While showering, you notice the drain fills with hair. Despite the alarming clumps you're brushing out, strands continue to come out in the morning. Alarming shedding from the scalp happens with women who are stressed or in the postpartum phase, but there is good news! The hair shedding condition, called telogen effluvium, is temporary and reversible. Knowing which support recovery options are available can give women confidence to deal with the challenges of postpartum with ease.
Understanding Telogen Effluvium: The Science Behind the Shedding
The telogen effluvium condition occurs on the scalp with the hair follicles. There is an early activation of the resting phase or shedding phase of the follicles in the scalp. There is an active phase of about 15% of the scalp and 85% of the hair, which is resting in an inactive phase. There is significant body stress, and 70% of the actively growing hair follicles are moved to the shedding phase of the follicles. There is a significant loss of hair.
Various stages make up the hair growth cycle. The active growth phase is the anagen phase, which lasts three to five years. Then, we have a short transition known as the catagen phase. For three to four months in the telogen phase, the hair rests. Hair is then shed in preparation for a new growth phase. This cycle of hair growth is a normal phenomenon, but when there is a hormonal imbalance or stress, it gets disrupted.
This leads to significantly larger amounts of hair than usual entering the resting phase.
Around two to four months after a stressful episode, hair shedding occurs. This is the most likely period for loss, given the cycle. However, it is this delay in the shedding that can often leave women most confused at the lack of shedding with an event that is months in the past.
Dropping Hair After Giving Birth: When Hair Loss is Caused By Hormones
The condition known as postpartum telogen effluvium occurs in about a third to half of women. When pregnant, the body produces a large amount of the hormone estrogen. This hormone causes the growth phase of hair to be longer, which means that the hair grows a lot consistently for longer. A lot of women will be able to tell in the third trimester if their hair is growing healthy and looking fuller.
Around the time the baby is born, the body produces a significant drop in estrogen levels. This hormone drop will cause, in most women, a large number of hairs to enter active growth from the resting telogen phase. Therefore, there is hair shedding that is dramatic. For a lot of women, it can be to the point that it is noticeably more than a hundred hairs per day. For this reason, three to four months after the baby is born is when the shedding will be most noticeable.
Coping with hair changes can be especially difficult for new mums, as they have to care for their baby while also managing what can be a distressing experience. Losing hair can be quite alarming. However, it is a normal biological response to postpartum hormonal changes. After the first 6-12 months, the lost hair will return to normal as hormone levels stabilise.
Post-Stress Shedding: Losing Hair After Stressful Life Events
Stress-related telogen effluvium can be caused by multiple things, not just childbirth. Major surgeries, severe illnesses, high levels of psychological stress, significant weight changes, trauma, and even life events can trigger excessive hair shedding. The stress simply causes shedding by pushing previously active hair follicles into their resting phase.
The cycle of stressful life events is what makes it worse. The chronic, ongoing stress will trigger new stress-related hair shedding, basically creating a cycle of endless shedding. Each new stressful period will trigger a new cycle of hair shedding about 2-4 months later.
How to Press Reset: How to Help Your Hair and Scalp Recover
There is no cure for telogen effluvium or faster new hair growth; however, women have the unique opportunity to help their scalp's natural recovery process and minimise the damage done to their hair during the shedding process.
First, there is the nutritional support factor. Hair follicles are active and require constant nourishment. Also, during the postpartum period, there is an increase in nutrient demands, especially for breastfeeding mothers, as their bodies are prioritized for nutrient delivery. This can lead to an iron deficiency, which is common and linked with increasing hair shedding. When it comes to hair, protein is the building block. B vitamins help blood circulation and are essential for cellular function.
Second, there are gentle haircare practices. Wearing tight hairstyles can lead to more hair loss as the follicles are under tension. When it comes to shampoo, look for gentle and sulphate-free options so the hair does not get stripped of its oils. Try to limit the use of heat styling tools, as the outer protective layer can get weakened. For brushing, use a wide-toothed comb and loosen tangles instead of pulling hair aggressively.
Third, when it comes to breaking the cycle, there is stress management. Exercise, sleep, and meditation are good practices to stabilize stress levels. A lack of stress is not realistic and is often not in the control of the individual, so these practices are a good addition to help moderate stress.
Fourth, there are realistic expectations and patience. New hair does not appear overnight, as it cannot be rushed. The cycle for hair growth takes time, and it takes longer for the new hair to grow to a longer length. Most women should expect hair to grow back in 6 to 12 months. This is not the timeframe for initial growth, but rather when the hair becomes denser.
The Nutritional Foundation for Recovery
Nutritional support helps speed up the recovery process by providing follicles with the necessary nutrients for optimal functioning. Nutrition support, especially during the postpartum period and after stress, must go beyond a diet.
Follicles need multiple nutrients working together. Iron delivers oxygen to the follicles. Keratin production is supported by biotin. Tissue repair and growth are aided by zinc. Vitamin D affects follicle cycling. Circulation is supported by B vitamins. Iron is absorbed by vitamin C, and collagen is synthesised. Structural building blocks are supplied by amino acids. Antioxidants relieve oxidative stress on follicular cells.
While managing a newborn or recovering from stress, obtaining optimal levels of all these nutrients through diet alone is difficult. Comprehensive supplementation provides the support needed.
Nourrir Everyday Hair Health Tablets: Supporting Your Reset
Nourrir Everyday Hair Health Tablets provide nutritional support specifically needed for postpartum and post-stress recovery. 76 ingredients were included, comprising vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants, to meet the multiple nutritional requirements of stressed follicles.
The multi-targeted root cause formulation works on the underlying causes of hair fallout and thinning. These include hormonal imbalances, chronic stress, tough lifestyle factors, issues with metabolism, deficiency of vitamins and minerals, and, of course, ageing. This approach works specifically for women with the condition known as telogen effluvium. This approach offers the well-rounded assistance that the follicles need to reset and boot up normal operations.
The approach of cyclical therapy optimises the delivery of nutrients using a pattern, not haphazardly, in order. One tablet on each day of the week, except on Sundays, to ensure that nutrients do not overload the system at any one time.
People (especially women with children) will be happy to know that this formulation is dermatologically approved and 100% drug-free, which is of utmost importance when postpartum and in lactation. Improvements, in the form of decreased shedding of hair, increased hair that is thicker and more plentiful, and overall better condition of the scalp, will be seen in women who use the product to a greater extent for at least 6 weeks, and more like 3 months.
Conclusion
The good news about postpartum and post-stress shedding, while it likely is the cause of increased stress, is that it is temporary and can be reversed. Getting hair follicles to reset and open up, and balancing scalp nutrition, is the key. They simply need time. Rest is important, but hair follicles have also lost a fair quota of nutrients due to the disruption to the equilibrium. They need holistic nutrition.
No matter how much product you put on your scalp, external treatments cannot target the internal cellular biology driving telogen effluvium. Recovery comes from the proper internal support to the follicles that takes the form of nutrition, gentle care practices, stress management, and, most importantly, time, as the natural hair growth cycle restores itself.
Women can get the support they need to confidently go through this time with the stress and complete hair health nutrients from the Nourrir Everyday Hair Health Tablets. Know that you can give your scalp everything needed to recharge and get healthy growth. The shedding will stop. New growth will come. The hair will regain its natural fullness. The reset is already underway, and the follicles will need to receive nutrients to confidently get through the time.
