thread: Hair shedding - please tell me it'll stop soon!

  1. #1
    Registered User

    Nov 2010
    Perth, WA
    3,172

    Hair shedding - please tell me it'll stop soon!

    My hair is falling out! It feels like I'm forever picking hairs out of DS's fists, off my back and shoulders and if I'm silly enough to try and run my fingers through my hair I come away with usually no less than 5-10 strands of hair that have fallen out. Washing my hair is terrible, I'm surprised the drains aren't mega-clogged with the amount that comes out....

    Has anyone else had this? My mum says it's pretty normal and happened to her when her babies were around 3 months old as DS is now - but she didn't say when it stopped! My hair feels thinner and it's driving me bonkers - please tell me it stops soon

  2. #2
    Registered User

    Oct 2007
    Caroline Springs
    2,341

    It's so annoying isn't it?! No one warned me about it before my first bub.

    It happened to me starting from when both bub's were about 3 months (just like you) and probably lasted 4-5 months. I used to have to unclof hair from the bottom of the shower weekly, and because I use my en-suite to shower the hair that would brush out of my hair would waft out of my bathroom onto the bedroom floor and actually clog my vacuum cleaner!

    The good news is that my hair never actually looked like I was balding or anything like that. You are not actually losing any more hair than you usually would have over the period of your pregnancy. Usually you hair has different phases. A growth phase when it grows to whatever length you hair can naturally grow, then a resting phase where it just stays that length, then a shedding phase where it falls out. Each goes through that phase in it's own time which is why your hair never just all falls out and just slowly sheds and grows over time. While you are pregnant the hair that is in the resting phase just stays in that phase and doesn't move onto the shedding phase. So you end up with a lot of extra hair in the resting phase which is why pregnant woman's hair is so luxurious. Then once you have the baby your hormones get back to normal and all those hairs that would have gone into the shedding phase during pregnancy start to do it over a much smaller time period which is why you lose so much at once.

    Rather annoying though!

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Apr 2008
    Adelaide
    1,741

    I had this most noticeably with dd2, it took about 6 months before things were back to normal, like mylitta said my hair was still thick I just hated having to vacum more often beacuse of hair everywhere!

  4. #4
    Registered User

    Nov 2010
    Perth, WA
    3,172

    The vacuuming doesn't bother me...but finding them in DS's nappy does!! I swear he's eaten more than a few!

  5. #5
    2014 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.

    Oct 2007
    Outer South East Melbourne :)
    4,346

    My DD2 turned 1 last Wednesday and I'm still shedding it drives me bonkers!



    Sent using my SamGal

  6. #6
    BellyBelly Life Subscriber

    Jul 2008
    Eastern Surburbs, Melbourne
    1,841

    I had it while breast feeding and in the end had it cut short.

    No one told me it would happen and happened with both children.

    I know your pain re the shower but on the bright side the plug area was alway clean

  7. #7
    2014 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.

    Dec 2008
    Melbourne, VIC
    4,637

    Hi hun, my doc told me that hair post baby starts to fall out around 3 months after the baby is born and lasts for 3 months. Sure enough, hair started falling out 3 months after DS was born and started to grow back 6 months after he was born. While it was falling out, I cut it all off, it got so thin, plus like you, it drove me nuts when it used to totally block my shower hole and I used to find hair everywhere from DS's dummies to his cot, etc. It was disgusting!

  8. #8
    Registered User

    Aug 2006
    On the other side of this screen!!!
    11,129

    Get yourself some Nioxin shampoo, it does wonders with hairless. I also found it less distressing to brush my hair before a shower rather than picking the hair out of the drain hole all the time. It helped a bit. But it won't be like this forever, in another month or two you'll suddenly realist you havent seen hair everywhere for a while.

  9. #9
    Registered User

    Jul 2007
    Melbourne
    3,660

    Mine finally stopped shedding a week ago. Bubs is 4.5m.
    I was literally crying every time i had a shower. I couldn't run my hands through my hair without chunks falling away.
    Although I love my thick pregnancy coat my hair is delightfully manageable again.
    Hubby kept teasing and every morning saying it looked like id given birth to a mouse or a small rat - from all the hair in the shower drain.
    What a darlin' that my DH did the cleaning up
    I hope yours stops soon x

    ETA; I also don't think your DS is eating them - it's just that when you put a clean nappy on you can't see the hair stuck to it, or that falls in etc, but when you're checking out their mustardy curdy poop it is so much more visible

  10. #10
    Registered User
    Add Jakabella on Facebook

    Nov 2007
    in Love!
    2,586

    I had it for at least a year with DD and DS is nearly 11 months old and it's still falling out like no tomorrow!