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how to prevent postpartum hair loss

The evidence is everywhere. My shower drain, my hair brush, even my laundry has more of those gross hair ball things attached to it when it comes out of the dryer. I have to vacuum at least 2 times a week to keep things under control. My hair is seriously falling out at 6 months postpartum.

What’s even worse is where it’s growing back! I have this patch right on my hairline near my right temple that is about an inch long and sticks straight out at all times! How can I stop this from happening?!

The Facts

Well first off, the falling out isn’t as bad as it seems. Your body isn’t loosing any more hair than it usually does; it’s just happening differently.

Your hair follicles are always in one of two stages; they are either growing or resting. Resting hair falls out at a regular pace throughout your life. However when you are pregnant, you only lose about 5-15% of those resting hairs. The increased levels of estrogen keeps hairs in the growing phase for longer, thus less falls out during those 9 months. That’s why you super love you hair through out pregnancy!

So once baby arrives, those estrogen levels drastically fall out, and so does the hair! You aren’t really loosing anymore than normal, it’s just all happening at once, which can be scary sight!

So is there anyway to stop it? 

If you are really concerned about the hair loss, talk to your doctor about a low estrogen birth control. This may help balance out the estrogen level and help get your hair back to its normal growing and shedding ratio.

You can also try to avoid pulling your hair back and using heat tools as much as possible around the 4-8 month postpartum mark.  By avoiding putting excessive strain on your strands, you may decrease the amounts falling out.

There are also dozens of home remedies you could try, but the credibility behind them is scarce. The hair will most likely stop falling out and return to its normal shedding rate at about 12 months postpartum. So if you can tough it out until then, there is no need for birth control or crazy home remedies.

Your normal hair is on the horizon!


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