Pregnancy and childbirth bring on dramatic physical changes, and your body doesn’t always shift back to its prepregnancy state as quickly as you’d hope. In the months following birth, postpartum hormones can create issues you may never have dealt with before, like hair loss.<\/p>
During this time, many women experience excessive hair shedding<\/a>, and especially for those who had the benefit of thicker, shinier hair during pregnancy, it can be rather startling to see clumps of healthy hair fall out. But take some comfort in knowing you’re not alone: “All your hormones are erratic [post-pregnancy],” says Dr. Michele Green<\/a>, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, and this is a completely normal side effect. Here’s why postpartum hair loss happens—and what you can do about it.<\/p> To understand why we lose our hair after giving birth, we must first understand the hair growth cycle. “Normally, 80% to 90% of your hair is in anagen, or the growth phase, while 1% to 2% [is] in catagen, the transition phase, and 10% to 15% [is] in telogen, or the shedding phase,” says Dr. Sejal Shah<\/a>, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. “So shedding is a normal part of the hair cycle.” <\/p> During pregnancy, higher levels of estrogen and progesterone cause the number of hair follicles in the growth phase to increase, which reduces shedding. “After delivery, the hormone levels return to normal, allowing the hair cycle to also normalize,” explains Dr. Shah. “However, a larger amount than normal may be triggered into the telogen phase when the hormone levels fall, so the normal hair loss that was delayed during pregnancy may fall out all at once.” <\/p> Typically, postpartum hair loss starts two to three months after giving birth, according to New York City board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Yael Halaas<\/a>. That’s because the telogen phase, during which hair sheds, is approximately three months long, with the latter end of this time period resulting in the hair falling out. The difference can be shocking; in fact, the amount of hair stuck in the telogen phase at this time may be double what’s normal. “With postpartum alopecia, 30% to 40% of the hairs go into this phase,” she says.<\/p>Why your hair is falling out<\/strong><\/h2>
When does postpartum hair loss start?<\/strong><\/h2>