December 16, 2024, 1:01 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
First, a full head of hair; then, tufts of hair in the hairbrush – when hair suddenly falls out after giving birth, it causes frustration for many women. This is also the case for our STYLEBOOK author. Here, she reports first-hand on her experience – and how she found peace.
It’s seven o’clock in the morning; I’m standing groggily in the bathroom, staring at my brush. It’s teeming with hair, even though I just cleared it out yesterday. It’s exasperating. It started about five months after my daughter was born in April. The dreaded hormonal drop that all new mothers fear had taken its toll. My hair, dark brown and fine, was steadily falling out. In fact, it’s still falling out. Experiencing hair loss after childbirth was unexpected and initially left me feeling unsettled.
Overview
“Postnatal effluvium” is the technical term for this, and it drives me crazy. Because my mane is dark brown, you can see it everywhere in a matt white tiled bathroom. I also have fine little strands sticking to me everywhere; they end up in my daughter’s mouth when she’s breastfeeding. When I cook, I have to wear a hairnet. I imagine I will see bald patches when I put my hair in a tight ponytail. Why is this happening to me, of all people?
Postpartum Hair Loss – I’m Not Alone in This Experience
Okay, it doesn’t just happen to me. According to an international study from 2023 published in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, it affects almost 92 percent of all new mothers. However, to varying degrees; only 73 percent say they suffer from it themselves. This is due to the sudden drop in estrogen levels that occurs after childbirth. For most women, this phase lasts from three to six months, up to a maximum of one year.
What many do not know: The female sex hormone controls our hair. If the level is high, the follicles are dormant – they do not fall out. If the estrogen level drops again, hair normally falls out. This is usually not noticeable – 70 to 100 hairs falling out every day is normal for a healthy adult. The hair then renews itself.
However, post-pregnancy, the situation changes: the constantly high estrogen level puts the hair on the scalp into a kind of beauty sleep. They do not fall out. At the same time, new hair follicles are formed. The hair becomes thicker and fuller, the typical “pregnancy glow.”
Postpartum Hair Loss: The Harsh Reality After Nine Months of Luscious Locks
I think back nostalgically to that time – I had great hair! Longer than ever, full of volume and thick. I could suddenly create braided and up-do hairstyles that I had only dreamed of before my pregnancy. What’s more, my hair looked so healthy – it was shiny and super soft, even though I was using exactly the same shampoo and conditioner as before.
I reaped the benefits of the ‘pregnancy glow’ in every way. Nasty pregnancy acne and water retention were foreign concepts to me. The hair loss after the birth hit me all the harder. Bye-bye, dream hair! Of course, I asked my midwife and gynecologist for advice: there was nothing to be done – all the hair that had been spared before would now fall out simultaneously.
If the problem persists for longer than a year, I should get in touch again. Then there could be other problems behind it. Until then, I just have to hang in there. The fact that I breastfed fully until my baby was six months old could even have delayed the onset of the “postnatal effluvium” a little. An iron or vitamin B-12 deficiency can also exacerbate the effect under certain circumstances. I have suffered from the former since the middle of my pregnancy. Yippee!
Status Eight Months Postpartum – It’s Complicated
Despite the realization that hair loss after childbirth is completely normal and that I am not alone in my experience, I naturally want to counteract the whole thing. Experiencing hair loss as a woman can be a real hit to one’s self-esteem. Instagram and the like don’t exactly help but rather increase the pressure when you see moms with beautiful curls on social media. Of course, I only find out much later that some of them have put extensions in their hair – if they mention it at all.
Paranoid, I run to the drugstore and stock up on “beautiful hair” supplements, argan oil treatments, almond oil conditioners, and volumizing shampoo. Scientifically, there’s no evidence to suggest that any of these products could effectively combat postpartum hair loss. At least they made me feel better for a short time.
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Hair Loss After giving birth? These Tips Helped Me
But what actually helps is treating my hair with care. I wash it less often, only comb it with a detangling brush, only use scrunchies as hair ties or plastic hair clips, haven’t dyed my hair, and eat a balanced diet. I have also made peace with my hair and myself. My body has performed a miracle by bringing a new life into the world – a temporary thinning of my hair is a small price to pay.
There’s only one tip I haven’t been able to bring myself to do: the classic ‘mom’ haircut. Of course, my hair looks fluffier in a bob. I wore it like this before my pregnancy for this very reason. However, I’m currently far too tired to squeeze in a visit to the hairdresser. Plus, I still find myself missing my lush pregnancy hair.
Well, soon, the hair loss after the birth should also be history. And then my fine, dark brown hairs will finally stop floating around everywhere. I’ve even started to notice that the brush seems less crowded in the morning. Very slowly. And a few baby hairs are already growing back on my head.