Why do I lose hair after pregnancy?

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Postpartum hair loss shocks almost every new mother, and the mechanism is pure timing: pregnancy hormones pushed far more of your hair into the growth phase and held it there, so you shed less for nine months - that is the thick pregnancy hair. After delivery, hormone levels crash and all those held hairs enter the shedding phase at once. The result: clumps in the brush and shower drain, typically starting around three months postpartum and peaking around four to six. It is called telogen effluvium, the NHS notes it is normal, and the essential fact is that it is temporary - shedding settles by six to twelve months, and the lost hair regrows, often first visible as a fringe of short baby hairs at the hairline.

Care while it sheds: gentle handling - loose styles, no tight ponytails, wide-tooth comb - and keep eating well, since iron and protein support regrowth. Volumizing products and a shorter cut help it look fuller meanwhile. Supplements marketed for hair rarely outperform a decent diet.

When shedding is more than postpartum timing: shedding still heavy past a year, bald patches rather than diffuse shedding, scalp scaling or pain, or shedding with persistent exhaustion, feeling cold, and low mood - that last cluster points at postpartum thyroiditis, an underactive thyroid that appears in the year after birth and is worth a blood test. Ferritin is worth checking too, since low iron prolongs shedding.

Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text. Describe the shedding and how far postpartum you are, and it can help you read it.

Why do I lose hair after pregnancy?

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