Hair Loss - Sacramento, CA

With both my pregnancies, I had hair loss for 2-3 months. It was very bad in the shower, so I had to try and collect it. We even had to snake the drain from all the hair. My hairdresser noticed all the new hair growth this last haircut since it's all about an inch long (but all over my head, so I don't really notice it).

Hi K.,

I remembered worrying so much when my heir jest kept falling, but it stopped falling right about when my son reached 6-month-old. Good luck!

My hair started to fall out when my daughter was 2/3mo old. And they started to grow back after I stopped nursing. I nursed for 6 months. I have a lot of newly grown short hair now. Good luck...

hi kim- my hair is hella thinning a lot too. it's been so bad that i had to chop off my hair b/c there's no volume anymore. the hair loss is concentrated on the top and it's getting difficult to cover it up. i finally saw a dr and she said the hair loss is attributable to my hormones still being imbalanced and breastfeeding. i'm still breastfeeding my daugther at 18 months. with my son i didn't have probs growing hair back. said once i stop the hair will eventually grow back. she recommended i take men's rogaine (5% minoxidil with foam)if i want to stimulate the hair growth and do for 4 months to see results. studies show that men's work better than women's but she said i should expec to grow hair elsewhere! yuk. she also said it's ok for breastfeeding moms since it's a topical solution. i haven't bought it yet only b/c i'm afraid to be growing hair everywhere! anyone out there try men's rogaine and did it work?

K. - It will probably be a couple of months before it gets back to normal. The worst part is actually waiting for the hair to grow back. With both of my children, I lost a lot of hair after the births and it was concentrated on the upper front sides (like the widow's peak). So, my hair actually got quite thin and I had to adjust my hair cut to account for it. It took forever to grow back and I had to continually readjust the style/cut because of the super fine and super short new hair growth. My daughter is now 3 years old and I'm still growing back some of my hair - but I also think I went through a second round of hair loss after she was born due to excessive stress (things at work and dealing with raising two young ones, one of whom is very head strong - like me).

It will stop and it will get better. Just be sure you have a good hair dresser who can help you work through the difficult and awkward times!

Best,

N.

mine started falling out when my daughter was 3 mo. The bulk of it was over by the time she was 6 mo.

Hi K.. I have very thin, fine hair so this postpartum hair loss issue was VERY scary for me! After a lot of reading, I found that each woman may be affected differently but on average hair loss is most apparent between 3-6 months. They say that by 1 year, you should be back to normal. The simple way to explain why this happens is because of the 2 stages hair goes through; growing and dying. Each hair will grow and then die and fall out during your normal hair cycle and then be replaced by a new hair. We don't typically notice the small amount of hairs falling out, but we may notice more loss during high stress, some drugs, cancer, etc. During pregnancy, those lovely baby hormones may make MORE of your hair stay in the growing stage with less falling out. That is where some of us see the full luscious, shiny pregnancy hair. After the baby is born, the hormone levels fall and all that hair that was growing begins to die and fall out. Some women notice more than others.

The most common traits you'll see among the hair of new moms is the thinning at the temples and shortly after, the little stand up hairs at the part and forehead (the new growth coming in). Some women will talk with their stylist about a new cut, some prefer shorter, to disguise the loss or make it less tramatic. Some will opt for hair extensions or different colors or highlight.

Some women notice permanent dramatic changes in texture and amount after having kids. But yes, the hair loss will stop. So take a deep breath, we've all been there, and your little baby. :)

It does take a little while after you stop nursing (I would say up to a month). Good Luck!

It started right away & stopped about 6mo. (thank God)!!

I don't know if there's a typical timeline, but mine took about three months to return to its normal shedding cycle once it started falling out. To deal with it, I would brush my hair before showering so it wouldn't clog the drain as much, vacuum the carpet frequently, and check my baby's toes often (there were at least three occasions when he had my hair wrapped tightly around his toes!).

Hope that helps.

I'm having the same issue and still breastfeeding. My baby is almost 5-month old. This didn't start until 2 or 3 weeks ago. My hair stylist told me that this will stop when it's around 7-8 months or later. According to her, it's totally normal and nothing to be worried about.

Usually the worst of it happens within 3months from when it begins falling out, and 6 months after it stops falling out you should start feeling some thickness again.

My hair did not start falling out until my daughter was 2-3 months old. The shedding continued for approximately 6 months and then slowed down gradually. What worsened the situation was the length of my hair. I found sporting a shorter cut temporarily really helped.

Hi K.,

Yes! Isn't it annoying?! Luckily we get to have that beautiful, think, shiny mane for a while, huh? If I remember correctly, mine continued to shed for several months. I hated it! And I got really thin around my hair line. Nice! However, rest assured that it will grow back - eventually.

K.,

My hair started falling out around 3 months postpartum with my daughter. It seemed like I was going bald!!! I was very concerned about it, but it really didn't last too long in retrospect. I think around 6 months postpartum, my hair seemed back to normal. So maybe it falls out agressively for a month or so, then starts to grow back?

Just know that it WILL grow back. I am glad that by the time my hair starts to fall out with this one (I'm due in about 6 weeks) it'll be fall hat season!

hang in there!

M.

You don't say how old your son is, but my hair starting falling out all over + it was concentrated in the front, and I felt like I was balding like a man. My son was 3 months when it started, and that's when I stopped nursing. It lasted 3+ months, but I still feel like my hair just isn't the same in front. I've started taking prescribed prenatal vitamins (we're TTC#2) and I've noticed how much thicker my hair finally is. And use volumizing shampoo, for sure! the stuff at Bath & Body Works (on sale) is amazing!

Mine fell out for a few months postpartum but a year later is back to its normal thickness and I am still nursing my baby. Please don't consider stopping nursing because of this, the two aren't necessarily connected and it is BY FAR the best food for your baby!

Hi K.,

I am a hair stylist and through my experience as a cosmetologist and a wellness consultant after giving birth your baby takes nutrients from your body and you have to replace them. Some cases your hair falls out. It will stop. If you replace your nutrients that are missing your hair will come back.
There is an event on Aug 2 in Sunnyvale the Children's Wellness Expo. There is a panel of doctors coming from around the country to educate parents how to raise Healthy children in an Unhealthy world.
Why I bring this up to you is because I had an eight grade young girl come into my salon and she had sections of her hair that never grew since birth, something was missing that caused this to happen.
I introduced her mother to a doctors panel that address Eastern medicine as well as western that were addressing the environment in our homes and how harmful it is to our health. She did some research and decided to turned her home into a wellness home. Her daughters hair has grown 3 inches in 3 months and that was exciting to see the change. Plus she feels better. If we address our challenges as children we do not grow up with them.

If this is something that interests you feel free to email me and I will send you the flier and add you to the guest list.

Wish you well.

N. Marie
____@____.com

Hi there, it was about 1 month straight of handfulls in the shower and in the sink after shower. It happened weeks after stopping nursing my boys at 1 year. It happened both times around like clockwork. Mine receeded at my temples and all over loss. I've heard you don't shed while preggers so one the hormones shift back, all that you didn't shed comes out. It'l start coming back in with baby hair in a couple months(for me) and I STILL deal with all this baby hair. You can actually see how long ago I had my first hairloss and new growth, my second round and regrowth. Its almost like natural layers!;) You can use scalp stiulators.