Post-natal hair

[bon]

A friend of mine who's recently given birth is gettng desperate. Her once lucious long locks are now dropping out by the handful and she's finding it really hard to get it to look anything other than dull, thin and whispy. I know it's a common problem, but I never really suffered that much and I wondered if anyone out there knows of any products that may help. Thanks.

[monkey]

Crunchie - I'm sorry, I didn't see your message, so blathering on about nothing as usual.

My hair hasn't changed, other to get thinner & thinner
Yours on the other hand sounds fabulous. Lucky you.

[monkey]

I've always had very thin, fine hair. My hair loss was made loads worse by post-natal thyroid condition. I had my 1st 3.5 years ago & my 2nd 2 years ago and it's still coming out more than normal. Now pg and hoping I'll at least have a few months respite.

Don't know of any products though. i personally didn't notice any difference when I used Aveda shampoo & conditioner. It was a pressie & I certainly wouldn't spend that amount of money on hair stuff, but then maybe that's why my hair's a disaster!

[Crunchie]

Just had to revive this again, has anyone else found taht OK thir hair fell out, but now it's totally different.

Mine has gone from fine and slightly wavy, to loads of it and almost curly. I have just had a good cut, but it's never been like this before. Not only do they ruin your body, they continue to muck up your life!! Straight hair is in, but not for me anymore

[Bugsy]

Janz, I know what you describe is true for most cases but I think some women experience an even greater hairloss. My own hairloss was so severe that I had areas on may head that were semi-bald. Phillip Kingsley, a trichologist, writes a regular feature in the Sunday Times and he says that vit & min deficiencies, which are common in post-natal women, can often cause more severe hairloss.
I am pretty certain that this was what happened in my own case as I was definitely anaemic and probably not quite up to capacity with other mins & vits too. I intend to be much more vigilant this time about taking supplements after the baby is born and I'll let you all know if it makes a difference!

[JanZ]

Apparently normally 1/3 of our hair is growing, 1/3 is "dormant" and 1/3 is shedding (but I'm not sure about these proportions) It's an ongoing process, so we don't tend to notice it. However, while you're pregnant, your hair stops its normal shedding process and it all stays in the growth phase.

Once we've had our baby and our hormones settle down again (a few months after the birth), all the hair that would normally have been shed during the previous months then falls out - along with the current batch that is "due" to be shed. That's why it can look so drastic - and of course, you then have a high proportion of "new" hair coming through. It does settle down again though.

[manna]

Am I a freak? ds is now 3 months old and I have always suffered from fine hair. However, I had a drastic cut just a month after the birth and my hairdresser was complaining about how thick my hair had become since my pregnancy- she had to thin it out to suit the new style! It has got really thick and much coarser. I notice that a lot of you say it started falling out a few months after birth - is this always the case? should I change styles so she doesn't have to thin it out anymore in case it doesn't grow back?

[ChanelNo5]

'Ragman's coat' - haven't heard that one before (but it's very amusing!). I'm more familiar with the term 'Knicker Moustache' (thanks to my crude younger sister!)

[monkey]

it might be worth double checking with GP. I had thyroid problems post natally which are common but not picked up so easily as a lot of the symptoms are what you often find in a new mum - tiredness, stress, weight gain/loss, hair falling out etc etc.

I found my (shocking) hair loss calmed down when my thyroid was brought back under control.

[Lill]

slug you lucky thing. I havent done anything with mine since the baby was born so I have whats known as a 'ragmans coat'!! The stuff on my head doesnt look to hot either!

[slug]

My hair's falling out too but Ahem....it's not the hair on my head. It's quite interesting to have the Brazilian without the pain of waxing, though dh has begun to ask when it will grow back

[Ems]

My very fine fluffly bits are growing back quite nicely now.

Mine fell out big time, no bald patches though, just blocked shower, hair all over the pillow, it was scary at the time.

My hairdresser says when its growing back etc, usually quite good to get some colour/highlights to make it look a bit thicker/textured.

[ChanelNo5]

Same thing happened to me after all 3 of my pgs. Youngest is now 21 mths so things are gradually getting better. After my first I had to have a fringe cut into my hair as the hair growing back at the front looked like some strange Julius Caeser-type fringe - most attractive! The hairdresser told me it's to do with hormones and is extremely common after childbirth. Did notice an advert for a special vitamin supplement for women suffering from hairloss/thinning hair (think it might have been in the Tesco's new product mag at the checkouts) can't remember what it was called, but it might be useful.

[Maryam]

I suffered from the same and my long curly locks have been reduced to almost nothing. However, I have started to see real improvement by doing the following, hope it works for you too:

1. Have your hair cut by at least 2 inches (shorter if you're feeling brave enough!)
   
2. Wash it as often as possible (everyday if you can) as this will stimulate the hair shafts. And use a good quality shampoo (I use Aveda)
   
3. Use tons of good quality conditioner (its worth it believe me)
   
4. Drink plenty of water
   
   Good luck!

[Harrysmum]

I would second the haircut! I was really upset by the extent of the hairloss esp as it left two quite obvious bald patches at each temple. No-one took it seriously at all (most thought it quite amusing) apart from my hairdresser who was very sympathetic, took some time to talk about the physiology of hair, pregnancy and childbirth (v knowledgable hairdresser!) and to cut my hair in a way that made me feel a bit less conspicuous. 16 months later it is beginning to grow back (it can take up to 5 years apparently) and I feel more like me again. Maybe it was just the hormone thing again but I was quite sensitive about this in particular - be gentle!

[Pupuce]

I agree with Bugsy. Also a haircut might do some good to re-invegorate the hair. Also good haircare products should help for the dulness.
It does get better but it takes a while. I am just at the stage where my own hair are no longer falling like crazy (DD is 6 mo). I can also see that I am growing plenty of new one at the hairline... not very sexy either those tiny hair...

[Bugsy]

Bon, I had the most tremendous hairloss after birth of ds & it took 2 years for it all to grow back. I would strongly recommend that your friend takes a multi-vitamin & mineral supplement as relatively small deficiencies can exacerbate the post-natal hair loss problem.

[pilot]

I've also only just stopped losing my hair. My baby is 7 months old now and my hair starting dropping out from about 4 months postnatally. I used a Kerastase product recommended to me by my hairdresser. It's a shampoo specifically used for hair loss. Probably mostly bought by old men! It was quite expensive but I was desperate and I don't know whether it was this product that worked or whether it does generally get better around this time postnatally anyway. I now can vacuum without seeing an abundance of my hair in the dyson cylinder!

[Tinkerbell]

Mine has only just stopped falling out and baba is nearly 10months! Hell. My hairdresser recommended Aveda products (if you can get your hands on them from an Aveda store they help alot rather than choosing pot luck) and they did seem to help although they are expensive. BUT don't know if they are universally helpful or if it just worked for me.

Ditto on the skin. I know it's a real cliche but the water guzzling really does work.

[bea]

sorry have no miracle cure, but i can entirely sympathise as my hair has decided to do a runner as well (7 months after the birth!!!) but also along with the hair my skin has decided to revert back to puberty, spots galore! I'd forgotton how well i looked during pregnancy... even though i looked like a whale!!!

would be very interested to read replies and comments on skin and hair!