Treatment tips for Hair Loss after Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a pretty critical stage in a woman’s life and with the greatest pleasure of giving birth comes a lot of complications accompanied by physical and mental changes and hair loss is one such complication that may occur as a post-pregnancy side-effect.

Though all women may not experience an intense change in hormonal behavior and changes may vary from body to body but a lot of dynamic hormonal changes have been observed and thus almost 75% of the women experience hair loss after pregnancy.

What Causes Post-pregnancy hair loss in women?

Generally, an average women loses anywhere from 30 to 100 hair strands per day. However, during pregnancy the rate of hair fall decreases to a great extent and it happens because of the same reason i.e. hormonal imbalance.

For an average women, around 10%-15% of the hair strands are always in rest phase and in medical terms the phase is known as telogen phase and during this phase the hair tend to fall off while brushing and washing. While this happens the rest of the hair are in growing phase and transitional phase.

The growing phase in medical terms is known as Anagen phase and as the name suggests the hair are in growing stage and around 80%-90% of the scalp hair are in this phase. The third stage is the Transition phase which is medically known as Catagen Phase and around 2%-3% of the hair are in this phase at a particular instant of time. During pregnancy,  the increase in the amount of hormones like estrogen and progesterone decreases the hair fall rate and thus minimal amount of hair loss is experienced.

Moreover, the hair strands become thicker which make them stronger and shinier.

But once the delivery is done the increased hormone levels ease off and are restored to normal levels. Thus the hair which were till now in protected phase go back to normal phase and thus start to fall off.

This stage becomes a reason to worry as it continues for anywhere around 1 month to six months and thus hair loss can be severe. However, no visible baldness has been experienced by any of the women during this phase but still you may experience extensive hair fall.

After this phase new hair will start to grow and the normal hair growth cycle will take its place.

In alternative reasons, lack of nutrition for the mother and stress can be other reasons for post pregnancy hair loss.

 

How to Stop Hair Loss after Pregnancy?

Hair loss after pregnancy is a natural phenomenon and the good thing about it is that it’s temporary. And here are some tips to help you curb down this post-pregnancy hair fall problem:

• Since hair become pretty brittle after pregnancy make sure you handle them with care while brushing and washing them.

• While combing, make sure you use a comb with wide teeth to prevent your from getting entangled and breaking off while brushing.

• Use mild shampoos and conditioners, to prevent exposure to any harmful chemicals.

• Do not tie your hair too tightly as it can pull of the week hair strands.

• Make sure you are having a balanced diet, which contains all the important nutrition, vitamins and minerals like iron, which are important for hair growth. You may even consult your doctor for a diet  plan as you would have to provide your body some extra nutrition as you’d most probably be breastfeeding your baby.

• Massage your hair using special oils like, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil or even lavender oil.

All these tips are indeed pretty effective against post-pregnancy hair fall. However, if you still feel that you are losing a huge amount of hair which is proving to be a cause of stress for you, then it is suggested that you consult your doctor for proper precautions and medication.