Hair Fall Following Pregnancies

Brush with lost hairs
Photo: PhimSri/Shutterstock
Q: I am in distress because of the severe hair fall I am having since my 2nd and 3rd childbirth. The 2nd delivery was in May. And since the 4th month of delivery I had severe hair fall which continued up until the 9th month, after which I got pregnant with the 3rd child.
 
Now after this delivery also I started losing my hair which is now getting worse, and which is 150 to 200 strands of hair daily. I wash my hair daily, as I find that my scalp is itchy if not washed daily with not much dandruff other than just a few spots here and there.
 
I consulted a dermatologist and she gave me Rogaine hair spray, Excense hair drops and Ducray anaphase shampoo. I started using this since one month and am still using with no result. I am in Bahrain. The doctor said it is also due to the water here and the stress due to the repeated pregnancies, and a hair fall of 100 hairs is natural. But I am getting more depressed as the hair thinning is more obvious and I can't even decide whether to grow my hair to medium length or to cut it short.
 
My face is oval and I haven't had any particular hair cuts, other than medium length layer cut at the back. Can you please suggest any solution for my problem and suggest how to groom my hair? Anticipating your prompt reply to my problem
 
A: I sympathize greatly with your plight. I know of many women who undergo significant hair fall following pregnancies as a result of the transitions of the hormone levels in their bodies. This generally happens because the shift in the hormones of the body during and after pregnancy triggers the hair follicles to shift from their growth phase to their shedding phase.
 
In most cases, after the pregnancies are delivered and the body's hormone levels begin to return to what is "normal" for you, your hair growth cycles should resume and your hair fall may resolve itself. Your doctor can (and has) already prescribed medications and treatments to assist you in coping during the interim.
 
Apart from following the doctor's instructions and treatments, you should make sure to keep your hair clean well-conditioned. As for styling, a shorter length will generally appear fuller when dealing with thinner hair densities, so cutting the hair may be a good idea. If your hair has some wave or body, perhaps a long circle cut would be nice. Cutting the hair so that the bottom layers fall to the mid-point along the neck and then you have nice even layering throughout.
 
After the cut you can style the hair using a roller set after shampooing which would allow you to have some more volume and further mask the thinning of the hair. Just remember to keep the styling soft and choose a look that you like. I firmly believe that if you get a cut that makes you feel good about how you look, it will help you cope while your body's chemistry rights itself.
 
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See also:
 
Hair loss
 
Pregnancy and your hair
 
How many hairs do we lose per day?