By Courtney Pester

Nowadays, the average age of a woman who becomes a first-time mommy is around 28 years old. With all the leaps and hurdles and exciting changes that occur during and after pregnancy, it is inevitable that expectant and new mothers adapt and alter their habits, lifestyle, and routine. During this period, women experience changes in the body, mind, and how they function day to day, but what many do not take into account is the changes–for better or worse–that happen with their hair while with child and postpartum.

New moms deserve special treatment after the life-altering and beautiful experience of giving birth, which starts with self-care. We’ve created a short list of ways to tackle hair loss, texture change, and hair damage resulting from giving birth, so you no longer have to wonder how to fix hair thinning and hormones as a new mother. 

Postpartum Hair Changes–What to Expect

Excessive hair shedding, thinning, and texture change are just a few of the many challenges women experience as their bodies shift gears and make space to nurture and bring another human into this world. If you’ve recently given birth or are going through the latter stages of pregnancy, you may notice that your hair texture has become thicker or thinner or changed form altogether. It is possible that your hair could suddenly transform from straight to curly, or that natural bouncy curls can become more limp or flat. It could happen anytime along the journey, but many expectant mothers don’t see noticeable changes around the last trimester. 

Hair can become dryer, thinner, frizzier, and more prone to breakage due to hormonal changes, and breastfeeding can affect hair as you hand off the essential nutrients from your body to your newborn. If you’re struggling to find out how to fix hair thinning and hormones or don’t know where to start, it’s essential to understand the root cause before tackling the issue. Below, we’ve outlined factors that contribute to postpartum hair loss, as well as a list of postpartum hair loss treatments you can implement at home so that you can restore hair health with ease and grace. 

Factors that Contribute to Postpartum Hair Loss

So what is the deal with hair thinning and hormones? Hormone levels can cause significant fluctuations in the body and have noticeable, lasting effects on just about everything–your stress levels, ability to concentrate, appearance, and energy levels. As estrogen levels fall during pregnancy and hormones become imbalanced, your nervous system can’t help but react. 

Hormones can make your hair grow faster and fall out less, or they can affect the strands and muscles, including the scalp. As muscle tone changes, it can affect the shape of your hair follicles and the direction of your growth, and in some cases, a gene–such as the curly or straight hair gene–might suddenly stop being dormant. What’s crazy is that the gene for straight hair is recessive, and curly hair is considered a dominant gene trait. Oddly enough, you could have the curly gene, but your waves and curls might be dormant until it is activated by something as profound as pregnancy. For 20+ years of your life, you could have totally straight and fine hair, then seemingly overnight, it can become coarser yet thin and curly. Wild, huh? 

Aside from your genetic predisposition, you might experience postpartum telogen effluvium–otherwise known as excessive shedding–which tends to occur when many new moms are breastfeeding. While it might feel similar to losing hair, it is actually different and relatively common in new mothers. Tack on stress from this new chapter of your life, lack of regulation with nutrition, and aging, and you’ve found the culprits of hair texture and quality change. 

If you’ve experienced any of these shifts on your birthing journey, we are here to tell you how to fix postpartum hair loss, lack of hair growth, and other unprecedented changes to your hair. Of course, before switching out shampoos, conditioners, and other hair care products, it is always best to consult your hair stylist for chemical-free, all-natural, and vegan products.

6 Postpartum Hair Care Solutions To Strengthen New Hair Growth

A simple way to start restoring your hair is by cutting off loose and damaged ends. This will help your hair appear fuller and help hair growth seem less contrasting with your long locks. Many stores bought solutions claim to help restore hair health and stimulate hair growth, but just one glance at the label will expose all the toxic ingredients that do more harm than good. To spare you the headache of weaseling out the bad guys, we’ve narrowed down the most reliable solutions that will help you understand how to fix hair thinning and hormones–the right way. 

Oil Treatment  

As a new mother who is breastfeeding, you’ll want to ensure the products and fragrance-free oils you use on your hair and body are also silicone-free, sulfate-free, and free from other chemicals that can harm you and your newborn. We highly recommend incorporating an oil treatment for your hair, such as MAY11 Revitalizing Hair Oil for postpartum hair loss and thinning. It is a powerful natural treatment to revitalize healthy hair. Nothing is more powerful than mother nature, and that is why this product is so beneficial to your hair and the safety of you and your child. What’s great about hair oil treatment is that you can multitask while it's in your hair and use it any time of day. Be sure to moisturize your hair regularly as it can become increasingly dry postpartum.

Massage Treatment 

One of the best postpartum hair loss treatment tips is to purchase a scalp brush. However, not just any scalp brush, because not all are created equal. The s heart s scalp brush is a uniquely designed scalp massaging tool that helps stimulate hair growth through increased circulation. After incorporating a scalp brush into your daily routine on wet or dry hair for a few weeks with the brush S Heart S scalp brush, you’ll start to notice fuller, thicker, and more nourished hair. But really, you’ll feel like the mommy makeover is in full effect in no time!

Towel Dry 

Many assume that air drying is the healthiest way to let the hair dry. However, proper technique can accelerate your air drying process while preserving hair moisture and enhancing natural hair texture through towel drying with a natural fibers towel. The natural fibers towels absorb more and are gentler on the scalp and hair follicles. Simply squeeze out excess water, starting at the scalp and moving down towards the ends, and then gather a section of your hair and gently blot it with a towel. Never rub your hair roughly against the towel; this creates friction and is sure to cause breakage and split ends. 

Dyson Air Wrap

During the process of healing and restoring your hair postpartum, it is essential to ditch any regimens that can cause additional hair damage. Using a hair strength treatment, restoring hair oil, and minimal heat are surefire ways to jumpstart the process to the active growth phase of hair. Unlike most hair dryers, the Dyson Air Wrap is a gentle, smooth, and seamless way to style and blow dry your hair with little disruption. This fantastic hair tool helps damaged hair thrive with minimal heat usage in tandem with heat protectant hair spray. UV protectant spray is also a great product to use if you plan to go into the sun. Bonus points because you only need one hand to use this product to achieve pro curls, making it easy to multitask as you style. 

Essential Vitamins and Minerals

Ensure you get the right vitamins to help restore hydration in the hair. Vitamin E, Biotin, Collagen, and Vitamin C are among the many essential vitamins and minerals that will help protect hair follicles from oxidative stress and can help support postpartum hair growth. If necessary, consult a doctor to see if you are deficient in anything. 

Proper Nutrition

Adapting or sticking to a well-balanced diet can be tricky when you have another body to care for, but this is vital for your health and the health of your hair! Ensure that you are properly nourishing the body with essential nutrients and getting enough protein, carbs, healthy fats in. 

With all the stressors that come with having a child, it can be challenging to care for and nurture your hair correctly, so we try our best to provide concise yet helpful advice to you to lighten your load. We hope these tips help you restore and hydrate your hair on your postpartum journey. Remember, it is important to be gentle with yourself, have patience, and embrace all changes that come your way!

Any questions? Connect with an expert