Postpartum Hair Loss: Why It Happens & How to Support Hair Regrowth After Birth
Share
If you’re three or four months postpartum and suddenly finding hair everywhere, in the shower, on your pillow, through the house and somehow always attached to your baby, you’re not alone.
Postpartum hair loss can feel incredibly overwhelming, especially when you’re already navigating all the physical and emotional changes that come with having a baby. But know that in most cases, it is temporary.
Medically known as postpartum telogen effluvium, it is a temporary period of excessive hair shedding that commonly begins a few months after giving birth. For some women, it’s relatively mild. For others, the amount of hair coming out can be confronting, particularly around the temples and hairline.
The good news is that postpartum shedding is usually part of your hair cycle resetting after pregnancy. As the cycle gradually returns to normal, the excessive shedding typically slows and new growth begins to come through. Hello, postpartum baby hairs.
Western medicine gives us am explanation for why postpartum hair loss happens.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) gives us another perspective: rather than looking only at the hair, it asks what the mother’s body has been through and what she needs to restore after pregnancy and birth.
Here’s what’s happening and how you can support your body through it.
Why was my hair so thick during pregnancy?
For many women, pregnancy brings unexpectedly good hair. It may feel thicker, fuller and healthier, with far less hair collecting in your brush or shower drain. There’s a physiological reason for this.
The Western medicine perspective
Hair naturally moves through different stages of growth, rest and shedding. During pregnancy, higher levels of estrogen keep more hairs in the active growth phase for longer. This means:
- More hairs remain in the growth phase
- Fewer hairs move into the resting and shedding phases
- Normal daily shedding decreases, so you’re holding onto more of the hair you would normally have shed.
- Hair can appear thicker and fuller
The TCM perspective
Traditional Chinese Medicine views healthy hair as a reflection of the body's internal nourishment, particularly Blood and Kidney Jing (Essence).
There is an old TCM saying:
“Hair is the surplus of Blood.”
Blood is considered responsible for nourishing the hair, while the Kidneys store Jing, our Essence, which is closely associated with growth, development, reproduction and ageing.
Pregnancy is an extraordinary period of growth and change. Blood volume also increases significantly during pregnancy to support both mother and baby.
From a TCM perspective, this relationship between Blood, Jing and reproduction is one reason hair is viewed as an outward reflection of the body's deeper reserves.
Why does hair fall out after giving birth?
After birth, hormone levels change rapidly. Estrogen levels fall and many of the hairs that remained in their growth phase during pregnancy begin transitioning into their resting phase at around the same time. Eventually, those hairs shed.
This is called Postpartum Telogen Effluvium, or excessive postpartum hair shedding.
The average person normally sheds around 50–100 hairs each day. During telogen effluvium, the amount of hair shedding can increase considerably. This can make it seem as though your hair suddenly started falling out overnight. But the process actually began months earlier.
Why does postpartum hair loss start around 3–4 months?
One of the most confusing things about postpartum hair loss is the delay. You give birth. Your hair seems fine. Then a few months later, suddenly there is hair everywhere.
This happens because the hormonal change occurs shortly after birth, but the affected hairs don't immediately fall out. They first move into the resting phase of the hair cycle. After spending several months there, they begin to shed.
This is why postpartum hair loss commonly becomes noticeable around two to four months after birth and is often particularly noticeable around months three to five.
For many women, shedding then gradually decreases as the hair cycle begins to normalise. Normal fullness often returns over time, with many women seeing their hair return towards its usual fullness by around their baby's first birthday.
What about those postpartum baby hairs?
First comes the shedding. Then come the dreaded postpartum baby hairs. You may notice short, wispy hairs appearing around your temples, forehead and hairline that seem determined to stick straight up regardless of what you do with them.
While frustrating, these short hairs can often be new hair growth coming through as your hair cycle resets. Old hairs shed and new hairs begin growing in their place. Initially, that new growth is short and particularly noticeable around the hairline.
So those annoying little sprouts can actually be a welcome sign that your next cycle of hair is coming through.
What does TCM say about postpartum hair loss?
Western medicine helps explain the hormonal mechanism behind postpartum shedding. TCM asks a slightly different question:
What has the mother's body just been through?
Pregnancy, birth and postpartum place enormous demands on the body.
From a TCM perspective:
Pregnancy draws on Blood and Jing. Your body spends approximately nine months nourishing and growing another human.
Birth involves Blood and fluid loss. The amount varies significantly between women and different births, but childbirth inherently places demands on the mother's Blood and fluids.
Postpartum introduces a new set of demands. Breastfeeding, broken sleep, physical recovery, stress, fatigue, increased nutritional requirements and irregular meals can all occur during a period when the body is simultaneously trying to recover.
This is why traditional Chinese postpartum care places such an emphasis on restoring and replenishing the mother. The focus is particularly on supporting Qi, Blood, Yin & Jing.
And when we return to the traditional saying that “hair is the surplus of Blood,” the connection becomes clear. From a TCM perspective, we don't only look at what can be applied to the scalp. We nourish the body growing the hair.
What should I eat for postpartum hair loss?
There is no single food that can switch off normal hormonal postpartum shedding. Instead, think about providing your recovering body with the building blocks it needs for recovery and new hair growth.
Prioritise protein
Hair is primarily composed of a protein called keratin, making adequate dietary protein important for normal hair growth.
Postpartum protein sources can include:
- Eggs
- Fish
- Chicken
- Red meat
- Legumes
- Tofu and other soy foods
Include iron-rich foods
Iron is another important consideration during postpartum recovery, particularly after the increased iron requirements of pregnancy and Blood loss associated with childbirth.
Iron-rich foods include:
- Red meat
- Organ meats
- Legumes
- Dark leafy greens
- Iron-fortified foods
If you're concerned about iron deficiency, particularly if hair shedding is accompanied by fatigue, weakness or dizziness, speak with your healthcare professional rather than relying on food or supplements alone.
TCM foods used to nourish Blood
Food therapy is an important part of traditional Chinese postpartum care. Foods that nourish Blood include:
Red dates (Da Zao)
One of our favourite postpartum pantry staples, traditionally used to nourish Qi and Blood and support the Spleen.
Eggs
A simple source of protein and nourishment that works beautifully in postpartum soups, congee and broths.
Meat
Particularly slow-cooked meats incorporated into warming soups and broths.
Adzuki beans
Traditionally used in Chinese food therapy and easy to incorporate into nourishing porridges.
Slow-cooked soups and broths
A cornerstone of traditional postpartum nourishment because they provide a warm, cooked and easily incorporated way of eating nutrient-dense foods.
TCM foods that support the Kidneys and Jing
In Chinese food therapy, black foods are traditionally associated with the Kidneys.
Some of our favourites include:
- Black sesame seeds
- Black soybeans
- Black glutinous rice
- Mulberries
- Wood ear mushroom
- Goji berries
Black sesame is particularly popular in traditional postpartum food therapy and can easily be added to porridges, desserts or other warm dishes.
Our Digest Adzuki Porridge combines ingredients including adzuki beans, black glutinous rice and red dates, making it a simple way to incorporate several traditional food-therapy ingredients into your postpartum routine.
What about Chinese herbs for postpartum hair loss?
Two Chinese herbs frequently associated with Blood, Essence and hair in TCM are Dang Gui (Chinese angelica root)and He Shou Wu (fleeceflower root).
However, Chinese herbs are not something we recommend choosing purely because an ingredient is associated with hair. Herbal medicine should consider the individual's constitution, postpartum stage, symptoms, medications and whether they are breastfeeding.
Postpartum herbal support should always be chosen appropriately for the individual and used with professional guidance where required.
7 ways to support postpartum hair growth and recovery
You can't necessarily prevent the normal hormonal shedding that occurs after pregnancy. What you can do is support the body growing the next cycle of hair.
1. Eat enough. Postpartum is not a time to chronically under-nourish yourself. Your body is recovering while potentially also producing breast milk and functioning on interrupted sleep.
2. Prioritise protein. Include protein-rich foods throughout your day to provide the amino acids needed for tissue repair and normal hair growth.
3. Check your iron if you're concerned. Don't assume significant hair loss, fatigue or weakness is simply part of motherhood.
4. Nourish Blood through food. Incorporate foods such as eggs, meat, red dates and nourishing soups and broths.
5. Add black foods. Black sesame, black rice, black beans and mulberries are traditionally associated with supporting the Kidneys and Jing.
6. Treat your hair gently. Avoid very tight hairstyles and excessive heat styling. Use a wide-tooth comb to gently detangle your hair and consider regular gentle scalp massage.
7. Prioritise recovery. Nutrition, rest, emotional support and accepting practical help are all part of postpartum care.
When should I be concerned about postpartum hair loss?
Postpartum hair shedding is common, but not every form of hair loss after pregnancy should automatically be attributed to hormones.
Speak with your GP or healthcare professional if your hair loss:
- Is particularly severe or concerning
- Occurs in distinct patches or bald areas
- Isn't gradually improving
- Persists longer than expected
- Is accompanied by significant fatigue
- Occurs alongside weakness, dizziness or other new symptoms
Other factors that can contribute to hair loss include iron deficiency or anaemia, thyroid dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies and other forms of alopecia.
Postpartum recovery is about more than your hair
Hair loss is visible. But so much of postpartum depletion isn't.
The exhaustion, interrupted sleep, nutritional demands, breastfeeding, physical healing and enormous emotional adjustment of becoming a mother are all happening beneath the surface.
This is one reason traditional Chinese postpartum care has always focused rebuilding the mother.
Supporting the first 28 days postpartum
Our 28 Day Postpartum Package was created to make traditional postpartum nourishment easier during the weeks when preparing something for yourself can feel like another task on an already very long list.
Inspired by generations of Chinese postpartum care, the package provides daily herbal soups, restorative teas and traditional herbal support designed around the changing stages of postpartum recovery. Rather than waiting until you feel depleted, the philosophy is to begin nourishing the mother from the start.
If you're currently preparing for postpartum, think beyond what you'll need for your baby. Prepare for the woman who will be recovering, healing and rebuilding too.