Hair Loss After Pregnancy is Totally Normal

Hair loss after pregnancy happens to many women. A first time mother may be worried by hair loss, because she hasn't experienced it before. Knowing that many women lose hair, and that it's temporary, can help women to be less stressed, in an already stressful time.

Hair and skin are enhanced by hormones released during pregnancy. These hormones, released to aid the baby, also cause hair to remain on the scalp longer, leading to fuller, thicker hair.

There are two stages of hair on a human head at any time. 90% of hair is in the growth stage. The other 10% is in what is called the resting stage, where it stays for three months. After the resting stage, the hair falls out, and a new hair begins growing in its place.

Hair growth is slowed down by estrogenic hormones when a woman is pregnant. This means that hair is entering the resting stage at a slower rate. New hair is also continuing to grow. This means that a woman has more hair than normal, leading to thicker looking hair.

Once her baby is born, hormone levels in a woman's body return to normal, which takes around three months. If a woman is going to experience hair loss after pregnancy, it will happen when the hormone levels return to normal.

Hair loss after pregnancy varies from woman to woman. For some women, only a few strands are lost. Others may lose clumps at a time, which can cause an already stressed new mother to worry.

The period of hair regrowth can take up to three months. This can lead hair to be at several different lengths as it grows back, something which is more noticeable if a large amount of hair was lost. Pre-pregnancy thickness may take up to a year to return.

It is natural to lose some hair after pregnancy. While it isn't something that any woman would like to have happen, it need not be an unexpected surprise, as long as she understands the reasons behind it.