Postpartum Hair Loss Is Temporary, But Here Are 5 Ways To Help Speed The Growth Process

The answers? Yes, it depends, and it's worth focusing on standard hair care lessons. Here's everything you need to know, vetted by experts. 

Technically, postpartum hair loss is actually called telogen effluvium—which refers to a temporary shedding of the hair. Basically, more hairs shift into the telogen (or resting) phase, which causes a growing number of strands to fall out. 

After childbirth, though, there's a quick drop in those hormones—with greater hair shedding a result. It's perhaps even more noticeable if you experienced a particularly full head of pregnancy locks, Ziering notes, but rest assured that it's a perfectly normal condition, and hair does grow back after some time. And for what it's worth: There's not much you can do to prevent postpartum hair loss (or predict whether it will happen to you). 

If it's been a full year and you haven't seen any improvement, you might want to visit a derm or hair specialist to make sure there isn't another underlying condition happening simultaneously, says Ziering.  

As for treatments, it's pretty much a waiting game, says board-certified dermatologist Iris Rubin, M.D., founder of SEEN Hair Care. However, there are ways to take care of the hair you do have while you're waiting for others to grow back. (As you may know by now: Happy and healthy hair tends to grow faster): 

"Being gentle with the hair is important," says Rubin. "When your hair is thinned, you want to preserve and keep the hair you have in the best condition." That said, you might want to avoid blasting the strands with hot tools or chemically based treatments, at least until the shedding ceases. 

While you can't exactly prevent postpartum hair loss, you can make sure you're getting enough vitamins and nutrients (namely, vitamin B, folate, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids), which Ziering notes can support hair growth—postpartum or otherwise. King agrees: "Make sure you don't have any vitamin or mineral deficiencies," she notes.*

"Perhaps easier said than done with an infant, but try to manage stress and sleep as well as possible," says Ziering. "The body does its best cellular function, repair, and restoration overnight." It's true: We have the highest cellular activity in the skin while we sleep, so all the collagen repair and antioxidant activity (which helps support hair growth) happen during some restful shut-eye.  

Tight buns, ponies, or braids can cause friction and pulling, which can lead to a whole other hair loss issue (called traction alopecia, in medical terms). To minimize even more shedding, you may want to stick to soft elastics or wear one of these gentler styles to pull your hair back. 

Similar to avoiding any friction, you'll also want to steer clear of other forms of physical stress (i.e., harsh brushing, shampooing too aggressively, and sleeping on sopping wet hair) that can damage your strands. Essentially, the overarching theme is to take care of the hair you have; do so, and the inches should follow. 

Postpartum hair loss is quite common. And while there's not much you can do to prevent or treat the shedding hairs themselves (it's pretty much a waiting game, but it does grow back!), you can support the hair you do have to foster speedier growth. The good news is, even if you choose to do nothing at all (understandable—you do have a newborn to care for, after all), your hair should return to its normal volume on its own—it just takes some time.