Hair Loss and Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the phase when a lot of hormonal changes take place within the body of a woman, which affect her overall health, and hair is no exception.



Many women experience significant growth in their hair during pregnancy while others observe their thick hair have turned to dull or limp. The most common type of hair loss associated with pregnancy occurs one to six months after the delivery and is known as Telogen effluvium.

During normal days when your body is not undergoing any sort of hormonal changes, approximately 90% of the hair is growing while other 10% are in a resting phase. These resting hairs fall out every 2-3 months allowing new hair to grow. Loosing hair after pregnancy is quite common and as much as 40 to 50% of women become victim of it. This is a temporary type of hair loss that occurs when the estrogen level comes back to normal after the delivery. Also the number of hairs entering the resting phase after pregnancy increases and the resting phase shortens which disturbs the normal growth of the hair causing more hair to fall out. Most of the women enjoy healthy growth of hair during the months of pregnancy due to increased level of estrogen hormones in the body, which causes hair to remain in the growing phase and stimulates the growth of new hair. Estrogen sends signals to the hair follicles instructing them to keep growing and stop shedding. Increased level of estrogen also improves your metabolism, which brings essential nutrients to the scalp. Besides estrogran women who have a good diet and eat useful vitamins during pregnancy also enjoy healthy growth of hair during pregnancy. The resting phase of the hair also increases during pregnancy so much of the hair are in the resting phase at any one time causing less hair to fall out each day. This makes hair thicker and fuller. Also the hair texture of the pregnant women changes sometimes, changing straight hair to curly, full to limp or dry to oily. This is also because of the hormonal changes that take place during pregnancy, which affects the structure of the hair.

Although unusual some women suffer through substantial hair loss during pregnancy, which is an indication that their body is not getting right amount of minerals and vitamins. It is important that such women treat their deficiency as soon as possible because even a small iron deficiency can make hair dry and weak and affect their natural health. As soon as the hair loss that occur after the delivery stops the normal hair growth resumes within several months. Hair loss during or after pregnancy is not a severe type of hair loss, which can lead to bald spots or patches or can give rise to permanent hair loss.

Following are few hair care tips, which should be performed by each pregnant woman to prevent or decrease the chances of hair loss during or after pregnancy:
1. To ensure your body has proper balance of hormones keep consulting your health care provider during and after pregnancy
2. Avoid hair styles like pigtails, hair weaves, braids, tight hair rollers etc as these can pull and stress your hair making them to fall out.
3. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables containing flavonoids and antioxidants that promotes hair growth and protect the health of hair follicles.
4. Treat your hair gently and avoid over brushing.
5. Avoid using chemicals such as colors, dyes as during pregnancy as you hair may react differently to these coloring agents.
6. Use mild shampoos and conditioners that contain biotin and silica.
7. Brush hair gently while they are wet and avoid fine toothcombs.
8. Avoid very hot blow dryers. If you want to use them set the on the cool settings.
9. Along with a well balanced diet do take nutrients such as Vitamin B complex, Biotin, Vitamin C with bioflavonoids,Vitamin E, Zinc etc.

Besides pregnancy hair loss is also associated with the following types of reproductive health issues:

Discontinuation of birth control pills or any usage of any other type of hormonal birth control method

Miscarriage or stillbirth

Abortion

Hormonal imbalance

Women themselves should deal the constant changes that occur on the hair during pregnancy. All pregnant women going through this phase should learn to fight with these changes. Seeking help from professional hairdressers or salon can sometimes get very expensive and time consuming. Instead of wasting money and time on these salons it’s better to spend on hair accessories that helps in combating with different hair situations that arise during pregnancy. You can also treat various conditions of your scalp by massaging it with essential oils, which are safe to use during pregnancy.

Visit out Articles section full of articles and resources about acne and related skin conditions.