When will I stop shedding?!

[nikkiARNGwife]

I'm nearly 8 months postpartum and my hair is STILL falling out like crazy. It's everywhere! and it's still thick thick thick which is completely unlike my hair anyway. I remember this after DS but can't remember how long it lasted. DH called from work to tell me he found some of my hair tangled in his boot laces lol. It's just everywhere.

[mom2peanuts]

Nikki, you are not alone. Alexis will be 8 months old in the beginning of next month and my hair is still falling too. And not just a little, I am scared to brush it. I am amazed I still have any hair left. I think with my other two it finally stopped falling when they were about 9-10 months old.

[jorgies5]

I was just complaining about this in the hormone thread. I am not happy to hear that you ladies still are having the problem at 8 months. There will be nothing left on my head if I have 3 more months of this...I have fine, thin hair to start with.

[Mandy]

Ok, don't let this freak you out, but my youngest daughter is 8 YEARS old, and there are times when my hair still falls out. Mostly around "that time". My hair used to be a lot thicker than it is now. I never had issues before I got pregnant either.

[rachaelsscraps]

I'm almost 4 weeks postpartum and my hair hasn't been falling out at all! I don't think it did after I had my son either... when I was younger I had pretty thin hair (and thin, weak strands, too) but now (2 kids later) I have thicker hair and the strands are thicker and stronger.

For those who's hair falls out after pregnancy... is it something you notice right away after the baby's born, or does it take a few weeks before you notice that it's falling out? Just curious since mine doesn't do it...

[Kara]

Rachael, I remember it starting at about 3 months for me and lasting a couple of months ...

[meganmecrazy]

I pull handfulls of hair out every single time I wash my hair! I'm really shocked I have any hair left on my head. Damn hormones!

[jorgies5]

Mine started falling out about 3 1/2 months postpartum. It has happened after all 4 babies for me, but I don't remember it being this bad. I don't remember how long it lasted either.

[lauren grier]

LOL never.. ^_^ jk
I have really thick hair so my hair sheds pretty much all the time haha, but the excessive hair falling out crap lasted for like 2 years after I had ce.. it was annoyinnnnnnnnnng

[suze]

lol I'm not even preggo and I still lose tons of hair! especially in the summer!

[nikkiARNGwife]

Yep it started at about 3 mos with both of mine. I'm the same way in the shower..I don't know how I can't have big bald spots on my head from the amount of hair that I lose when I wash it lol.

[Sarah8914]

I have been complaining about this so much lately! It's driving me nuts! and my baby is almost 4 months!!! It started for me when she was about 2 months. Just when I started thinking "hey my hair isn't falling, maybe it won't!" Of course.

So yeah, every time I brush it, even within like 10 minutes of last brushing it comes out in like handfuls. It so annoying!!!! blah!

[Stacey42]

Mine started fallin gout about 3 months both times and continued to noticeably shed for almost a year. Now it's just random hair shedding from time to time.

[newfiemountiewife]

Mine started around 2-3 months with each of them. I have very fine, thin hair, and it was very noticeable. It lasted several months each time, I could literally just sit there and pull out handfuls of hair. It was awful. Yet another reason for me to not have any more babies LOL

[flattsgurl]

Geez...I wish I would have read a thread like this after my youngest was born! LOL This same thing happened to me too and I thought I was a freak of nature. It's a relief to hear how common it is. I don't remember having it happen after my oldest was born but after my youngest was born about 2-3 months after it started but for me it lasted well after a year. It lasted for ever. It still happens from time to time.

[Susan Bartolini]

Yep...same thing happened to me and continued for quite some time. I hated all the little baby hairs that grew back around my face. They would stick up in the air and had to be plastered down with hairspray or mouse.

Here is some info on the phenomenon from the What To Expect site:

Hair Loss (Postpartum)
Here's what causes a new mother to lose her hair (even when she's not pulling it out), and what she can do about it.

What it is: The sudden shedding (sometimes in clumps) that many new mothers experience between three and six months after they give birth.

What causes it: Normally, the average head loses 100 hairs a day — but not all at once, so you don't notice them. During pregnancy, your hormones keep those hairs from falling out (which is why your hair looks as lush as a supermodel's, or is so thick you can barely get a brush through it). But all good things must come to an end, and that includes your awesome new 'do. When those hormones drop back to normal, the extra hairs drop, too.

What you need to know about it: Don't freak: You're not going bald, you're just getting back to normal. If you're breastfeeding, some of your extra hair may hang on to your scalp until you wean or start to supplement with formula or solids. But nursing or not, take comfort in knowing that by the time your baby is ready to blow out the candles on that first birthday cake (and has a full head of hair of his or her own, possibly), your catch-up hair loss will be finished, and your locks should be back to normal, too.

What you can do about postpartum hair loss:

* Keep your hair healthy by eating well and taking a prenatal vitamin supplement.
* Be extra-gentle during your shedding season. Shampoo only when necessary (Ha! As if you had time to shampoo at all!), and use a good conditioner and a wide-toothed comb to minimize tangling. Use scrunchies or barrettes to put hair up, instead of rubber bands — and don't pull hair into tight 'dos.
* Skip blow-dryers and curling and flat irons if you can (again, as if you had time to use them!), and put off any chemically based treatments (highlights, perms, straightening) until the shedding stops.
* Talk to your practitioner if your hair loss is excessive. When it's accompanied by other symptoms, hair loss could be a sign of postpartum thyroiditis.

[jessica31876]

umm yea my youngest is 12 and my hair still falls out BADDD!!! Everytime I take a shower I lose more. The thing is my hair is so thick I dont think Ill ever lose enough to really notice a big difference LOL

[MamaBee]

OMG... LOL! I thought I was alone in this... my hair has been falling out crazy for the last 2 years (age of my DS)... I was going to be asking my Dr. about it in a few weeks!! Darn hormones!

[lovely1m]

Oh, I lost hair for over a year, I think it was like 1.5 years. I remember chunks of it falling out in the shower. It was gross and I remember thinking how much more can I lose! Mine, too, started around 3-4 months. And, yes, Susan, I hate that baby hair growing everywhere thing, too. My mom's hair got really thin after 2 kids and never recovered. Luckily, I didn't have that issue.

[Shawna]

I think mine always did the same thing around 2-3 months postpartum and then lasted until my baby was around 18mo or so, after three kids it's a wonder I have any hair left lol!!

[SeattleSheri]

I think mine lasted about a year with both of my boys, fun stuff!

[stayawake]

I didn't notice much hair loss with my first, and I have crazy thick hair (have to get it thinned by the hairdresser if I want to have nice flatironed shiny hair instead of poofy craziness!) so that was a good thing. With my son, no hair loss until about 3-4 months then I was shedding like mad! At 6 months I found out I had post-partum thyroiditis! (Now considered to be hasimotos thyroiditis). So it's probably just pregnancy thing with you, BUT if you also have irregular and heavy menstruation, weight gain, tiredness, irritability or depression, dry skin on your hands, eyebrow hair loss, or other strange symptoms, get it checked out. There could be another reason why your hair is falling out!

[ditzyscrap]

My kids are 6 and 5 and my hair is still falling out like crazy...I think it's stress, though, lol...

[kim21673]

It's been almost two years and I am still shedding!!!

[Sharon Kay]

I don't remember this at all...but my "baby" is now 14 years old...so maybe I have "mommy brain"???

I know my niece (who hadn't been preggy) went on the depo prevera shots (birth control) and her hair started falling out like crazy...the doctor told her it was one of the possible side effects of the medicine. Are any of you on this?

I took the shots for years and never had any side effects with the hair loss...but found out last year I had been on it TOO MANY YEARS and it caused Osteopenia!!! grrrr I was with the same practice for years and finally the 4th doctor in the practice noticed I had been on it too long and ordered a bone density scan.

[iJenny]

I shed way more hair with my second baby than my first. And, if I remember correctly, it lasted about a year. I was so worried I was going to run out of hair at some point, but its still as thick as ever!

[bellbird425]

i almost don't want to admit how much hair i've been losing since DS birth and lost post-DD; my doctor kept saying 'you've had a baby, it's normal' but i insisted and have since had scalp biopsies at a very understanding and concerned dermatologist's and he's now referred me onto another specialist (who i'm seeing in a few weeks) and he said he wished i'd come in earlier and not left it so long before going to see him.

like it was mentioned above; some postpartum hair loss is normal but there are also other conditions and if ur concerned and getting depressed by it, don't leave getting a medical opinion too long.

[renee82]

Well maybe I'm the only one but I'm still losing hair... and my baby is almost 2 years old!!! ACK!!! But that could also mean that I'm just getting old too....

[nikkiARNGwife]

Well it's good to know I'm not alone lol..It's not enough to make me concerned...and I think if my hair were shorter I wouldn't notice it as much..and yes I have those new little baby hairs right now too and they're driving me nutty!

Renee I cannot believe your baby is almost 2!! I mean it seems like you were just announcing he was born!

[Sweelik89]

Oh my god, I'm so sorry! There's no feeling worse than feeling your hair starts falling off as a woman. You definitely need more supplements in your life.

Sorry for chiming in to this thread so late, but I used to dread taking showers all the time. Now I don't mind.

This is my story and some of my best advice which I hope is going to be of much help.

I'm a woman in her 50's and I didn't give much thought to my sprouting gray hairs and my hair loss in my 30's during my first pregnancy because they were virtually undetectable; however, as my patch turned into a streak, I began to question whether or not I should address them although it was the last thing I wanted to do...

Should I color them? Should I stick to natural hairstyles where they'd go unnoticed? I was really on the fence, yet I didn't feel particularly rushed to conceal my grays...

I'm glad there are finally solutions out there for doing something about it that actually work!

This is a daily hair growth supplement that quite quickly helped me and my bestie to improve our hair and stop our hair loss with a few important but natural ingredients.

It wasn't until we found it we were able to make our hair stop falling off as fast although it doesn't stop completely!

I finally feel a lot more confident in my hair!

Wishing you the best of luck in your journey, sis.

Hope my advice was of help to you <3

Debbie