Hair Loss After Pregnancy

With the arrival of the new royal baby I thought that It was time that we addressed something that women never really talk about: losing hair after pregnancy.

I have been a hairdresser for 15 years now and over the years I have met many clients who have suffered from hair loss after child birth. I have reassured them that it’s a totally normal stage that most women will experience at this time. After giving birth myself, to a beautiful baby boy, I knew that there was a possibility that it would also happen to me. It did.

Little did I know how it would actually feel when I experienced it for myself. I’ve realised that it’s a little scary as the hair starts to fall and my poor husband, who was walking on eggshells due to my emotional state, was continuously cleaning out the vacuum and shower of all my lost hairs. After a few weeks I could tell that my hair was actually thinner on the sides – this wasn’t something I welcomed. Calling on my years of experience, I remembered that the most important thing for me (having learned about this type of hair loss previously) was to ensure that I did not to worry and stress about it; my health, my happiness and my new addition were the most important things. This was normal and my hair would grow back (I also knew that if it hadn’t returned by the time he reached his first birthday, I should seek advice from my GP).

Not every woman will experience postpartum hair loss, but if you do the most important thing is not to freak out!! It’s a very normal and natural process that you cannot control. Most women will start to lose their hair around 3 months after giving birth. This sometimes happens later if you are breastfeeding as your hormone levels remain higher to produce everything that your baby needs. Some woman will only notice that their hair becomes thinner, and some notice no change at all.

Why it happens

While pregnant, your oestrogen hormone increases, keeping more of your hair in the anagen phase (the growing phase of the hair growth cycle) for longer resulting in that longer, thicker and healthier looking hair that you have always wanted. In short, you have more hair than normal during pregnancy.

As your hormone levels begin to drop and return to normal (after giving birth), your hair then returns to the normal phases of the hair growth cycle which unfortunately means that those extra hairs that you have been hanging on to and admiring, begin to fall out.

But why is my hair line thinner than normal if it’s only the extra hairs that are falling out? This is because naturally your hairline is thinner than the rest of your head. During postpartum hair loss, you are losing hair at a similar rate from all over your head. Because your hairline is naturally thinner anyway, you notice this area more than anywhere else. Not only this but normally hair loss is more sporadic so you tend not to notice it as much. Unfortunately, after giving birth you lose them all at a similar time. Some people can even notice big changes in hair loss overnight.

As this begins to happen it’s time to make sure that you use products that will help you with the return of healthy and thicker hair by reminding your follicles to get back to work and do their job.

Thinning hair

Products

As my hair started to fall out I used a few products from the Kerastase range. These are my absolute go to products for women who have recently experienced child birth. I would also recommend to anyone else who feels like their hair is thinning and losing density to use the following products:

Densifique

This product range helps to increase stem cell activity and hydrates your hair. The ingredients in Densifique range are designed to make the hair feel and look fuller, thicker and texturised from root to tip.

Serum Jeunesse

Perfect for hair loss after pregnancy, illness, menopause as well as anyone that feels like their hair isn’t as full and think as it uses to be. What’s good about this product is stem oxide which is found in the Densifique range actually reminds the hair follicles to produce hair. It’s a really quick and simple product to use. Simply spray Serum Jeunesse on to the scalp and gently massage in with you finger tips after every time that you cleanse your hair.

Initialiste

By using Initaliste serum on your scalp it will help to improve the quality of the future hairs that grow. You won’t see results over night but within a week too three months you will start to notice healthier and stronger hair. This is suitable for all hair times and very simple to use, just apply the required amount of pipettes for your hair type and massage into your scalp. Using this product on going will insure that the new hairs that have grown stay strong.

Embrace the change

Once your hair begins to grow back, you many notice a few little changes to the new hair: there maybe be a few extra greys, the texture and the condition of your hair maybe completely different. As my hair has come back, I have noticed that it is actually curlier then it has ever been before. Just embrace the change that is happening. If your hair has a few extra greys now, use this opportunity to add those highlights or change the tone of your hair. Why not try something new? If you feel that you can really notice the hair loss around the front of your hair line, ask your stylist to for advice, maybe they could add a fringe and texture around your face.

Remember that you are always welcome to come to the salon for a consultation and talk to one of the stylists about the different possibilities for your hair. As well as this, they will be able to recommend the correct products for your hair type. Also, by using the Keratase hair and scalp camera, we can assess your scalp and hair condition.

15 months after I started to lose my hair I now have it all back, admittedly it is shorter than the rest of my hair, but is growing stronger than before and now my hair is curlier than it has ever been, I now just embrace my natural hair.