Normal Hair Loss After Pregnancy   

You might have thought that you were all alone, but the fact of the matter is that hair loss after pregnancy is very common.  For first time mothers, it can be stressful if they do not understand that hair loss is common condition, experienced by many women.  The distressing effects of hair loss after pregnancy can be lessened if a woman is informed about the potential for this temporary condition.  While you might feel like you are alone in this experience, you are not.  

Effects of Higher Levels of Estrogenic Hormones on Hair 

When pregnant and immediately after delivery the levels of estrogen and other hormones in the body are much higher than any other time in your life. These high levels of hormones are necessary to help a woman’s body provide for the needs of the growing baby in her womb. 

These estrogenic hormones cause a pregnant woman’s hair to remain on her scalp longer than usual.  In the normal process of hair loss, 90% of hair is in a growth stage.  The other 10% is in a resting stage.  Hair remains in a resting stage for about three months, at which time if falls out and a new hair grows in its place.  

Pregnancy causes unique things to happen to the hair.  The amount of hormones in the body causes the hair growth process to slow by leaps and bounds. In this way, less hair enters the resting stage.  In addition, new hair continues to grow as part of the normal hair growth cycle. 

These two facts, older hair that is not falling out and the growing new hair, results in more hair being found on the head during pregnancy.  You’ll often hear pregnant women common on the changes in the thickness of their hair, and this is why!  

When the Baby is Born 

Things get interesting when the baby is born.  Slowly, over the course of about three moths, the hormones will return to normal levels, and if you are going to experience after pregnancy hair loss, you’ll usually find that it happens when the baby is about three months old. 

This timing is due to the fact that most women have normal estrogen levels by this point.  It’s important to point out that some women experience more hair loss after pregnancy than others.  In fact, some women don’t experience any at all while others will experience such drastic hair loss they become depressed.  

Luckily, the hair will grow back!  It will take another three months for the hair that has been lost to grow back.  For a time, among the hair that is growing back, there may be shorter hair than long hair in a growth stage. 

Depending on how much hair was lost, this may feel like longer than three months.  Many women find that it takes about a year for their hair to return to the way it was before they were pregnant.  

 

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