So your hair is falling out after having a baby: DON'T PANIC
Though frustrating, this is annoyingly common and no, you aren’t going to lose it all!
It was after the third or fourth time in a week I had blocked the drain of our shower that I began to worry. The hair my scalp was so readily relinquishing was coming out in fistfuls, and I started to wonder how and if this intense follicular expulsion would ever stop.
When people had mentioned postpartum hair loss to me in the past, it had been presented as something fairly light and innocuous. I hadn’t got the impression that it was that common. Because of this, I didn’t pay too much mind to it during pregnancy and the fourth trimester. Sure, I’d lose some hair, but I’ve got loads of it, so I would be fine.
But when it came to it, I was anything but fine. Four months postpartum, when I was just getting my head round the seismic shift our whole life had undertaken (and only just surviving the sleep regression with strong caffeine and vibes), huge clumps of hair started falling out in my hands. I’m not talking a few strands, I’m talking handfuls.
I freaked out. My hair, once lush and thick, started to appear limp and lifeless. Even worse, every single time this happened and I thought ‘that must be it, there can’t be any more,’ the next time I washed my hair, even more would fall out. I started avoiding hair washing for fear it was somehow contributing to the loss.
The whole thing felt like yet another hit on my confidence, in a period of life where I was struggling to adapt to a ‘new me’. My hair, though wild, had always been something I defined myself by — without it, who was I? I will resist the urge here to make a ‘Samson’ analogy.
Luckily for me, at that time my son and I went to a talking circle for new mums every week that was mostly populated by second timers who reassured me this was completely normal — and showed me their frizzy little fringes where the hair was trying to grow back. But even with this encouragement, I was still panicking, and many women I have spoken to felt the same.
After about a month, my hair stopped falling out, but still now, almost two years postpartum, the curl pattern of my hair has changed and it is fuzzier where the hair is growing back. And though everyone reassured me at the time that I wasn’t ‘losing’ hair but rather, that I was shedding the hair I normally would have dropped during pregnancy (but hadn’t owing to hormones), I am still not convinced that my scalp today is as populous as it once was.
A quick Google search tells me that postpartum hair loss affects around 50% of new mothers, but based on my own anecdotal data, it is far, far more common than that.
So why exactly do we shed hair after having a baby? Is it something we should worry about? And at what point could it be an indication that something isn’t quite right? In order to find out more, I spoke to Kate Holden MIT, a clinical trichologist (that’s a hair and scalp specialist) based in Manchester and Yorkshire.
Hi Kate! What causes postpartum hair loss?
Kate: Postpartum hair loss, also known as postpartum telogen effluvium, is caused by the rapid drop of oestrogen and progesterone after delivery. Postpartum hair loss can also be caused by low iron, nutritional changes and stress.
Sounds logical. When is it likely to happen?
Kate: The shedding usually starts between two to four months after delivery and can last for six months, and sometimes longer.
How much hair is it 'normal' to lose and when should you be worried?
Kate: There is no ‘normal’, everyone is different. If you are worried about your hair at any point, your GP, a trichologist or dermatologist can help. Definitely speak to someone if your hair shedding hasn’t returned to normal a year after delivery.
Is there anything people can do to help minimise the loss?
Kate: Focus on your overall health, wellbeing and nutrition as best as you can.
Will it grow back?
Kate: For most women yes, although some women do report longer lasting hair changes after pregnancy, if this is the case there may be other underlying factors affecting your hair.
Thanks, Kate! Better not mess my regrowth up by, you know, having another baby or anything.
If you are worried about changes to your hair postpartum, please consult your GP. If you happen to be based in Manchester or Yorkshire, Kate’s clinic can help you find out more about what might be going on: www.kateholdenclinic.com.