I had beautiful healthy pregnancy hair. Now 4 months on, lots of weight loss and swimming every day, my hair is a mess. What should I do?

[nevergoogle]

It's dry and frizzy and falling out.
And my scalp itches.

Please help!

Regular coconut oil treatments, a swimming cap and probably a check on your thyroid and iron and all that jazz too, just to be sure.

Falling out post pregnancy is very normal. Mine fell out in handfuls for about six weeks around the four-month point. Your hair doesn't really fall out much during pregnancy, so it all falls out afterwards!

I lost loads of hair after having my dcs.
My hair is dry at the monent and I have to wash it every other day, so I've started oiling my hair the night before I wash it and it's starting to feel softer (been doing it for a week)

I use argan oil, but any oil will work... Like coconut or even just olive oil.

I'd try and wear a swimming cap too, or Just try and keep it out of the water.

I've been using a macademia oil leave in conditioner but because i'm on a tight schedule with swimming around baby naps, i often (not always) wait until the evening before washing my hair at home. that might be part of the problem.

i'll get a swim cap and see if i can get a more moisturising shampoo.

is there any connection to the breastfeeding? not that it would change what we're doing, just interested.

for me, I lost a lot of hair when I stopped bfing, i'm just shy of a year post stopping bfing DC2, and the hair loss has grown back to about 5inches, if DC1 is anything as a guide, I'll have thick, good looking hair in another 6 months....

My once-silky curly hair turned into old lady frizz after having 2 children in reasonably quick succession. My solution was to have it cut short and stop dyeing it, but I wish I had discovered the curly girl method before resorting to that (there are several old threads about it on here) - I've been doing it for a week and my hair is in better condition than it has been for years. Have kept off the dye though and am embracing the greys :)

Mine fell out for 3 months between months 3 and 6pp. Despite my serious concerns though I did not end up with bald patches though my fringe vanished. Has been growing back now for 6m-am 12m pp now and although still uneven has been looking a lot better for a while. It's shit.

I don't know if there's a proven link, but mine was fantastic when pregnant and awful while breastfeeding too. I wouldn't put too much down to the swimming. It did eventually go back to normal though.

Mine was awful after having my DS - had terrible itchy scalp and it felt so dry and never silky. The only thing that worked for me was Philip Kingsley Itchy Flaky Scalp and conditioner. It is expensive but if I stop using it, nothing else compares so I go straight back.

Really common don't panic hardly any hair falls out during pregnancy and then at 3/4 months you get the the 3 month mange(sp?) as my lovely hairdresser called it!! Happened after all of mine, another one of those fantastic pregnancy symptoms no one tells you about

Chop it off and start again! I spent years post-childbirth with a nearly-hairdo, trying to grow it when all that was happening was that I was carrying around a load of thinning, frizzy yuck that made me feel depressed and took up loads of time faffing with products and clips and attempts to make it look better. Since going short I feel liberated. It's healthy and strong and elegant and looks so much thicker.

ps get some Philip Kingsley Swimcap protective cream too. It's brill.

Completely normal to lose loads at this stage. You lose very little hair during pregnancy & then all of that which you would have lost gradually over 9 months is lost over a few weeks, plus that which you would normally have lost then as well. I hated moulting & blocking the plughole

Can only echo what everyone has said. Happened with my DS and sure it will happen again soon. It stopped after about 8 weeks though my hair seemed "normal" pre pregnancy hair again so was obviously shedding what I'd hung on to during the pregnancy. Eat well, oil treatments on your hair and giving hair a break as much as possible from heat did my hair good (and I used a heat protector when i really did have to use the straightners) soon went back to the way it was! Biotin is also good for hair. (vitamin)

Yup, I had the 4 month moult as well, plus awful dry itchy scalp. It went back to normal eventually, though I did find getting a good cut and using a very soothing conditioner (Moo Goo) helped.

Soak your hair with water before you swim. This saturates the hair follicle and reduces the amount of chlorinated water it will absorb.

Thanks for all the great advice. I usually use a balancing shampoo for greasy hair, and now all of a sudden i need some serious moisture.