Telogen effluvium is the medical term for postpartum hair loss, and new mothers experience it and often find it unpleasant. That’s why there is a constant search for how to stop postpartum hair loss.
It occurs in about 40 to 50 percent of the general population of women. Postpartum hair loss is the hair fall after delivery that occurs in some women after childbirth.
It results from the enormous hormonal changes in a woman’s body during pregnancy. After pregnancy, there is an immediate drop in the levels of some pregnancy hormones in the body, leading to hormonal imbalance.
It takes time for these hormones to balance again and for the body to return to its pre-pregnancy state. The hormonal shift can affect the hair growth cycle, causing Postpartum Hair loss.
When Does Postpartum Hair Loss Start?
Postpartum hair loss can start a few weeks after childbirth, but you may not notice. However, by the end of the first to second months of postpartum, women begin to notice.
The extent of hair loss varies depending on the individual. Some women experience more extreme hair loss, others mild.
How Long Does Postpartum Hair Loss Last?
It’s good news that Postpartum hair loss does not last for long. After a while, the hair loss will stop when the body has returned to the pre-pregnancy state.
It is usually about four months to six months into postpartum. Though for some women, it lasts as long as a year. If you have severe postpartum hair loss after childbirth, you should see your doctor for appropriate treatments.
9 Best Ways To Curb Postpartum Hair Loss
However, below are the nine best ways on how to stop Postpartum Hair loss. Trying out these tips will ensure that your hair loss is curbed or reduced to the barest minimum.
1. Eat Healthily
Eating well ensures that the body gets the required nutrients. Carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, all these nutrients are essential for building the body, especially after birth.
It would help if you had carbohydrates to regain energy, protein to replace lost blood and worn-out tissues, and hormonal balance.
Vitamins and minerals are essential for the hormonal balance to return the body to pre-pregnancy, maintaining proper body function and hormone production.
Fat serves as a source of additional energy and insulation, water for transporting nutrients, hormones, and homeostasis. Eating healthy meals play a considerable role in preventing hair loss.
Protein deficiency, for example, will cause problems. This is because the hair strands are made of a protein called Keratin, and an inadequate protein in the diet will affect the production of Keratin.
In addition, the vitamins and minerals help to balance hormones reducing hair loss. After pregnancy, food cravings reduce, so you may no longer be interested in food as much as you did when you were pregnant.
But, that does not mean you shouldn’t eat well. Remember, you are breastfeeding and recovering your body back. To stop postpartum hair loss, you have to eat healthy meals. You have lesser food restrictions now, so you should eat well.
A variety of fruits like berries, grapes, oranges, mangoes, pineapples, avocados, nut is needed for vitamins. Trust me; you need them a lot. Take rice, pasta, bread, corn, and other carbs to build energy.
Take Fish, egg, meat, seafood to make up for protein demand. Oils should be used to make stews, soups, and sauces but in moderation.
There are tons of recipes available on cookery books or even the internet that you can try out. Green veggies, cabbages, cucumber, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes should not be left out of your diet.
Drink plenty of fluids; freshly made juice, water, tea, smoothies, yogurt, milk. Eating well will help you recover well after delivery and speed hormonal balance, so this is how to stop postpartum hair loss.
2. Avoid Excessive Styling
Excessive manipulation and handling can affect the hair and cause hair loss. Extreme manipulation causes repeated strain on the scalp, leading to thinning, breakage, and hair loss.
Too much handling will also cause lowered blood flow in the hair scalp. Heat tools like straighteners, hairdryers, curling irons, curling wands, if used excessively, can affect the hair badly.
The high temperature can break down the hair follicles, making them lighter, weaker, and easier to break or fall out. It also causes dryness and a weakened hair shaft, causing stress in the hair shaft.
Dyeing chemicals or bleaching chemicals can lead to overprocessing of the hair. It will make the hair shaft weak and cause breakage when combing.
It reduces hair elasticity, hair volume, thins, and weakens hair; other styling processes like perms, tight hairstyles, overuse of relaxers, etc.
All these play a significant role in hair loss. You will want to minimize the use of some products after delivery to stop postpartum hair loss.
You should reduce hair dyes because of the chemicals. You should minimize the use of heating products as well. Get professionals to do your hair so that they do not over manipulate the hair and take proper care of it.
Wear loose braids, avoid wearing tight hairstyles like ponytails every time.
3. Minimize Stress
Stressful living has an overall impact negatively on the body. It can cause pushing of the hair follicles to the resting phase leading to no growth and falling out because of stress.
The condition is called telogen effluvium( postpartum hair loss). Another issue that could occur in the hair because of stress; is anxiety that causes someone to pull the hair suddenly.
Stress can also result in a lowered body immune system, and if the hair follicles are attacked, it leads to thinning the hair. With time, the hair starts breaking, and the edges are falling out; this is called alopecia areata. All these factors result from stress.
Stress is never good for the body, and it has a way of negatively affecting every area of the body, including the hair, so avoid it as much as possible.
The first weeks of postpartum are when you could be dealing with a lot of stress, like recovery after delivery, adjusting to the new addition, attending to the home chores, taking care of the older kids. It can be stressful.
I consider the first few weeks of postpartum as a first-time one of the most stressful times in my life. I had to deal with breast sores, episiotomy pain, breastfeeding at all hours, house chores, etc.
Thanks to the support of my family around that were a great aid. I do not know how I would have fared. From my experience, how to stop postpartum hair loss is to minimize your workload after delivery.
Preparing ahead before delivery will help make things easier. Get tips on things to do before delivery to know how to plan and prepare ahead. During the last month of pregnancy, prepare postpartum by shopping for any non-perishable food items you would need in the home.
Prepare meals a week or two to your due date and deep Freeze. Think of anything you may have to do after delivery, and if you can do it now, go ahead and do so you have more time for yourself and your baby after delivery.
Enlist the aid of family, friends, or external support persons ahead of time, for you may need them after delivery. While putting all these in mind, spend your free time resting (plan it, when your baby is sleeping, try to rest or sleep as well).
Since the baby’s sleep patterns have not adjusted to ours yet, your baby may sleep more in the daytime. Use that time to catch some rest. It would be best if you did that. Most new moms are culprits of this.
When the baby is sleeping, they spend time either doing chores, chatting, attending to visitors, keeping up with social media, and any other things aside from resting, but you have to be disciplined.
If you’re are feeling sleep-deprived, put everything else on hold and rest. Work with schedules to make your life easier and avoid distractions; our blog post on how to deal with Mom’s stress is gives insight on this. Do check it out.
Other things you want to do to minimize stress are: eating healthy and resting. Both of them work hand in hand to stop postpartum hair loss. Always try to eat well.
Go for healthy, wholesome meals that are balanced diet. Skip the sugars, junk, snacks, and other over-processed foods. Go for fresh foods; you need the nutrients to replace the lost hair and reduce postpartum hair loss.
Try out different relaxation techniques like meditation, listening to inspirational podcasts, and affirmations. Massage is a great way to ease stiff muscles.
Go out once in a while like the amusement Park, theatre, or cinema to see the world and have fun. Sometimes being stuck at home focusing only on taking care of your baby can make you bored and stressed.
Exercise, read your favorite author’s book, watch a movie. All these can help you be in a more positive state of mind and help you minimize stress.
Spend time with positive-minded individuals and let their positivity rub off on you. Please do not leave your hair in a rough condition and shampoo your hair and make it look nice. Seek the aid of professionals if you are getting depressed Or intensely stressed.
4. Evaluate Your Hair Care Routine
One thing that could be contributing to postpartum hair loss is your hair care routine, so it is something you should consider when finding how to stop postpartum hair loss.
Since your hair is more sensitive, you would want to be more careful when handling it and give it a bit more attention. I know you may give me that weird look.
How can I give my hair more time when I barely have time for myself And my baby but hold up a little and get what I mean.
I do not mean you should spend long hours in the bathroom conditioning, steaming, shampooing the hair every day; no.
Your “wash day” can be every other week while you wear protective hairstyles to keep the hair neat. Whichever day you choose as wash day, plan enough time so you can do a thorough job.
I was a culprit of poor hair care after birth, so I know how damaging it could be for one’s hair. My hair was left for weeks without washing, conditioning, or styling.
I didn’t consider hair a priority at all. I was trying to adjust to my role as a mother; hair was a minor concern. Of course, I paid the price by losing chunks of hair when I finally combed it.
Pitiable yes, and I learned the bitter way. Now more than ever, your hair care routine should be more consistent. As I said, it doesn’t have to be every day that you shampoo, steam, or condition the hair; but it should be every tie.
If you are experiencing postpartum hair loss at the moment, how to stop postpartum hair loss is to think about what you are not doing right for your hair care routine and make appropriate checks.
In my case, I barely conditioned nor shampooed my hair for weeks which led to severe hair loss. You can avoid excessive styling for now.
Just stick to low-maintenance hairstyles so it will be easier to take care of your hair without much stress if you know that any method in your routine( like too much combing or drying with towels) that damages your hair or causes hair loss to avoid it.
5. Change Hairstyles
You may want to change your hairstyle style to a different one if you find how to stop postpartum hair loss for your present hairstyle may be the culprit. Tinting your hair blonde, for example, is stylish and what many women love.
If you have done that during pregnancy, you will have to keep bleaching with chemicals to maintain the look, and the harsh chemical of bleaching can make your hair more brittle and cause hair loss.
It also causes split ends, so it could be wise to choose a different style that does not harshly affect your hair. You can go for a lower haircut.
The mom haircut is something we hear after a woman has put-to-bed. “Oh, you have got a mom haircut now.” What it means is that women tend to cut their hair after delivery.
It is not that cutting the hair reduces postpartum hair loss, but moms do this for specific reasons. Shorter hair Is easier to maintain since there are reduced split ends.
This reduces contact with surfaces that can cause breakage, saves time for maintenance, and reduces too much handling and styling, brushing, and other things that can cause too much stress in the scalp.
If you do not want a haircut, you can decide to go for loose braids that are not culturally offensive. Braiding is a protective style (if it is not done too tight and carried for too long) because it will reduce too much handling and excessive manipulation if you do not make the hair.
It also reduces friction caused by contact with surfaces, textiles, Hands, etc. So we can say that it provides a stable structure for hair growth, for you would minimize washing, detangling, and brushing every day, and in a way, it does reduce hair breakage.
6. Check Your Hair Care Products
There are tons of hair care products on the online and offline stores, but not all are suitable for all hair types. Then I used to think that shampooing was just about washing the hair off dirt, so I got any products without caring about what it was made of, but now I am wiser.
Some shampoos made my hair so hard and led to excessive breakage. If you have any of that in your bath, discontinue use and try other products. Not all conditioners are suitable for everyone sometimes.
It is best to find one that works for you. Do you know that your friend may be using a product and have raving reviews about it, but it wouldn’t give you the desired results?
Don’t be surprised about this. Hair types are not the same. If the current product you are using is not helping your hair, try some other products to find the one that suits you.
If you do not want to test-run trying different products, you may see a hair trichologist to evaluate your hair and offer advice on which product would be best for your hair.
Generally, hair products you should avoid and those with sulfates, Parabens, denatured alcohol, synthetic fragrances, Formaldehyde, coal tar, Silicon, phthalate, Para-phenylenediamine (PPD), polyethylene glycol, Triclosan, Dimethicone, Colors, toluene.
Instead, go for sulfate-free products or mild surfactants, humectants, hair with natural oils like castor oil, Coconut oil, argan oil, and vitamin E oil. Hydrolyzed Keratin can help repair damaged hair. Butters like: shea butter and Mango butter.
Hair products with avocado etc. Minoxidil can promote hair growth if used consistently. It is an active ingredient in Rogaine, and it helps make the hair move into the anagen phase (growing phase). It is a postpartum hair loss remedy that doctors may prescribe.
7. Take Vitamins For Postpartum Hair Loss
Coupled with an excellent nutritional diet, you should take your daily postnatal vitamins to get supplements from these multivitamins in case you do not get sufficient nutrients from the foods you eat.
You may also specifically take hair growth vitamins. Confirm from your doctor before starting with this and If your hair loss concern is alarming.
The multivitamins you take should contain B complex, vitamin B7, iron, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for many things in the body; for the eye, skin, and hair.
Therefore, the deficiency of vitamin A can cause many problems, including hair loss. You can get vitamin A from natural sources like carrots, spinach, egg, yogurt, milk pumpkins, etc.
Vitamin B complex is a series of B vitamins, and deficiency could lead to hair loss. Therefore, vitamin B complex is used as an alternative treatment for hair loss.
The good thing is that we get it from many food sources like meat, fish, dark leafy veggies, seafood, almonds, etc. Those that are vegetarians should take supplements for only animal proteins are a source of vitamin B12.
Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant to protect against the oxidative stress of free radicals. It is also helpful in collagen production, and collagen is vital for hair, so you do not want to skip vitamin C in your diet and as a supplement.
The good thing is that it helps in the absorption of iron which is needed for hair growth. Guavas, oranges, lemons, strawberries are good sources of vitamin C.
Vitamin D is linked to alopecia. Much research is needed to understand how it’s better not to be at risk of getting the required dose from the early morning sun. Other essential minerals and vitamins for hair are zinc and iron, vitamin E, etc.
8. Try These Tips To Avoid Hair
Hair loss is often due to excessive manipulation, friction from surfaces, improper health care, using the wrong product, etc. You see, a lot of factors can cause postpartum hair loss.
One tip that can help when trying to stop postpartum hair loss is to trim your edges frequently.
Since the tip of the hair gets dried quickly and can cause breakage and split ends cutting the hair would make it easy to avoid breakage when combing.
Trim the hair regularly, especially when the edges are weak, is an excellent way to reduce split ends and hair breakage. Another tip to try on how to stop postpartum hair loss is to sleep on silk.
Cotton, wool, and other materials are harsh and can cause friction, leading to hair breakage. To avoid this, sleep on silk bedding and pillowcase.
Silk is smooth, so there will be less friction between the hair and the pillowcase, minimizing hair breakage. You may also decide to use a silk hair bonnet, especially when you do not have a silk pillowcase.
If you are wrapping your hair with a towel after washing, that makes it dry out quickly.
Instead, lock in the moisture by following this process. In the bathroom, after washing, detangle the hair with your hands. Then pat your hair dry with a towel.
Condition the hair, detangle with your hands, and do a protective style. Allow the hair to air dry. It is way better than wrapping the hair in a towel before conditioning.
You can invest in a microfiber towel since cotton towels are a bit harsh on the hair. You should avoid using icy water or boiling water on the hair. Use warm water to wash the hair instead.
Try using a volumizing shampoo and massaging your hair scalp often. All these are good hair routines that can help if you are finding ways on how to stop postpartum hair loss.
9. Be Patient
During pregnancy, marked hormonal changes took place in the body. After birth, it will take some time for your body to balance these hormones and return to the pre-pregnancy state.
So be calm and know that the postpartum hair loss will only last a while. In a few months, your hair will bounce back, and you’ll be ready to rock it as before.
Instead of stressing out, try to do the necessary things: eat well, rest, use good hair care products, review your hair care routine, etc.
Conclusion
All these are fool-proof ways how to regrow hair after pregnancy, improve hair growth, and how to stop postpartum hair loss.
If these do not help with your postpartum hair loss, visit the doctor to lodge an official complaint and take the necessary steps and precautions he prescribes.
Save this for later!
