Moms only - postnatal shedding?

[rhubarbarin]

I know it's normal to have increased thickness/growth during pregnancy, and then a period of shedding after birth, after stopping breastfeeding, or even years after you have your baby.

I was just curious what LHCers have experienced. Since I might be having a baby myself, I'm thinking about all the changes my body is going to go through.

So, did you experience postnatal shed? How noticable was it? And was your hair permanently changed (it's thickness, or it's type)? I know many moms gain or lose wave or curl through pregnancy..

[Altocumulus]

I said "some shed", but lots of stuff happened -

Pregnancy #1 - My hair changed color and texture during the pregnancy. It got a lot darker, and a little curlier and much stiffer. It's hard to say about shedding because I chopped it off from waist to pixie at 6 weeks postpartum (oh, what a terrible idea that was! I looked 10 years older and 20 pounds heavier), so I might not have noticed, but I don't think I shed significantly. When I stopped breastfeeding at 3 mos, my hair abruptly started growing in my original medium blonde color, instead of the medium brown it had been when I was pregnant. This was even more noticeable as I had cut off all of my prepregnancy hair and had only the brown hair left. I had a clear line of demarcation between the blonde roots and brown "length". The texture change was permanent - my hair remained curlier and stiffer.

Pregnancy #2 - once again, my hair grew in brown during the pregnancy and then went back to blonde afterward. This time, I nursed for 1 year and the change from brown to blonde was not as abrupt, but there was still a visible line. No texture changes this time, also no big chop! I did experience some shedding after weaning. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but a year or so later I noticed that I had a lot of regrowth at the length it would be if it had shed at the time of weaning. I still see the effects of that nearly 3 years later.

Good luck!

[Sana]

I guess I did have some shedding after I stopped BF. I lost quite a lot of thickness, more than I shed I guess & I am attributing this to breakage from flat ironing which I was doing at the same time.

[Masara]

I don't remember any noticable shedding. It wasn't something I was looking for at the time, but I think that I would have noticed if my drain suddenly started to clog up.
I only had long hair for my first baby for the other two, my hair was short so any shedding would have been less visible.

I think weaning off breastfeeding very slowly probably helped. My sister had massive hairloss (I mean she ended up with bald patches) and she stopped b/feeding very suddenly.

I didn't have any notible changes in hair thickness or growth during pregnancy either. So maybe my body didn't feel the need to loos any extra hair, because there wasn't any.

[FrannyG]

I said "some shed". Although I was too busy to think about hair much, I couldn't help but notice that I lost a fair bit of hair on either side of my forehead. It grew back in, eventually. I didn't really notice an overall loss throughout my head though. If there was some, it wasn't noticeable.

The biggest change was that my hair darkened significantly during and after my pregnancies.

[Kirin]

After my first daughter was born, I swore I was going bald. I've shed before or since, but this was rediculous. I clogged drains daily, and my hair brush looked like a bunny was living in it. It was even obvious to those I knew that my hair had thinned.

Fortunately, it did come back (and I lived with those new growth hairs sticking out all over the place for two years!), but I did not shed at all with daughter #2.

[moonchaser]

I didn't get any thickness while pregnant and I have now lost at least 2/3 of my hair.

[rhubarbarin]

Oh moonchaser that's a shame. I'm sending hair regrowth vibes your way!

[Gladtobemom]

While I was pregnant, all 4 times, my shedding was incredibly minimal. My hair grew fast and thick.

About a month or so after birth, my hair would start to shed quite a lot until it was pretty much back to its pre-pregnancy thickness.

[Shermie Girl]

I had very thick hair before my one pregnancy. (Almost Igor thick.) Afterward, I had a big shed and lost a lot of hair. Most grew back, but not all. My hair is now not as thick as it used to be. :)

[camara]

My hair didn´t change noticeably while I was pregnant with DS 4. Also, there was no shedding afterwards. I do think, however, it got a little wavier. This might be due to the prgnancy, but then again could probably have happened on its own anyway.

[Alley Cat]

I shed heaps after my daughter I thought it was because I was very ill after she was born I guess it was a combination of normal post pregnancy shed and a difficult post natal period , my hair was all over the house. Back in those days I wasn't into growing my hair this long and after both of my pregnancies I had my hair cut to shoulder length. I shed after my 2nd pregnancy but not as much.
It grew back though. :)

[almudena]

I shed nothing during my pregnancy and the first couple of months after giving birth. Then started sheding like crazy during three months at least. However I didn't notice a decrease of thickness.
Now the shedding is normal and have lots and lots of baby hairs coming out.

[LynnM]

I actually notice the MOST shedding while pregnant, and reduced but still considerable shedding after pregnancy. I notice considerable loss of thickness, loss of hair health, and tangliness when I am pregnant. Last pregnancy I thought I was going bald - enough to chop my hair off (I actually have a permanent bald spot from that pregnancy!) This time, I knew it was coming and know to wait it out. It is not uncommon for hormones to affect shedding. :( I notice more shedding right before that-time-of-the-month, too. There isn't anything that helps it, that I know of.

[Patrycja]

Well-heres the background.I had a 4 month old when I found out I was pregnant again(yeah BIG surprise).My youngest is now 5 months and I'm thinking I'm getting the shed period from both of those pregnancies.It's finally looking like its slowing down but for awhile there-I was pulling out handfuls everytime I washed.Even doing a CO was making me shed horribly.It's so bad-I really hate having my hair up in a ponytail because I see my scalp.My widows peak is no more formed because of the balding spots on the side of my head.I'm super self conscious.

[maibaum]

During pregnancy I had thick hair (could not close my barettes anymore). After giving birth I did not notice much shedding. But right now as my child is one year old (and still brestfeading in the afternoon and night), I am loosing a lot of hair. I hope this will stop soon. There is also some new hair growing and it seems to be softer and more curly.

[nutsenmai]

My hair became pleasantly thicker during my pregnancy, then at exactly 4 months post-partum I shed back to my normal thickness. Or maybe a bit thicker, but the shedding period was short. My daughter is 14 months now and still happily breastfeeding whenever she likes. I have no problems with extraneous shedding at all.

I do take a multivitamin, MSM, fish- and flaxseed oils, and biotin (just started this recenly). I've found that if I go off my multivitamin I have much more pronounced mood swings! I think nutrition, and possibly exrecise, have a lot to do with shedding patterns.

[beatricedivina]

About three months after my daughter was born, my hair started falling out. She's 15 months old, and it's STILL falling out. I'm still nursing, though, so I hope once she weans, my hair might recover. I had nice thick hair, previously, and now it's about half as thick. We've had to invest in special hair traps in the shower drain so that I don't clog everything up when I shower, and my hair is everywhere. If it weren't for the fact that it's much neater and easier to keep up off my neck and face when it's long, I'd definitely be thinking of cutting it.

[Katze]

Hm, I'm interested in this one. Being newly pregnant, I find I am still shedding though at a lower rate than I did last winter when I was stressed, sick, and overworked.

Could it be that some women don't stop shedding during pregnancy but also only shed normally afterwards? That would be my hope, since I have spent so much effort and time on my hair and on finally getting it to a normal thickness, I'd hate to lose it!

[lavenderblue]

a lot of shed here :sad it began about 3 months after birth and stopped when my son was about 1,5 years. I really lost a lot of hair. I could really cry when I was washing my hair.
Now it is all growing back, I have lots of new baby hairs. I believe long term breast feeders have more hair loss (something about hormones).
I fed my son for 2 years :) and it was worth every single hair I've lost :)

[rhubarbarin]

Hm, I'm interested in this one. Being newly pregnant, I find I am still shedding though at a lower rate than I did last winter when I was stressed, sick, and overworked.

Could it be that some women don't stop shedding during pregnancy but also only shed normally afterwards? That would be my hope, since I have spent so much effort and time on my hair and on finally getting it to a normal thickness, I'd hate to lose it!

OMG Katze you're pregnant?? Congrats!! That was pretty fast, wasn't it?:cheese::cheese::cheese:

[Melian]

I voted "Yes, some shed" as I am in the middle of THE shed. Well, maybe not right in the middle, but isn't any worse than my yearly summer shed. So it could get worse. My thickness increased during pregnancy, so hopefully it'll go back to prepregnancy thickness.

[elusive0204]

During my both my pregnancies I didn't shed more than 10 hairs a day it seemed. I loved my hair while I was pregnant. Then about 4 months postpartum the shed came. First time I really thought I was going bald but the shedding decreased back to normal then it started growing back; I was so relieved! The same pattern the 2nd time.

[Ndnlady]

My hair was extra thick when I was pregnant with my daughter, but after I had her and started to breastfeed was when it all started to fall out and went back to pre-baby thickness!:( Plus my hair grew really fast in those 9 months I was pregnant with her!

[Katze]

Well, my shedding has started in earnest the past week. :(

One day while washing and detangling I counted 120 hairs. Today just detangling while sitting outside I already got 50. Every time I run my hands through my hair some more hairs come out, and lots of these are new growth! Is this normal?!?

[Newniepg]

I haven't noticed any shedding yet, which surprised me as I was expecting it to all fall out as soon as the placenta got delivered!

Clearly it didn't happen that way and I still have my thicker hair I gained during pregnancy.

[Themyst]

My hair gained twice the volume when I was pregnant with both my son and daughter. Months after I had them, the shedding began but I only lost the hair that I had gained. All that happened is that I went back to normal. Wish I had that incredibly thick hair back, though. It was nice!

[Naava]

While I was pregnant, I didn't shed almost at all and had nice and thick hair in the end. It took about three months after giving birth before I started shedding and after maybe two months I got back to normal. I think I now have about as much hair as I had before pregnancy. But anyway, when the shedding was heaviest, I was afraid of looking at the shower room floor :P

[karli]

One day while washing and detangling I counted 120 hairs. Today just detangling while sitting outside I already got 50. Every time I run my hands through my hair some more hairs come out, and lots of these are new growth! Is this normal?!?
You shouldn`t worry. You just had a child and on top of that you had a traumatising surgery, both are causing sheds.

After childbirth I shed a lot and my hair got really dry.I brestfeed for nearly two years and didn`t notice any shed during the last year. But after my mothers death four years ago, it felt as if I lost half of my hair.

[Cassi]

I am officially a freak I think. A friend told me about her extreme shed after her first child and not to be scared when it happened. I was pregnant with twins so she thought mine would be even crazier than hers. I never noticed any change. Maybe I was too tired to notice. I nursed them until I was pregnant again, and now am still nursing that child. Still I don't think I ever really noticed a big change. Maybe I am unobservant? So in summary I have either been A) pregnant or B) nursing since September 2000. My singleton guy is 3 & 1/2 years old so I am a marathon nurser!

[girloctopus]

I'm still nursing, but my hair is still as thick as ever! I never noticed any difference.

[JamieLeigh]

I'd guess I might have been a high iii or iv on the thickness scale before having 5 kids...I used to be able to secure my ponytails with only one or two passes with an elastic band. And now I'm down to a ii, which is about 3 and sometimes 4 passes, and that's really only after taking such good care of it lately. :(

[HoneyBeeMissy]

I noticed shedding after my third child was born but not after the first two. One reason I suspect is that my body was depleted of so many vitamins and minerals. It took a long time for me to build up and be healthy after that. I looked like the walking dead for about a year and only started feeling better after an iron infusion that took almost 10 hours.

I did take my prenatals and continued with them while breastfeeding and beyond. My two youngest are 18 months apart and maybe my body didn't have enough time to get back to normal before I became pregnant again??

[Katze]

You shouldn`t worry. You just had a child and on top of that you had a traumatising surgery, both are causing sheds.

After childbirth I shed a lot and my hair got really dry.I brestfeed for nearly two years and didn`t notice any shed during the last year. But after my mothers death four years ago, it felt as if I lost half of my hair.

Sorry to hear about your mom. :(

And thanks for your reassurance. I do still have the length I gained, so that's something, and shedding seems to have slowed down the past few days. I'm going to breastfeed as long as baby kitty needs it.

My hair looks very thin on the ends still despite constant trimming. I think I am one of those people doomed to have taper and fairytale ends naturally. But the extra thickness of pregnancy seemed to make it look better.