The usual result of increasing estrogen is that the hair grows fuller and looks more beautiful and healthy overall. This is because fewer hair follicles than usual enter the telogen phase, or resting phase.

Hair loss after pregnancy

After the birth of a child in a young mother the level of estrogen in the body returns to normal , and many extra hairs fall out at the same time. Many women experience hair loss after childbirth, known as postpartum hair loss.

However, the opposite can also happen to hair during pregnancy. Some women experience hair loss. Too many hair follicles go into the resting phase at the same time - this condition is known as telogen effluvium.

Hormones are not always to blame. There may be other factors that lead to hair loss.

Causes of hair loss during pregnancy

Severe hair loss during pregnancy is rare, but in itself is not a major cause for concern.

Hormones

The hormone progesterone produced by the luteal body is believed to be a factor in increased hair loss. This hormone works alongside estrogen to regulate pregnancy.

This interaction can affect hair growth and quality both positively and negatively. For example, dry hair can become even drier and break more easily .

In addition, under the influence of hormones, hair synchronizes the phases of its growth. Thus, too many hairs enter the resting phase together and therefore fall out at the same time.

Birth control pills

The second factor that can lead to hair loss during early pregnancy is stopping the birth control pill. Women who stop taking birth control pills and then get pregnant relatively quickly often experience hair loss.

One of the reasons for this is that tablets artificially maintain high levels of estrogen . If pregnancy occurs, then the level of estrogen in the blood is usually not as high as it was when the pills were still taken.

Therefore, hair can fall out, because, as we have already said, this hormone has a positive effect on the growth cycle.

Iron deficiency

Another cause of hair loss during pregnancy can be iron deficiency . During pregnancy, the body needs 60 percent more iron than because the growing baby consumes so much of it. But if these vitamins and minerals are not enough, then the body stops all the functions that need iron, but are not necessary for survival.

This includes hair growth. Other symptoms that may indicate a deficiency of iron in the blood are pale skin, constant fatigue and, under certain circumstances, increased nervousness .

If iron deficiency is suspected, a physician should be consulted immediately. Most often, women experience iron deficiency in the second trimester of pregnancy .

Stress

Another thing that can cause hair loss during pregnancy is stress . Many expectant mothers put themselves under stress during pregnancy, especially if this is their first child.

This may affect hair growth. Prolonged stress can cause diffuse hair loss even in the absence of pregnancy.

Hair care during pregnancy

Finally, daily hair care also affects hair growth. Usually, pregnant women don't need to change their daily hair care routine much, such as which shampoos and conditioners they use.

However, this does not apply to hair coloring. To this day, this topic is hotly debated. Even today, there is no scientific evidence that coloring hair during pregnancy has a harmful effect on the fetus. However, in general, doctors do not advise doing this.

However, if you do not want to give it up, then at least use natural hair dyes in early pregnancy.

Vitamins for hair loss during pregnancy.

Any remedies for hair loss during pregnancy, including vitamins for hair, are prescribed exclusively by your doctor , who accompanies your pregnancy. Taking any hair loss medication during pregnancy on your own can adversely affect your health and the health of your baby .

Never take drugs, pills, vitamins on the advice of the Internet or on the advice of your surroundings. It is always better to consult a doctor.

What to do if the hair that has fallen out does not grow back?

As a rule, after pregnancy, hair growth returns to normal, and hair that has fallen out grows back .

However, if this does not happen, it may be because the increased hair loss has revealed an already existing type of hair loss, such as female pattern baldness or alopecia (alopecia areata) . It may also have made other underlying hair health issues more apparent. In this case, Hair Transplant in Turkey can be a solution to the problem and restore the former volume of hair. However, no reputable doctor will do a hair transplant without first studying the causes of hair loss.

Dr. Levent Acar and his team at the clinic Cosmedica will be happy to answer any of your questions on this topic. Get a free, no-obligation consultation today.

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what causes it, how to deal with it

Daria Tikhonova Practicing obstetrician-gynecologist and reproductologist, ultrasound doctor 05/04/2022

4 Reading time

A comprehensive restructuring of the body with the onset of pregnancy leads to changes in appearance and not always positive. Hair loss during pregnancy is one of the problems that women who are preparing to become a mother have to face. As a rule, during the period of bearing a baby, the hair becomes thicker and shinier. Thanks to increased estrogen - a mandatory indicator during pregnancy - the hair becomes stronger. A similar reaction with a phase of active growth is observed in many.

However, in some cases the opposite happens - hair falls out during pregnancy, becomes dry, brittle, dull. Although not in all cases, these processes are interconnected. So, if a little hair comes out, and a woman has previously experimented with keratin straightening procedures, coloring, the process can be natural, not related to pregnancy in any way.

Causes of hair loss during pregnancy

Before embarking on the struggle to restore the health of your hair, it is worth finding out why hair falls out during pregnancy in this particular case, since, in principle, there are several factors that provoke the development of this unpleasant phenomenon .

Causes of hair loss during pregnancy can be found in:

• General weakening of the body - in such a difficult period of life as pregnancy, chronic diseases can become more active that have not made themselves felt for a long time, which can significantly weaken the overall muscle tone. Among them are those that hold the hair follicles. The weakening of such muscles will cause the hair to begin to come out.
• Lack of microelements - during the period of bearing a child, the female body not only weakens, it begins to urgently need additional doses of microelements. The cause of severe hair loss can be a deficiency of zinc, calcium, iron.

What else causes hair loss

However, these factors are not the only ones that lead to hair loss. Among other things, this may be negative genetics or discontinuation of contraceptives. Hair loss during pregnancy can also be caused by:

• the presence of bad habits and malnutrition - in a pregnant woman who prefers unhealthy food, is constantly in a state of emotional changes or stress, whose sleep is insufficient in time and quality, the muscles that hold hair follicles , weaken, which leads to their loss;
• deterioration of blood circulation - hair follicles do not receive the necessary dose of useful substances with blood, from which they weaken and die, as a result of which hair falls out;
• slowing down metabolism - during the adaptation of the female body to pregnancy, all processes slow down, including the growth of new hair, as a result of which much more hair falls out than grows.

Ways to prevent hair loss during pregnancy

It is better to seek a solution to the question of what to do if hair falls out during pregnancy with the help of a specialist, since the causes of this unpleasant phenomenon may not lie in natural processes that are easily overcome and associated with pregnancy, but in the presence of various kinds of diseases that require immediate treatment.

However, initially the doctor's recommendations usually focus on improving the quality of nutrition, eating foods containing substances that can prevent hair deterioration and hair loss. Such products include avocados, bananas, salmon and other varieties of red fish, seeds, sweet potatoes, oysters, almonds. Additionally, you can take vitamin D and Omega-3, but on this issue you should consult with a trichologist and your gynecologist.

What else has a positive effect on hair retention

To prevent deterioration of the hair situation, a pregnant woman needs to establish a full and sufficient sleep, to be outdoors more often, to rest as much as possible. It is usually not possible to replenish the reserves of useful substances and microelements due to their amount contained in food. Therefore, the specialist, together with the woman, selects a complex of vitamins that suits her, which is aimed at strengthening the hair.

In addition, it is required to exclude stressful situations that lead not only to the fact that hair falls out during pregnancy, but also to the fact that spontaneous miscarriage can occur. Among the simplest and most easily implemented recommendations that can provide a good result is to change the hair brush to a special soft one, and also try to dry them after washing without using a hair dryer.

Internal diseases as a cause of hair loss

Hair loss during pregnancy can be caused not only by easily eliminated causes, but also by serious illnesses, for example, skin diseases. These include fungal diseases, which are not the last in terms of prevalence. These can be skin allergic reactions, eczema, various types of lichen, microsporia, irritation, as well as damage to the hair follicles associated with scalp injuries. Hormone-dependent diseases lead to the fact that the hairstyle comes out.

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Namely such ailments as:

• cystic formations on the ovaries, leading to a violation of their function;
• hyper- or hypothyroidism.

This phenomenon may be one of the symptoms of diabetes.

The common factor of these ailments is the creation of hormonal imbalance in the body, which is one of the most dangerous conditions for hair follicles, as they are extremely sensitive to fluctuations in the hormonal background.

What else can hair loss indicate?

The most serious cause of hair loss during pregnancy can be cancer. Treatment of such an ailment always requires the use of sufficiently aggressive therapy. This is due to the fact that in case of untimely access to a specialist and the lack of proper treatment, there is a real threat not even to health, but to life.

Lupus erythematosus and Hugerot-Sjögren's syndrome are no less serious and require timely diagnosis and urgent treatment of diseases that can lead to hair loss during pregnancy. All these very dangerous diseases must be excluded from the possible reasons that the hairstyle of a pregnant woman is becoming less lush, shiny and healthy.

Hair care

Since almost 40-50% of women lose their hair during pregnancy, this process cannot be considered a pathology, unless, of course, it is caused by serious illnesses that are not directly related to bearing. To reduce the negative consequences of hair loss and stop the process itself, proper hair care will help, for which certain recommendations should be followed. Experts advise women who lose hair during pregnancy to take care of them with oil:

Its regular use for scalp care is very beneficial for health. And using twice a week before bed for hair care will help nourish and heal them. Some of the best natural skin care oils include olive, coconut, and almond. In addition, it is worth temporarily abandoning hair coloring and other procedures that affect the structure of hairs and bulbs.

What other steps to take to take care of

Women who experience hair loss during pregnancy should switch to a special shampoo designed to combat hair loss instead of a traditional shampoo. The event is complex, so you should pay attention to specialized lotions, balms, masks, which are designed and designed specifically to solve this particular problem. It is required to learn that it is necessary to use funds from the same series.

This is because they are designed to be used and cared for at the same time to enhance the overall effect. Speaking about traditional medicine, it is worth noting that it is especially useful to make masks from natural products - rye bread, egg yolk. A positive effect is given by rinsing the head with decoctions of onion peel, chamomile, oak bark, burdock roots.

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