Hair loss after pregnancy is COMMON and NORMAL. 

That probably doesn’t do much to relieve the frustration you have about it, but I hope it helps you to feel less alone. 

Many women experience hair loss after giving birth. It’s totally related to hormones (what else is new?!) and it’s pretty impossible to prevent. During pregnancy your hair doesn’t fall out as it usually does, so to make up for it your hair all falls out at once a few months after your baby arrives. Cool, right?

It usually starts in the shower. You’re trying to get 15 minutes to yourself, the baby is asleep or someone else is watching them or maybe they’re on the other side of the curtain mildly entertained by the dangling toys on their bouncy chair. 

You lather up with your new shampoo and try to make this shower efficient but spa-like. Then you notice it. Strands of hair hanging from between your fingers like some scene from a movie. Did someone put Nair in my shampoo bottle like in The Craft (cult movie reference!). 

Nope, you have joined the ranks of postpartum hair loss sufferers. Welcome to the club. We use a lot of headbands and hair bun shapers here. 

What you can expect:

Starting around 4 months and through the first year, you can expect to lose a lot of hair after having a baby. It may seem completely out of control. By the end of the first year the new hair should start to grow in. It’s usually most noticeable when the hair starts to fill in with what most women call “wings”.

What can you do? 

Keep taking your prenatal vitamins. Use shampoos meant to keep your hair fuller (I love BIG from Lush Cosmetics but the Rosemary Mint from Aveda is also delicious). Accept that your hair is falling out because of postpartum hormones. Adjust your hairstyle to get through this time.