Look Young Again!

Why Do Women Lose Hair After Pregnancy?

For most women a normal hair cycle shows about 90% of her hair growing and about 10% of her hair resting at any given time. The resting hair falls out every two to three months and makes room for new hair. This is a normal cycle.

Gorgeous hair is considered to be one of the best side effects of pregnancy. When a woman gets pregnant, her hair usually becomes thicker, shinier and healthier overall. Many women receive compliments on how beautiful their hair is during pregnancy. This is the result of hormonal changes. During pregnancy, the hormones increase. This keeps resting hairs from falling out until after delivery.

After delivery, when hormone levels in the mother’s body return to normal, she may experience a lot of hair falling out. This is a common experience called Telogen effluvium.
Approximately half of all pregnant women experience this after the delivery of their baby.

The hair that was delayed from falling out in the normal shedding cycle begins to fall out all at once. The amount of hair loss is not often excessive and not usually noticed as bald patches or thin spots. Nonetheless it can be disturbing for to observe a lot more hair on the brush or in the shower drain. This condition is almost always temporary because it is directly related to the normal drop in hormones that occurs after a woman has a baby. This type of hair loss should not be considered to be a sign of a more serious problem.

A miscarriage or abortion can cause this type of hair loss too. Hair loss is one result of stress and pregnancy causes stress on a woman's body.  When a woman is worried about hair loss, particularly after pregnancy, it is wise to confer with her doctor to be certain her hormone levels have returned to normal when her pregnancy is completed.

Fortunately, the hairs that fell out are replaced anywhere from six to twelve months after the birth of the baby. This condition is normal and cannot really be prevented but it can be alleviated in a number of ways to make is less dramatic. These steps can decrease the amount of time it takes for the lost hair to be restored and keep her hair healthy and attractive.

Some of these steps can actually reduce how much hair falls out.  To maintain her overall health it is important to:

• Eat a diet with lots of fruits and vegetables rich with vitamins, antioxidants and flavenoids
• Use shampoos and conditioners that contain biotin and silica
• Not use a fine tooth comb on wet hair when styling her hair
• Use a cooler setting when using a blow dryer.
• Get enough sleep and rest.
• Take vitamins containing B, C, E and zinc. 

Hair loss after pregnancy is a natural phenomenon yet maintaining healthy hair can minimize the effects for many women.