One of the few beauty bonuses of pregnancy is thick hair. Is it true that after birth, all this hair will fall out? Let’s take a look.
Why did my hair get thicker during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, huge amounts of female hormones are produced: eight times the amount of estrogen and nine times the amount of progesterone [1]. They have a pleasant side effect — to lengthen the phase of hair growth. That is, you don’t grow more hair during pregnancy, but rather less old hair falls out.
What will happen to them after the birth?
The life cycle of the hair will return to normal, and the delayed phase of hair loss will begin. It starts two to five months after delivery [2]. At some point, you may think that the process is too active: up to 100 hairs fall out per day! But this is natural. All the hair that should fallen out during pregnancy will fall out during this period. After three months, the loss should stop [3].
What if it doesn’t stop after three months?
If you are still experiencing significant hair loss, you can contact a trichologist (a doctor who deals with hair). Natural hair loss can gradually change into another type of hair loss caused by a lack of trace elements (for example, iron and vitamin D) [4] or hormonal causes.
If I use special products, can I avoid the hair loss?
There are no drugs that are proven effective for postpartum hair loss [5]. All you can do is follow the basic principles: eat well and take care of your hair. Do not abuse curling irons, straighteners and other thermal tools — these simple rules will help you get through this period.
