A lot of changes happen to your body within the year after birth, and hair loss can be one of them. Remember all that beautiful hair you grew during your pregnancy? Now six months later you’re taking a shower, staring at clumps of hair in your hands and watching piles of it run down the drain…
Yep. That was me. I was horrified. I mean I had heard about post pregnancy hair loss but I didn’t know it was going to be this bad. Especially because I had naturally thin hair to begin with, and now I had barely anything… I just wanted to break down and cry. The tape-in hair extensions I had in had to be taken out because my hair was so thin that you could see them easily. And this made me panic even more… “Does this mean I can’t even wear hair extensions?”, “Or if I can, which method can I even wear because I lost so much hair?”, “What am I supposed to do?”.
If this happened to you post pregnancy, you probably had the same questions run through your mind. Well mama, I have answers for you, and just know that this time will pass.
So about 3 months postpartum I started noticing my hair was shedding more than usual. And it peaked at 6 months postpartum where just clumps of it started coming out and that’s when I couldn’t even wear tape-ins. It looked so bad that I looked sick.
Usually your hair sheds about 50-100 hairs a day. Anything more than that is excessive hair loss. An average of 40% to 50% of women will experience postpartum hair loss, according to the American Pregnancy Association. It usually peaks around 3-6 months postpartum when your hormones are changing and can last 3-6 months.
In other words, this is normal and it is temporary! You will get through it.
Note: If you feel that your hair loss is greater than the norm, or if things are not back to normal by the time your baby is 12 months old, then see your doctor. Excessive hair loss can be caused by common and easy-to-remedy postpartum conditions such as hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone) or iron-deficiency anemia.
At this point I was thinking, “OK then what can I do to make me feel good and look good during this time?”. I went to the doctor first to find my answers.
My doctor told me basically that your hair will fall out no matter what you do. That’s just the cycle it’s in right now. Meaning no matter how much you try to avoid brushing your hair, shampooing your hair – it will fall out regardless. You just have to ride it out.
So then we discussed hair extensions. The safest extensions that I could use during the postpartum hair loss phase we discovered was k-tips. They were the most customizable (they can be cut down into micro pieces), they weigh the least, and they were the most discreet. This is if your hair loss is not that bad. Another option could be toppers or wigs; a hair piece that can be placed over your real hair.
Personally, I first started using a wig. I didn’t really have an option because my hair loss was that bad. Besides, I wanted to take a break from regular extensions and I kind of was excited about the thought of changing my hair color and style. Then as my hair started to grow out a little more (lots of little baby hairs) I decided to opt for a topper. Then about a year postpartum I went back to my regular k-tips.
I really wanted to make this blog post because I know what it feels like to see clumps of hair falling out of your head. You feel sick, out of control, ugly, and helpless. And I don’t want any of you to feel that way. I want to help you. I want you to realize that this is just a phase that will pass and in the meantime we can mix up some hair solution ideas to help you get through it.
So before you break down and decide to hide away for the next 6-12 months, send me a text and let’s see what we can do.
Stay strong mama! You’ll be back to your bad bish self in no time!
