Hair Loss After Baby - Albertville,MN

I was loosing sooooo much hair it was hard to believe i wouldn't be bald in a month, it stopped at about 5 months. My baby is 6 months and I haven't lost a hair, and I have a lot of new baby hairs.

Hang in there - nothing I did helped.... just wait for it to stop.

Are you still taking prenatal vitamins? I had the same problem after my daughter and the advice I got was, to stay on the prenatal vitamins for a year after giving birth. It helped quite a bit! I would also avoid blow-drying and flat ironing your hair whenever possible. I know sometimes that can be hard...I have very thick curly hair and it takes two hours to dry or more! Gosh the things we go through having babies, you would think it should end at the delivery!

I don't have any advise, I am just the mother of a 3 month of waiting for mine to fall out!! I have naturally thin hair and it is so think right now -- I need a color and cut, but hate to pick a style that works with my hair today since I know it will change in a few weeks!!! Argh!!!

Hang in there!

Have you called your OB/GYN just to make sure there isn't a hormonal imbalance following the birth of your 3rd child that is exacerbating the shedding?

In my case, I really don't recall - when my daughter was 10 weeks old, I was diagnosed with cancer. 12 weeks into treatment, it was necessary for me to start wearing a wig publicly (at work, at least). By month 4 of treatment, I had only about 10% of my hair left, at month 4.5, it miraculously starting growing back despite still being on chemo.

I'm 16 months out from chemo, and my hair has started shedding again the past few weeks now that my hormones are stabilizing. I'm having to get used to having to clean dark hair off white counters daily (which I'd honestly forgotten I had to do).

My best advice, if you're concerned it's beyond normal postpartum shedding, it to make a call to your OB/GYN to see what they say.

Good luck!

I feel your pain! I nursed twins and WOW did my hair fall out. I have fine hair, but A LOT of it, so I was literally pulling out handfuls each day. It lasted for a good year (I was nursing the whole time). Hang in there. Make sure to eat healthfully and take your vitamins-- this too shall pass. You seem to have a good regimen for haircare, and that's a plus.

I went to my doc about this... because of nursing, I had a lag in this post pregnancy symptom and my hair didn't fall out until a year after giving birth...so I was convinced I had some issues. The doctor told me that it is very common and lasts from 3 - 6 months for most women....which immediately made me cry. I knew I was going to be bald by then. He said he didn't know of anything that really stopped it, but some tricks to slow it down were to not wear your hair up or pulled back (pony tails pull on the roots) and to avoid combing while wet. A wide tooth comb was suggested instead of a brush. My hair loss lasted about 4 months. I was thinning out all over, but I was never bald. :) My hubby swore I was the only one who noticed.

We normally shed about 200 hairs a day. When you are pregnant, you shed almost no hair. Once the baby arrives, you begin shedding the hairs that should have fallen out over the last 9 months. It's alarming how much can fall out all at once. Keep up with the good nutrition. Brush your hair before you wash it, then try to let it air dry before you style it. Hair is very fragile when wet.

After my twin sister had her first daughter I gave her such a hard time for loosing so much hair and then when it was growing back and sticking up all over the place (teasing her! lol). A year and half later when I had my daughter, I too lost lots of hair when she was about 3 months old. With her 2nd daughter, she lost hair again. And our younger sister lost lots of hair after her daughter as well. My daughter is 18 months old, and I STILL have it growing back.
I agree with Marie, that you should get a great stylist (provided you do not have one already) and use great products. I use the "Sexy Hair" brand Control Maniac Wax to smooth it out (it only takes a tiny, tiny bit) , and then plenty of Hair Spray to keep it down.

The things we moms go through! I too experienced lots of hair loss but as a previous poster indicated, your body holds on to everything during pregnancy. That's why your hair was so nice and thick!! Now, it's shedding almost all at once for all the hairs that were to shed during that timeframe so it really does feel like you're going bald....but you're not. Just really thin for a while.

I know as well as these others smart mamas that you need to continue your vitamins. We never get enough from our diets and it is so important for you to repair your body and keep up with the energy you need to raise your children. Good hair products, not cheap ones, will also help. Botanically based ones without alcohol, etc. will help. I use a great brand that is 100% guaranteed! Plus they have a product that helps stimulate the growth of your hair so it will come in a little faster.

Great advice for not combing while in the shower. Hair is not as strong and if you can limit the blow drying and flat irons to just special occasions (just for now) that would help tremendously! This too shall pass. I just went and got a new cut and actually kept the style for quite a while afterwards....just was much easier when you have 3 kids! Life needs to get simpler!!

Here's to you!

K.
Wellness Consultant

Oh my, I lost a lot of hair after my 2nd daughter was born.. well actually it started around 3 months.. and I was losing chunks.. Nothing I could do to stop it as it's just a normal part of post natal hormone change.. I would say it was pretty bad for about 3 months.. ugh it was horrible BUT what I did and it helped me feel better is get a really good hair cut.. I talked to my hair stylist (go to someone really good and splurge on an expenisive hair cut) get a style that will give you a little more body and there is a powder that is called Xfusion

http://www.amazon.com/Xfusion-Keratin-Fibers-Thickens-Bal...

you sprinkle this on your scalp and it makes your hair look really realistically thick.. My hair stylist suggested it and she had them there at the hair salon have her or him match your color if they have it and then you can buy it there on Amazon.com much cheaper.. I swear to you it was a wonderful thing.. I was so terribly embarrassed as I was very thin (I don't have very thick hair to begin with) and you could see right through and I truly looked bald.. I sprinkled this on my part and you would have never guessed I was thin... My husband uses it now (he's starting to thin) that I don't need it anymore and he loves it. Seriously give it a shot, you will feel a lot better about it.. and don't worry about losing your hair.. it's completely natural and it will get better but it's a rough few months..

Yep, "fall out" is worse the more children you have. Secondly, you notice it more because of your thick hair. My guess would be about 3 months - how long it lasts. And be reassured that you normally 150 hairs each day (according to my stylist), so continued loss will happen. The one thing I noticed is that each time my hair has come back after "fall out" it is thinner than it was before - and there still is a LOT of it!
Lisa - mom to 4 boys