Hair falling out advice

[Mum]

So I'm trying to embrace my shorter cut and use this time to restore so thickness to my hair. Since having my little one my hair has been falling out quite significantly, I was told this is normal but 6 months later it was getting worse. A blood test showed I'm deficiant in folate, b12 and low iron so I've been trying to correct this. Does anyone here have any other suggestions for me? I usually don't use heat on my hair, maybe two or three times a year. I almost always have it in a bun. I wash it twice a week. My diet is pretty healthy and I take a multi vitamin, folic acid and iron. All advice welcome, I have a lot to learn 😁😁 Thank you

[elfynity]

Hi Mum, I took a multivitamin with iron in it while I was pregnant, so it is good that you are doing that now. I also wanted to grow my hair after pregnancy and my mom suggested gelatine. I took a spoon of that every day and oh heck did my hair grow!!

My homeopath advised me recently that taking either collagen or gelatine will supplement you and help your hair grow if you are lacking in these - it seems that you are. I would also strongly recommend making bone broth - not just for your hair, but for your skin, teeth and bones! Your body seems to need it alot right now! You are not vegetarian are you?

Then from a topical point of view, check out what shampoo you are using - does it have sulphates in it? Sulphates made my hair fall out like mad. As soon as I stopped using it, not only did my hair stop falling out (only lose a little bit of hair now), but little hairs started to grow all over my scalp - my hair has literally thickened up. It is usually called something like: sodium lareth sulphate. It's up for debate.

Are you using a shampoo with silicone or dimethicone? Not everyone's hair does well with silicone. For me, long term results were extreme hair dehydration and breakage.

Well done for staying away from heat - do you also keep your hair away from hot water? Hot water can cause alot of damage. If you suspect this, change to cool water for hair washing.

I hope some of this is insightful to you. There is so much information on this website that you also really just have to see what is going to work best for you and your hair type. HAve you worked out your hair type as yet? You can find alot of info here: https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=120052.

[MusicalSpoons]

Those deficiencies would definitely explain it! It will take time to replenish your body's stores, and then for it to show in regrowth of hair. Your body will use what it needs to get the vital systems in order, then any left over will go towards the non-essential things like hair, nails, etc. I would definitely advise requesting blood tests to check your levels a few months or a year after starting the supplements, to make sure they are sufficient and this are going in the right direction. There can also be a difference between 'in range' levels and optimum levels, so don't let the doctors fob you off with 'your levels are fine now' - ask for the actual results and then you all be able to see if they're borderline within range, or actually okay. If I'm just telling you things you already know, my apologies :flower:

[lapushka]

So I'm trying to embrace my shorter cut and use this time to restore so thickness to my hair. Since having my little one my hair has been falling out quite significantly, I was told this is normal but 6 months later it was getting worse. A blood test showed I'm deficiant in folate, b12 and low iron so I've been trying to correct this. Does anyone here have any other suggestions for me? I usually don't use heat on my hair, maybe two or three times a year. I almost always have it in a bun. I wash it twice a week. My diet is pretty healthy and I take a multi vitamin, folic acid and iron. All advice welcome, I have a lot to learn ���� Thank you

It is going to be like growing out from bald from the point of the "rectified" situation (good iron, good b-vitamins), the cut actually wasn't necessary if you didn't want it, but it's done now, so...

You can't do more than you're doing. Maybe join the microtrimming thread to cut bits off until the thickness catches up? Would that be helpful? :flower:

[LittleHealthy]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUM_QJFLRbNKTu0mNwr1mJ6g_sw6tjs9I

Here’s a good video on PP hair loss (by a qualified dermatologist who isn’t trying to sell you anything). I was literally just watching it in preparation for my next round of post partum shedding haha! It’s completely normal, caused by the drop in estrogen levels after the birth. The dermatologist in this video suggests it is normal to experience this up until the child’s first birthday. Pretty much in line with what I experienced with the birth of my first child!

The only thing she does say which *may* help, is biotin. There’s some evidence to suggest it helps certain people regain their length and thickness somewhat quicker than without. It’s the only vitamin/supplement etc which has some scientific evidence to support the claims!

[enting]

Bunning is good, just make sure your buns aren't too tight, that can encourage hair loss. In a similar vein, make sure that you handle it gently when washing and combing/brushing. Starting with taking supplements to build up what you're deficient in is the right way to go. Pregnancy can really deplete a person. There are other things to help encourage hair growth, like gentle massages, oils/no oils depending on your body's responses, and other things but it's probably best to start out plain and simple and see how far getting all your nutrients goes. That might just be all you need, that and time. If you see it's not helping enough, then is the time to pursue other options, I think. Either way, there are a lot of threads around the forum about hair fall and things that have or have not worked for others. You can take a look at those if you like. (Googling "long hair community forum" and "topic you want to look for" sometimes works better than searching from within the forums.)

ETA: Welcome, by the way! I see you're new here :flower:

[chrissy-b]

I agree with MusicalSpoons, those deficiencies explain it. One other thing I would have your doctor check is Vitamin D levels as that can also cause hair loss.

I also have low iron stores and had to try a couple of different iron supplements to find one that I could absorb (I also have celiac, which was causing the absorption issue). I currently take Enzymatic Therapy Ultimate Iron (which has folic acid and B12) with 1000mg of vitamin c and 500mg of l-lysine (both help with absorption) on an empty stomach twice a day. Before that I was taking Ferrex 150 twice a day with 500mg of vit c and my ferritn levels actually went down even though I did notice hair regrowth at about the month mark. Now, even though I'm taking a lower dose of elemental iron, I feel so much better than I did on the Ferrex and my hair is still growing.