How cruel is it that in pregnancy you have the bouncy, thick, luscious locks. You're the envy of everyone looking glorious and glowy and then the day your baby turns 4months, 4 months after approximately 3 hours of sleep a night and also around the time you realise that breastfeeding doesn't actually mean that you can have cake with every cup of tea, your hair starts to fall out….as if you haven’t got enough to deal with? Hormones have a lot to answer for.
Me with my first daughter at 7 months in 2019, just before the regrowth started
Most people retain hair in pregnancy, so this hair loss is actually just a little delayed, but when you’ve gotten used feeling like you have the hair of Brian May, it’s still a blow for it to return to normal. Plus your body overcompensates for the retention and sheds more to catch up. FML
Then by the time your baby is 7 or 8 months your hair then starts to sprout tufts all over it as it regenerates and you grow baby hair that sticks up vertically, brilliant. I'm at that stage now. My youngest daughter is 10 months and I have as good as grown horns around my hairline, which means I can no longer wear my hair pulled straight back and I spend at least 10 minutes a day trying to change my parting so I don’t look like Keith from The prodigy.
I know i’m not the only person dealing with this. Many of my clients at Weddings, especially Bridesmaids have similar issues and their biggest concern with updo’s is how to hide this unsightly regrowth. So, I just thought I'd share with you some products I’ve found that seem to be helping and what I do to help disguise the 'horns', while it grows to a more manageable blend-able length.
1.Pay a little extra attention to your hair and scalp during pregnancy and after your baby is born. This will mean that the remaining hair is healthy and when the regrowth starts, it will come in normally. (sorry, this possibly a bit late for you who are already at the same stage as me, next time?) Nioxin specialise in products for thinning hair and they really work for me, so much so, that I plan to continue using their products, to keep my locks big and bouncy! There is a consultation tool on the Nioxin website which will direct you to which system to buy. Their website is also very informative for those suffering with any type of hair loss/thinning.
The other product I use every time I wash my hair is System Professional Liquid Hair (£62.50) Ok yes not the cheapest of products but I love this. It makes your scalp feel all tingly and fresh when you use it and I have noticed a significant difference to my hair growth and the condition of my hair since using it. “SP Liquid hair is a robust restructuring treatment that targets, sensitive, fragile strands and works to rebuild and strengthen’ Their words...
Finally The Ordinary have come up with a Multi Peptide Serum for Hair Density, Now, I'm not going to lie, I haven't actually used this personally, but I'm a huge fan of The Ordinary and every other product that I've used by them. Its alcohol free and odourless which people seem to like and Ive just heard a lot of good things about it. At £23.99, it might be worth a blast before investing in the SP.
2.Change your parting. For me my main problem area is the hairline above my temples on each side (as you can see from the photo below) Usually I wear my parting to the right, but since the regrowth I have had to move it nearer to the middle. So now it’s just off right. This makes the receded part less obvious and the longer hair keeps it from sticking up… basically a modern day comb over. Move over Donald.
3.Change the style of your ponytail. Unfortunately if you’re a fan of high ponies, you may have to have a break from those for a while, as lower ones will be easier to camouflage the front. If you usually take your hair straight back when putting it up, then, part it first and swoop the hair down at the sides and comb the rest back from the crown, this will help the horns from being exposed.
4.Stronghold Hairspray. Any firm hold spray will help tame the fine halo of baby hair. Spray a little on the problem areas and incorporate the baby hair into the rest of you hair by combing it down. You could also do this with a pony.
5.Clip in Hair extensions. These are especially great if you have a special occasion to go to, but I do know some super glam gals who wear them everyday. Adding a few extensions will create a little more volume for those who have really noticed the overall feeling of thin hair and they won’t damage the precious hair you already have. I recommend Lush Ltd or Clip Hair.
If you’ve stumbled on my blog looking for answers or a little bit of help, then I really hope you can take something away from this. If you are a ‘Bride to be’ who is pregnant or recently just had a baby, then hopefully this will give you a little heads up on how to manage those unruly locks in time for your Wedding day!
These tips can’t prevent the hair loss and regrowth from happening, but having now been through the process twice, I definitely feel like taking some of these steps have helped. Especially the products. The hair growth rate for me second time around whilst using the Nioxin and SP has been significantly quicker than after my first daughter when I was yet to discover it.
Good luck ladies, you are amazing.
NB: Full disclosure - I am not a fully trained hairdresser. I have some training but I'm a Bridal Hair and Makeup artist and the last time i did training about theory was about 20 years ago… So i’m speaking from the experience of having 2 babies in 2 years and as a Wedding Industry specialist. To learn more about me click here.