Q&A: help for extreme hair loss after baby?

Julie writes:

"Not sure if I should see a doctor about this, but I'm betting there is someone out there that can save me the time and co-pay of a doctor's visit.  I'm breastfeeding my second son, and my hair is falling out.  This happened to a lesser extent with my first, I had a couple bald spots hidden underneath all my long hair no larger than the size of a quarter.  I took some prenatal vitamins and it cleared up.  This time I'm taking the same prenatal vitamin, and my hair is still falling out.  Are there any additional supplements, or different types of vitamins other than prenatals I could take to at least slow down the hair loss?"

Hmm. I know losing hair for up to the first year after having a baby is normal, but this does sound extreme. I never had any hair changes during pregnancy or after having the baby either time, so I went poking around on the internet to see what I could find.

I didn't find much specifically about post-baby hair loss (they all said "it'll stop soon") but did find this article on WebMD with a doctor specializing in women's hair loss and vitamins. Turns out that some of the culprits are our usual suspects for PPD, low sex drive, and basically everything else that goes kablooey after having a baby: Omega 3s and B vitamins, along with iron.

It could also be hormonal, in which case doing the normal hormone-balancing things--sleeping enough (ha), getting exercise that works your core (pilates, T-Tapp, yoga), seeing the sun (if there is any in your area), and laughing--will help.

I'm wondering if any of you out there have experience with the same degree of hair loss that Julie's having. Or if anyone slowed or stopped the hair loss with vitamins or minerals. If so, what did you take? This is one of those problems that sounds minor, but is really demoralizing and could indicate a bigger problem.

Comments

[textureamy]

Low thyroid could also be contributing. Hair loss is a symptom of thyroid problems, and birth can make your thyroid act wonky.

[shannon]

It's definitely worth getting your thyroid checked (or even rechecked if you're a few months postpartum and it hasn't been checked in a little while). Thyroid levels can change a lot (and quickly) after having a baby, even if you've never had thyroid problems before. And a lot of the other symptoms of low thyroid might seem normal for post-pregnancy (fatigue and sleepiness, problems losing weight, depression or irritability, etc.)

I lost almost 2/3 of my hair after having my son (strangely enough I happened to have an old ponytail from a haircut that I never got around to donating, so I could do a real comparison!) I have a history of thyroid problems so I'd been getting tested, but it had been a few months and when I finally went in for a recheck the nurse called me the NEXT day, amazed that I was still standing because my levels were off the charts low.

It took almost two years (including a kind of ridiculous period when all the hair growing back in around my face was two inches long!), but I'm just about back to normal.

Even if it's not thyroid-related, some extra vitamins and exercise never hurt :) Good luck!

[Erin]

I didn't have extreme hair loss in the sense of getting bald spots, but I did lose an amazing amount of hair after the birth of my son. Chunks of it, all over everything. It was really gross and distressing. I was told it was normal, did nothing, got nothing checked, and eventually (after a couple of months) it slowed down and stopped. (I was taking a multivitamin and flax seed oil anyway.)

I noticed that everybody said it was normal after it started happening, but I never heard that it *could* happen before I gave birth.

OP, if you're losing all this hair, you must've had *gorgeous* pregnancy hair.

[hush]

ITA that this is a totally demoralizing problem - though I'm pretty sure the OP's plight is caused by all of the typical, postpartum whacked out hormonal change stuff, I agree she should also get her thyroid levels checked. It's scary to start losing our hair so suddenly like that! One of those icky, odd things nobody ever tells you...

[kakaty]

I lost some hair after my baby was born - about twice the normal rate for maybe 3-4 months. However early this year I had a miscarriage at about 10 weeks and after that I lost an amazing amount of hair - it fell out in chunks for at least 3 months and it scared me. I have very, very thick hair so I never got bald spots but I can say that I went from wrapping a ponytail holder 2 times to wrapping it 5 times - that's a lot of hair! I was expecting the hair loss after labor but after the miscarriage I was not.

[Christina]

I lost a ton of hair from 4 months pp to about 8. You could see my scalp through it and I went completely bald around my tempels. I was nursing and talking prenatals- one day it just stopped and all started growing back. My son is 21 months now and I have some awkard layers but it's all normal again. I did have my thiroid checked (@ 5 months and again at 13) and it was fine. It seems that we all have our own normal and mine was to loose about half of my hair. Luckly for me it all came back.

[Allison]

I want to comment on what a "normal" level for thyroid is. Don't just rely on the docs to say it is "normal" or "abnormal."

A true normal TSH level should be between .3 and 3. Some labs use the old levels of .5 to 5, which can leave a big portion of people vulnerable. Most people feel best with a TSH around 1-2.

Good luck!

[a physician reader]

hair loss is easiest to treat when you are thinning, not truly bald, so best to see the doctor earlier than later.

[giddy]

When I was losing hair after my second child I read up on postpartum hair loss and learned that it affects about 15% of women to a noticeable degree. I think this is why "no one tells you," because it doesn't happen to 85% of people. My understanding of the phenomenon is that what happens is that during pregnancy your normal hair loss stops (or slows), and after the birth, all the hair that would have fallen out during those months falls out, plus whatever is currently on the "needs to fall out now" cycle. What I don't know is whether ALL those hairs that fall out post-pregnancy then remain on the same growth/death cycle, such that you can expect periodic large hair losses forever after. This further leads me to wonder whether subsequent pregnancies are worse for hair loss because you potentially increase the amount of hair that falls out simultaneously each time.....That's all speculation, but it helped me to make sense of what was happening after my second child (when hair loss was worse than after the first, although bad both times).

I agree with the other posters that getting a thyroid check couldn't hurt--but suspect it's normal, if super-frustrating and demoralizing. I have no idea if a doctor might recommend treating with Rogaine or something to speed regrowth, even if it is normal--so it might be worth looking into.

But in the vein of "letting you know," there probably WILL be an awkward phase where you have a bunch of 1-inch hair sticking out of the rest of your hair......ugh....been there, done that!

Good luck!!

[TGISummer]

I too experienced hair loss after both of my pregnancies. I breastfed both of my sons and the hair loss started around 6 months after my oldest was born and around 3 months with my second. When it was falling out, big chunks would run down my back in the shower. Yuck! Although I never had bald spots, I got very thin. After 3 months or so it stopped and eventually grew back although thinner than my pre-pregnancy days.

It was explained to me that before pregnancy you normally lose 50-100 hairs a day. When you become pregnant your hair goes into an active growing phase and doesn't fall out which is why you get beautiful, thick pregnancy hair. After the baby is born, your hair goes back to normal and makes up for lost time losing 9 months of normal hair loss all at once. I'm not sure if that is true. I'd love to know if anyone else knows.

Also, Moxie mentioned B vitamins and Omega 3's. I've heard so much (from here and else where) about taking them and I want to start but I'm wondering how much should I take? I already take a multi vitamin plus extra vitamin D, but the vitamin isle is a bit overwhelming and I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? The more specific the better!

[Nutmeg]

I was going to write what giddy wrote pretty much.

I didn't have chunks but I had enough all over hair loss that when it eventually started to grow back in, I had so much hair growing back so thickly that the hair growing around my hairline in front looked like a gerbil on my forehead. I eventually cut bangs to hide it because it was so unsightly (and I'm not one to care too much about how I look).

Definitely check to make sure you are okay, but it happened to me in a more even distribution... chunks somehow seem more concerning than loosing 30% of your hair all over your head.

[Alexicographer]

Just wanted to chime in on the thyroid theme, and also to give Allison a big wet sloppy kiss. It makes me crazy how many labs and doctors haven't adjusted their reference ranges (or are even willing to mention, or indeed, know about) the new recommendations on TSH, and how many prospective patients are getting lousy information.

Julie, if you wanted to, you could order a Biosafe TSH test kit over the counter (available through e.g. Amazon.com, and I have no affiliation whatsover with either company), prick your finger, and send in a blood sample. If the result comes back <3, you're probably good, and if not, definitely worth seeing a doctor. I did this once and it takes ~1 - 2 weeks for the results to come back, so if your 6w PP visit is coming up soon, it may not be worth it, but otherwise the test only costs ~$30, and is a cheap way to figure out if you need to pursue this or not.

[TGISummer]

@Giddy, opps, should have read your post before posting myself! But since we heard the same thing, maybe there's some truth to it?

[hydrogeek]

@kakaty - I'm sorry you had to deal with that this year. A miscarriage AND your hair falling out? That's like a double sucker punch from the universe. I hope things are better now.

My data point is that my hair started falling out at about 3 months post-partum both times, but it was (is!) much worse the second time around. I'm still clogging up drains around here at almost 8 months post-partum. However, no bald spots. Sounds worth checking out to me, especially in light of all of the above thyroid talk.

[Judy]

I too had a few months of drastic hair loss, then it stopped, and then it came back but not as severe. My thyroid check was normal, so I chalked it up to hormones. If it seems really severe, get some bloodwork done.

Now that I think of it, I stopped taking an omega-3 supplement around 6 months post-delivery, but I don't remember if it coincided with the hair loss!

Sorry I can't be more help!

[maria]

Hmm, I'm 5 and 3/4 years post partum and my hair remains thinned. It's definitely demoralizing, especially since it's in the front where I can see it when I look in my rear view mirror when I'm driving. Actually maybe it's in the back too, but I can't see it.

Anyway, I haven't had my thyroid checked for a few years, so maybe I will. I do have trouble losing weight and tendency to depression/irritability (though that's not new since giving birth unfortunately). I have made the discovery that an expensive haircut is SO WORTH IT. My hair has always been a point of severe insecurity for me, shame really, and a really good haircut can make me feel almost kind of like I have normal hair. Which I probably always have had, but never felt it.

Can you tell that I'm a little sleep deprived? I feel like this post makes no sense but I'm going to subject you guys to it anyway because I know how tolerant and sympathetic y'all are.

[caramama]

My hair loss after my first was like @Erin described. From when my daughter was 4 months until I was pregnant with my second (well over a year later), I lost insane amounts of hair. I was told what @giddy wrote, and I do have a lot of new hair growth. But it still seemed like a crazy amount of hair loss for an incredibly long time. Everyone assured me it was normal, and my hairstylist said she thought it looked normal. But I was never happy about it and am worried how much and how long I will lose hair now that my boy is born.

[anom]

After gastric bypass surgery, hair loss is very common, so they recommend all patients take biotin to combat it. I think biotin would help anyone with hair loss.

[Bungalow Girl]

A few months after the birth of my first daughter, my hair started falling out in chunks, but all in one place. I ended up with a 3 inch bald spot behind my right ear. Fortunately, I was able to comb the rest of my hair down over it and hide it somewhat. I couldn't wear a ponytail without exposing it though. The weirdest part was that when that part grew back in, it grew in really curly, and the rest of my hair is stick straight. It was MUCH worse with baby number 2 who is now almost 2. This time around it started falling out along my part, starting about half an inch from hairline running all the way to the back of my head. It ended up about 2 inches wide - completely bald. I was told this was "normal." It was HORRIBLE. I had to move the part in my hair to the other side of my head. Basically, every morning, I had to color in the bald spot with dark brown eyeshadow and then give myself a combover. Talk about demoralizing. I couldn't wait for it to grow back, until it grew back, sticking straight up in the air -Awful. It took a few months to get long enough to not stick up in the air, but like last time, this time, it grew in curly. So I now have two big curly chunks of hair - I either have to blowdry everything straight or curl all of the straight parts because otherwise, I look scary. I did have a great stylist throughout though who helped me camouflage the problem more successfully than I could have on my own. Looking back, I'd say the worst of the falling out (handfuls of hair in the shower) lasted a little more than a month. The baldness lasted a couple of months, then there was peachfuzz, then the sticking up all over phase. All totaled, I'd say there were six really bad months and probably another six tolerable but annoying months and now everything is back to normal except for the half straight/half curly thing.

Big hugs to you - it sucks - really truly sucks, but it will get better.

One more comment - totally anecdotal - not sure if there is a connection or not - both times it started after I stopped nursing. It was MUCH worse the second time around and I nursed much longer with baby number two - makes me think it was hormonal...

[pocha]

Check your thyroid. Same thing happened to me, and I kept putting off the blood work because I assumed my hair loss, weight gain (and/or the inability to lose despite exercising), and depression were due to PPD, the demands of mothering and aging. Turns out most if not all of this (esp. hair loss) is because of an under-active thyroid, which is common after pregnancy.

Do it!

[Bobbi]

I lost a large amount of hair after my son was born 4 years ago. I had big patches missing around my temples, lost my sideburns completely and all the scraggly bits around my hairline front and back disappeared. Started around 4 months PP and stopped around 8 months. It grew back fine, though the fly-away bits were horrible for a time. My second babe, now 13 months, caused a more drastic loss of hair, lasted for longer and is now about two inches re-grown. It is growing in nicely but is horrible for me because I wear my hair pulled back a lot and I look like I have weird side bangs or something and funky sideburns that don't reach a ponytail. I found it hard the first time around, was prepared for it this time but had hoped it wouldn't be as bad. In another year it won't be noticeable to me anymore, so I will just keep on hoping for fast growth!

[caramama]

Oh, my hair has also been crazy frizzy since my daughter's birth... Anyone else experience that?

[maria]

@caramama: Not crazy frizzy, but definitely more wavy – which is to say a little wavy, as compared to straight as a ruler pre-baby.

[hedra]

Another sign of the thyroid issue is thinner outer edges of eyebrows and eyelashes. I lost the outer 3/4 inch of my eyebrows (by the temples) when my thyroid dipped just a bit (still normal range but lower end), and when they were trying to suppress my thyroid by giving me replacement hormone (which pushed me hyperthyroid), they grew in soooo much more. So, that's a cue for some people, too. Not uniform, but not really bad, either.

I lost so much hair that we took to calling the remains 'road kill' - handfuls of it would come out in the shower, even if I brushed before the shower. AHHHH! My little sister had the same - so much so that she cut her hair short as soon as it started falling out after the first go, just to reduce the size of the critters trying to escape down the drain (granted, her hair was waist-length, too).

My info is same as giddy's - hair cycle stops or slows, then restarts all at once at whatever point the hormones change (for me between 3 and 6 months PP). The regrowth starts on the same cycle, so I had a 'shag' effect as the layer of new hair grew in after the loss stopped. However, over time, the cycle of loss shifts for each follicle (they're not locked into the same calendar), so while I still have greater and lesser periods of hair loss, they're not all at once like PP.

If bald spots happen, definitely check about thyroid and immune function, both of which can go haywire PP.

[hedra]

@caramama, my hairdresser says that pregnancy affects how tightly the hair sheath develops (possibly something to do with the hormones or other effects), and that most women end up either with less shiny hair or more frizzy (easily dried out) hair after having kids. It may not be noticed after the first child, but by two or three, it's pretty common. Or so she says. But Omega-3's may affect that, too.

[Charisse]

@caramama and maria, I had the opposite--I normally have medium curly hair, but while pregnant with Mouse I had oceans of ringlets...and then afterward a lot fell out and it went stick straight. It came back to normal after I weaned. So odd.

[Aaron]

K, now I'm a little freaked out. I lost a good amount of hair after my first. I'm currently pregnant with number 2 and the regrowth is just finally at a good length (2 years later). I'm not ready for it to fall out again, never mind potentially worse than the first time. I don't have very thick hair so it really shows around the temples. Luckily not in patches though. I guess I'll enjoy the pregnancy hair for now and keep my fingers crossed!

[Jessica]

I have very curly hair that was thick, curly and gorgeous during pregnancy and which, despite taking prenatal vitamins and omega-3s, starting coming out in giant rope like pieces in the shower around 6 months post-partum. Not coincidentally, this was when my son started eating solid food and nursing less. The hair loss continued for a few months and, two years post-partum, my hairline is just getting back to normal (still lots of little baby fuzz around the temples).

Just a random tip re: hair getting drier/frizzier post-partum: most people don't actually need to shampoo as much as they do, particularly people with curly/wavy hair. I scrub my scalp with a cleansing conditioner (No-Poo by Devachan) and then condition... I haven't used regular shampoo in literally years. My scalp is clean (I promise) and my hair is super healthy.

[Jess]

I agree with other posters, check your thyroid I have a lump on mine that is making my hair do funky things. Or at least that is what I am told it's doing.

[Alexicographer]

@kakaty I'm so sorry about your loss. Thyroid underfunction (hypothyroidism) is definitely a treatable cause of m/c; I hope you have or will get yours checked. As others have mentioned, TSH should be under 3.0, not (as many labs/doctors still believe) under 5.0. I can provide sources if you need them!

[Anne]

Stopped reading after giggy's comment (wanted to get this down while I have the chance)

I am also wondering if there is something to the new "cycle" of hair loss. I've got lots of hair and several months after my son's birth noticed (the expected) hair loss. I lost more hair than I would have in a normal shed but nothing that freaked me out. When through months of whispies as the hair grew back. Since then nothing out of the ordinary happened until just recently. My son will be 4 in October and I'm currently about a month away from a 6+ week hair loss/shed that almost sent be to a doctor to go have my thyroid checked. I was AMAZED at the amount of hair I lost and although it has slowed to normal daily shedding I'm still a little tripped out and how thin my hair feels. About the time the hair loss started I had noticed that I was feeling a bit depressed/anxious and have since gotten back on the multi-vitiman/omage-3 and exercise habit - so I'm assuming that may have helped.

There is something that keeps nagging at the back of my mind - I remember hearing/reading that you could experience a hair loss similar to the one post-partum after weaning and I did start the second round of hair loss approximately 6 months after weaning (about the same time frame as my post-partum hair loss). Hormones at work?

(now will go back and finish reading)

[Amanda]

I lost a TON of hair from 3-6 months postpartum. Hubby was extremely concerned that I would lose it all (he had the unpleasant task of cleaning the shower drain).

My midwife told me that some women's bodies stop losing hair during pregnancy, hence why some women have extremely thick hair by the end of pregnancy. Then once the baby is born and the hormones settle, all the hair that should have fallen out in the past year falls out over a ~2 month period. Made total sense to me at the time, and I have a co-worker going through it too.

Honestly, the worst part was all the tiny hairs sticking straight up out of my head when they started regrowing!

[Julie]

Op here... thanks for the suggestions. Luckily it's not freaking me out, it's just annoying to have to keep cleaning the brush. I tend toward the lazy.....the bald spot the last time freaked me out until I fixed it with some vitamins. I'll start being religious about my omega-3's and B's....which will be good for me anyways. Baby is 5 months old, so it jives with what others are saying. I don't think it's my thyroid since I didn't have trouble losing the baby weight, and I am not sluggish at all above and beyond having two kids under the age of four.

Also, when my bald spot grew in, it grew in CURLY! I have very straight hair and I think it's hilarious. One of my best friends is a breast cancer survivor (thank you God) and she said the same thing happened to her when her hair grew back in - because the follicle changes shape when you lose your hair and then it grows in different. Her hair is a gorgeous, curly look. Mine is straight with one chunk that curls out. Haha. Maybe this time around my curls will be more evenly distributed.

Thanks everyone! Feel free to hijack at this point if you have something pressing - I feel like I now have a good handle on what's going on based on the comments above. And thanks Moxie!

[marci]

just another data point - you can also have lots of hair loss after general anesthesia. and not like the next week or the next month, but about 6 months later. so if the op or any others with hair loss had general with a section, that could be a cause, too.

[Camille]

I started to shed after my son was born, and I knew I would. Once I stopped breastfeeding it came out in chunks. The dr checked thyroid and that wasn't it. I switched my birth control and a month after that it stopped. I don't know if it was time that made it stop or the change in hormones. Changing the birth control also made me feel less crazy.

It is terrifying. With mine you could comb it and just see my scalp letting it go. Plus I'm a hairstylist so all I could think was that no one would trust me to do their hair when I didn't have any.

After it stopped falling out so bad it took it another couple of months to start growing back. Now I have this pin cushion look and weird side burn things, but it is growing back.

[dieg]

I have really thick hair and didnt seem to lose a single strand all pregnancy and then about 2-3 months postpartum BANG, it was coming out in clumps. I never saw bald spots (but I could barely focus my eyes from exhaustion-heh) but it was grossing me out regardless. I did get the new growth "bangs" (my sister calls them New Mom Bangs). Also, my SIL did not nurse and she nearly went bald (and no thyroid problems) so I dont think its nursing related. I think its just pretty normal.

I also had hair loss after a miscarriage but not as bad. Obviously wasnt nursing then. It was actually the first sign to me that something was wrong (it was a very late miscarriage)as I was settling into my gorgeous pregger locks.

good luck!!!!

[Timi]

Just chiming in with everyone else that it's probably normal,it just sucks, but still worth checking your thyroid. I have really thick hair in general, but after I gave birth I lost a rediculous amount of hair from about 3 months post pardum all the way to a year afterwards. It finally tapered off after that. Because my hair was so thick to begin with I didn't have any bald spots, just overall thinning. It was a good excuse to try a short haircut which I now absolutely love (the long hair was the thinnest (oldest)).

Also, just for the data point. I've been hypothyroid since I was in college (long before I had kids) and while I lose hair when my thyroid is too low, I tend to lose even more when I'm taking too much medication (i.e. become hyperthyroid). Always a red flag for me.

[Melissa]

This is the first post I have seen online that describes the hair loss I went through after having my son...It was horrible. I had 3 quarter sized bald spots on top of my head (which was just great when it started growing back in). It never occurred to me to have my thyroid checked...not that it would have made much of a difference after the fact. My sister went through the same thing so maybe it's a little bit genetics too. I really had a hard time for a while. I was hormonally wacky, a new mom, sleep deprived and had HUGE BALD SPOTS on my head. But it did stop and it did grow back and everything settled down. I went and had my hair done by a really great hair stylist and that helped to boost my self esteem a bit.

[Keri]

I went through this. If your experience is anything like mine, it may be tough to get a doctor to take this seriously because exhaustion and hair loss are normal postpartum.

However, in my case, it turned out I was anemic. (My guess is that blood loss from my c-section and a laproscopic surgery a year later, along with two years of breastfeeding and a largely vegetarian diet caused this.)

After several months of taking an iron supplement, my hair loss had stopped but my hair was not regrowing so I saw a dermatologist specializing in hair loss. She tested my iron stores (different from iron levels in the blood) and said that I was 1/3 of where I needed to be to support normal body regenerative functioning, like growing nails and hair. So I am continuing with the iron and also using Rogaine to help boost hair growth. I've been on this regimen for about six months and the difference is quite noticeable.

[Julie B]

I am so happy to finally see/read other moms dealing with this. It is so emotionally upsetting and no one I know personally had such severe loss as me....so I felt freakish, even though I knew it was sort-of normal pp.

My hair loss after my son was so bad that I actually went and bought a $400 wig. I was too chicken to ever wear it so I donated it to a cancer center. I have very thin hair to begin with so losing even a little makes a huge difference. I am pregnant with my 2nd and am already dreading the hair loss. I will just wear hats for as long as I need to. I get teary looking at the pictures where I can see how bald I was. And it would be nice to have pictures with my kids not wearing a baseball hat. Sigh.....

I also had thyroid problems long before I had my son so I know it is not my thyroid and is related to pregnancy/nursing. So, it is a good idea to have it checked but it is a good possibility that your levels are OK.

[Susanne]

thank you all so much!!! i am almost 6 months pp and have been losing my hsir by the hansdfuls for about a month. i really thought i was going crazy until i read these posts. i will just wait it out and hope it doesn't get too thin. thanks again!!!

[Dippy]

Can anyone recommend a Shampoo for hair loss after pregnancy!! My hair is falling out in handfuls.... Very scary. Someone told me there is a Shampoo that you can get, but i've been unsucessfull so far.

[Betty]

Hello. I'm so glad I found this discussion group about hair loss. Here I am, 2 years after the birth of my second son, and I started realizing that I do not have the hair I used to have and freaked out. Mine seems to be darker, less curlier, and way less! I had 2 babies one after the other (11 months apart) and breastfed for about 2 and 1/2 years straight. I have not reached out to a doctor yet. I saw postings about Biotin, Omega 3's, Vitamins, Rogaine, Iron, as well as suggestions to check the thyroid. Has any one tried any homeopathic remedies or herbal remedies, with enviable results? Thank you all for sharing your painful stories; they make me feel that I am not in this alone.

[Carol]

Hi, I'm new here, but an old mom (in every way; I'm 43, and baby #5 is now 5 months old). Hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but my pp hair loss has gotten progressively worse with each child. I hope that doesn't apply to everyone. My s-i-l recently told me that coral calcium is good for hair regrowth. Anybody else hear this? I've been on it a couple of weeks now (it's available wherever other forms of calcium are sold) with no noticeable difference, but I'm sure my hormones are still out of whack, as I'm still shedding. It's scary and depressing to see my scalp so easily through my hair, right up front and especially at the temples.

[Callycuba]

What a relief that im not alone with this, im so sick of thinking about hair and that im the only one worrying about this! I,ve always worried about my hair/appearance, very draining at times, even though i have lost it completely once due to chemo ( maybe thats why im a bit sensitive about it now). I lost quite a bit of hair from my temples and had to cut my bangs ( fringe) short as was so thin, to try ans even out. My son is now 17 months old and hair is getting back to normal but front went frizzy for a while and couldnt do anything with it which only made me more anxious and had a little PPD which wasnt helping. I was on prazac for a while which helped but i stopped taking after a while as felt better and then discovered anti depressants MAY cause hairloss!!. Im suffering from anxiety at the moment but darent go back on tablets as if i do get hairloss ( rare, i know, but!) then that will only make ne feel worse, viscious circle!.

Im taking a multi vit, Omega 3, evening primrose and have just got Brewers yeast ( B vits and Biotin in it). I know too many vitamin A can cause hairloss so im not overdoing vits. This can cause lots of worry as having a baby is stressful enough and day to day coping, so its good to know others are out there that understand.

[Callycuba]

Meant Prozac, should have checked spelling beforehand!

[megan hargous]

HI, I've almost got two complete bald patches at my temples and it seems to be going back further, any advice on what i can take to combat this as i have thin hair as it is!have just gone to the docter to get thyroid and iron tested

[david]

biotin is a suplement that promotes hair growth. i dont understand what causes the hair loss though. my wife lost all her hair about three months after our daughter was born. it has grown back to about 4 inches, and is starting to fall out again any ideas of what causes this?

[LMR.]

I am seventeen years old, and have not been pregnant or given birth, but my hair is falling out in MASSIVE amounts all over my head since i got off my birth control pill just two weeks ago. I had pretty bad hair loss on the pill too, which is why i got off, but it is worse than ever now. I wonder if it is the same drop is estrogen that is causing it? It just doesn't make sense because my hair was still falling out more than normal while on it. Possilbly just hormone change sensitivty? It doesn't seem right for a teenager to lose such severe amounts of hair.

[zulvera shampoo]

Hair loss is quite complicated process. I suggest hairlossreversible.com for people suffering with hair-loss.MINOXIDIL is also a good hairloss solution.One must use vitaming B-complex and zinc tablates for better treatment.