POSTPARTUM HAIR LOSS TIPS

One of the least talked about postpartum problems, is hair loss. It might sound trivial when you compare it to bleeding, stitches or a weak pelvic floor but it's still a huge confidence killer when your hair is suddenly falling out in clumps and nobody warned you about it. I don't even need one hand to count how many times someone mentioned to me that my hair would fall out, because that conversation never cropped up, not even once. I have naturally thick, coarse, curly hair (thanks for passing that gene along mother) so I'm used to shedding a fair bit when I brush or wash it, but this was on another level. Clogging up the plug hole with your hair isn't so glamorous and with no end in sight, it really got me down.

I was a generic girly girl as a teenager, I loved hair and make-up. I was straightening my hair since before straightening irons existed, (the good old iron - do NOT try that at home) I moved onto the braun tongs that you had to pop an actual gas cylinder in, who remembers those? Before finally moving with the ages to ghds. As you can imagine, my hair took a battering. Unlike now when I can go a week without touching it, back then the thought of a day without heat on my hair was unthinkable. A kink in my fringe would be detrimental to my day, it was serious stuff. I grew up and realised there were much more important things in life than doing my hair, like an extra ten minutes in bed before work but you can't really reverse the damage you do and no matter how hard I tried, my hair never grew. Stuck with forever shoulder length hair, I hated it. Till I became pregnant and suddenly these tresses began to form quicker than my tummy could grow, by the time I welcomed my first son my hair was at it's best it had been in years and I was finally happy with it. Which is a good job really because with a newborn around time is of the essence and I would not have spare time to be preening myself.

Two months later my hair began to fall out, I'd notice it because it would be on EVERYTHING. Noahs' playmat, his cot, my pillows, the floor, my clothes, his clothes - it was a wonder I had any left in my scalp because I'm sure if I'd have collected all the fallout up, it would have equalled a wig. So I googled, low and behold this was expected, everyone online was telling me how it happened to them, yet I was the last to know. What nobody could tell me however was how long it would last, how much I'd lose and if it would ever grow back, it's one of those 'everyone's different' jobbys and that terrified me. I looked into so many quick fixes, hair extensions, I even wondered if hair transplant treatment could be the answer after spying one too many celebrity success stories. Thankfully it did ease up around the six month mark, and as fast as it had fallen out it began to grow back, making up-do's interesting with all of this new baby hair regrowth. With my second pregnancy I was much more equip, it happened again and I'm unsure if it was due to Patricks premature arrival or hormones but it took a lot longer to begin with him. I almost felt smug as I assumed it wasn't happening this time - I was wrong. With hindsight on my side I practised a few measures to counteract it, and whilst I'm not 100% sure if they just worked for me, I thought I'd share them just in case you're going through the same thing.

Invest in a tangle teaser.

I don't know what wizardry these brushes have invested in, but it's a good one. I didn't believe the hype for so long but not only do they make brushing my hair a much more enjoyable experience (they don't snag) but there was a considerably less amount of hair on the bristles than there were on other brushes of different brands. I have never reverted away from one since my first investment over three years ago.

Brush dry hair.

Your hair is much weaker and fragile when it's wet, which is an odd concept to me as I'd imagined it to be the other way around. Brushing your hair when it's dry, or at least partially if you can't stand letting it dry unbrushed, will really help reduce fallout. It's less likely to tear or pull away and it gives it a bit of time to recover from the washing process.

Tie your hair up at night.

I found this the most effective way to stop huge lashings of hair on my pillow in the morning. I guess if it's tied up neatly it has less room to move around and get caught under your body as you toss and turn. Post partum hair is pretty weak and it really wont take much to snag it. I tie mine right up at the top of my head in your most un-chic pineapple style, it doesn't look very vogue, but it does the trick.

Leave the heat.

I know this is obvious, but the last thing your hair needs is heat. As soon as your baby hits a couple of months and their grab reflexs come into play, they'll be gripping onto your hair all the time and you'll find tying it up is the only option anyway. Save yourself the damage and lay off the heat until the loss has slowed down. 

A scalp massage.

This is when you can guilt trip the other half into a free head massage. John would kindly offer up his services for me once a week and give my head a good massage. I'm not entirely sure if it's effective, all the magazines claim so, but at the very least you get a bit or r&r so you can't complain can you?

Postpartum hair loss isn't something you can prevent, but there are definitely methods I found that worked for me in slowing it down. I was shocked at just how common it is, given I had heard nothing about it in all of those baby books or antenatal classes. Did you suffer from post-baby hair loss?

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