stronger.

 
A personal note to new moms with long hair: Strands of hair can end up tightly wrapped around your baby's tiny appendages, including his fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, and penis. This is called a hair tourniquet, and it can be quite painful for your little one so be extra mindful.