So you’ve been blessed with a beautiful baby and your happiness seems to have no boundaries!

And all of a sudden, all those celebrations get messed up with something awful of which you never ever had a faintest idea about.

Your beautiful hair has begun to come out in clumps! All hell breaks loose! Now what to do?

Just take a deep breath. Your hair fall is a natural phenomenon known as ‘Telogen-Effluvium’ or ‘postpartum-hair loss’ and this occurs to around 50 percent of women after childbirth.

Why does this happen? Below we discuss all the reasons, causes as well as some of the natural remedies to help you deal with it:

What is ‘postpartum hair-loss’?

Also known as Telogen-Effluvium, it is a natural phenomenon of sudden shedding of hairs (sometimes in clumps) post pregnancy, which countless new mums go through after three to six months of their childbirth.

What causes ‘postpartum hair loss’?

Usually, a person loses around 90 to 100 hairs per day on an average (not all of them at once), so one doesn’t notice them.

During the pregnancy period the high level of hormones in your body keep your hairs from falling. Your hair appears so lush and thick that you can’t even brush through it.

And just like all good things must come to an end (including your hair), when your hormone levels drop back – those extra hairs fall too.

What you need to know about ‘postpartum hair loss’?

You don’t need to panic, as in no way you’re going to go bald; you’re just loosing those extra hairs, that’s it.

And in case you’re breastfeeding your baby, some of these extra hairs might droop on to your forehead until you wean.

However, by the time your baby’s head is full of hairs and is probably ready to celebrate his/her first birthday, your locks should be back to normal again.

• The parental trap
• Overcoming the loneliness

What to do about postpartum hair loss?

During the post pregnancy phase, you need to be extra careful to prevent excess hair loss:

• Use a good conditioner.
• Shampoo your hair only when necessary.
• Use a wide-toothed comb.
• Instead of using rubber bands, utilise barrettes or scrunchies to put your hair up.
• Avoid pulling back your hair tightly.
• Avoid flat irons as well as blow dryers.
• Avoid chemical based hair treatments such as perms, highlights and hair straightening, until your shedding halts.
• Consult your hair practitioner in case if there is excessive hair loss.

‘Telogen-Effluvium’ is short-term and within twelve months your hair should be normal again. Following are some of the natural and common remedies which will help you to deal with ‘postpartum hair loss’:

Vitamins:

Post childbirth your body needs vitamins B, C, E, Selenium and Zinc for healthy hair, nails and skin.

So don’t stop your vitamin intake even after your childbirth and nourish your body with the correct amount of required vitamins and nutrients.

Biotin:

Biotin is Vitamin B’s family member, which is specifically vital for your hair as it assists the body to create proteins known as Keratin.

Its deficiency can lead to brittle nails, hair breakage as well as hair loss. Just consider a small 5 mg biotin supplement intake along with your diet. One can even opt for biotin enriched conditioners and shampoos.

Yeast:

Ever seen the ad where a man brags about his strong and shiny hair and gives the credit to the beer! Sounds ridiculous! Doesn’t it? Well, it’s not a joke because beer is prepared from yeast, which consists of folic acid, biotin and riboflavin.

Now you don’t need to immerse your hair in the beer throughout the day. Just try to create a hair-mask from brewer’s yeast.

Vital fatty-acids:

Ensure you’re consuming lots of Omega-3 oil rich products such as fish or having Omega 3, 6, 9 supplements from fish oil or flaxseed.

These vital fatty acids are not only great for your hair but aid in controlling cholesterol.

Ideal hair-cut:

Last but not least, getting your hair cut short is a perfect option. The very reason behind this is short hair will require less nutrients comparatively and may not fall out as much.

Since long hairs are more likely to form splits and usually tangle a lot, short hairs will save you ample maintenance time.

Hope this has gone some way in helping answer your postpartum hair loss questions and also help you out in dealing with all the myths associated with it so that you enjoy your motherhood to the fullest.

There is no way to be a perfect mother ….. But a million ways to be a good one – Anonymous

Love to hear if you experienced postpartum hair loss and how long it took before your hair was back to normal. Please share in the comments below.

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