For those of you who had post-partum shedding or stress induced shedding...

[mixchick10]

...I'm curious how long it took you to see your hair get thicker after the shedding stopped? I shed for about 7 months post pregnancy (also stress from work) and now it seems to be letting up, but I'm curious how long it might take to see my hair even start to fill back in? I'm sure it varies from person to person but just curious what your experience was.

 

[MrsJaiDiva]

About 7-10 months, and I'm still thinned out from how I was before the pp shedding.

 

[Evolving78]

pp shedding ended after a couple months. my first pregnancy my hair was fine afterwards. i had two thin spots in the front after my second pregnancy. that pregnancy was rough anyway.

 

[proudmommyoftwo0911]

I'm 8 months pp and I'm still shedding a lot, but it's better then how it was before. Thank God I've been able to retain the thickness of my hair.. Can't wait till it's over. It can get depressing

 

[RENIBELL]

My hair is just starting to get thick again, and my baby is 14months. started about 6months after birth and stopped after 6months, tried everything, but nothing worked

 

[nurseN98]

^^^Me too. My dd is 15 months and my pp shedding just stopped. I've lost a lot of hair in the front. Nothing worked for me either and I tried everything I could find. I shed a ton for dd#1 too but this time was alot worse.

 

[havilland]

mine started at 5 months....not sure how long it took...but once it stopped, my hair took about 3 months to recover to the point that it looked better. then after that it took about 6 months to fully recover.

i deep conditioned. and left my hair alone. i mean i protective styled and even wore a hat to protect my edges from sun exposure....i protected my hair like it would explode if it was exposed to air. LOL

i have pics in my fotki of my bald edges if it helps someone, feel free to take a look. the pics and my regi are in this album....

http://public.fotki.com/havilland/hair-growth-update-2008/

 

[JulietWhiskey]

Girl. My hair is JUST starting to recover from pp shedding: and DS will be 2 in a few days!

I didn't have thick hair to begin with so the shedding has been a beast! I'm starting to see some thickness and what helped me was weekly co-washing, weeking DCs and leaving my hair the hayle alone! I'm bunning now and in addition to the weekly co-washing and DCs, I religiously strenghten my super fine strands (Aphogee Green Tea Reconstructor, especially to my edges and ends), moisturize (regular condishes uses as leave-ins, especially on them edges and ends) and sealing with a thick coating of grease (before pregnancy, natural oils worked ok but after, grease is the word! Its the only thing that keeps my ends super lubricated.).

So far, so good. I'm projected to hit APL by the end of the year. I just want what little thickness I have to come back. I think I would trade thickness for length since hair grows (it's the retention that's problematic) but the thickness of your hair is written in the genes...IMHO!

 

[LisaMar]

RENIBELL

Your hair is beautiful. What kind of heat do you use once per month, direct heat?

 

[MrsJaiDiva]

Girl. My hair is JUST starting to recover from pp shedding: and DS will be 2 in a few days!

I didn't have thick hair to begin with so the shedding has been a beast! I'm starting to see some thickness and what helped me was weekly co-washing, weeking DCs and leaving my hair the hayle alone! I'm bunning now and in addition to the weekly co-washing and DCs, I religiously strenghten my super fine strands (Aphogee Green Tea Reconstructor, especially to my edges and ends), moisturize (regular condishes uses as leave-ins, especially on them edges and ends) and sealing with a thick coating of grease (before pregnancy, natural oils worked ok but after, grease is the word! Its the only thing that keeps my ends super lubricated.).

So far, so good. I'm projected to hit APL by the end of the year. I just want what little thickness I have to come back. I think I would trade thickness for length since hair grows (it's the retention that's problematic) but the thickness of your hair is written in the genes...IMHO!

+100,000,000,000,000!!!! I think I'm just going to get some hair implants or something in a few years...just for the front and the crown, which have never really recovered.

 

[lamaria211]

I'm wondering the same thing unfortunately I'm still in the shedding phase

 

[shortt29]

mine started at 5 months....not sure how long it took...but once it stopped, my hair took about 3 months to recover to the point that it looked better. then after that it took about 6 months to fully recover.

i deep conditioned. and left my hair alone. i mean i protective styled and even wore a hat to protect my edges from sun exposure....i protected my hair like it would explode if it was exposed to air. LOL

i have pics in my fotki of my bald edges if it helps someone, feel free to take a look. the pics and my regi are in this album....

http://public.fotki.com/havilland/hair-growth-update-2008/

You did a great job growing your edges in!!! Gives me hope because mine look JUST like your beginning pics!

 

[mixchick10]

mine started at 5 months....not sure how long it took...but once it stopped, my hair took about 3 months to recover to the point that it looked better. then after that it took about 6 months to fully recover.

i deep conditioned. and left my hair alone. i mean i protective styled and even wore a hat to protect my edges from sun exposure....i protected my hair like it would explode if it was exposed to air. LOL

i have pics in my fotki of my bald edges if it helps someone, feel free to take a look. the pics and my regi are in this album....

http://public.fotki.com/havilland/hair-growth-update-2008/

Ditto to short29, you did GREAT growing your edges back!! Thanks for sharing the pics! What regimine did you follow to get your edges back? Mine look pretty much like that. I went to the dermatologist yesterday and she was like "well, you have hair there and the follicles, but your edges are just broken off!" No kidding! lol But she was helpful, she prescribed spernilactone wich supposedly will help reduce the DHT on my scalp (if that is part of the issue). I'll still do the tea rinses though.

I also agree with MrsJaiDiva, I'm going to do all I can do for the next few years and then get a transplant if all else fails.

Regarding bunning it, that used to be my fail-safe protective style, but I hate to say it but my hair and edges are so thin and fragile that the bun even puts to much manipulation on my scalp. Plus my hair is so thin on top when I wear it close to my head you can tell how thin it is so "poofier" styles are better for me, just not as protective though. Lord, this hair journey is something else I tell you! It definitely helps to hear your experiences as well.

 

[mixchick10]

mine started at 5 months....not sure how long it took...but once it stopped, my hair took about 3 months to recover to the point that it looked better. then after that it took about 6 months to fully recover.

i deep conditioned. and left my hair alone. i mean i protective styled and even wore a hat to protect my edges from sun exposure....i protected my hair like it would explode if it was exposed to air. LOL

i have pics in my fotki of my bald edges if it helps someone, feel free to take a look. the pics and my regi are in this album....

http://public.fotki.com/havilland/hair-growth-update-2008/

Nevermind, I see your reggi on their too! Thanks!

 

[Queensheba88]

Omg I'm so happy I saw this thread my hair started what I thought was pp sheading in Jan but as of may it has been picking UP I'm talking about just running my fingers through my hair results in 5 strands falling out each time! And gentle detangling with my wide tooth comb results in hair balls!! I ps 90% of the time and I recently installed braids hoping to wait it out....what can be done I thought it was stress or my birth control causing the increased hair loss but maybe I'm just now really getting it she's 9 mo. Sorry for highjacking

 

[mixchick10]

Omg I'm so happy I saw this thread my hair started what I thought was pp sheading in Jan but as of may it has been picking UP I'm talking about just running my fingers through my hair results in 5 strands falling out each time! And gentle detangling with my wide tooth comb results in hair balls!! I ps 90% of the time and I recently installed braids hoping to wait it out....what can be done I thought it was stress or my birth control causing the increased hair loss but maybe I'm just now really getting it she's 9 mo. Sorry for highjacking

Be my guest, I feel your pain. From what I have learned, it can definitely be stress but also hormonal, so if you recently began birth control then that could be a culprit. I shed post-partum exactly as they say usually happens (3-6 months after baby) but then when I stopped breastfeeding it started up AGAIN due to hormonal changes. My derm also told me that being enemic (low iron) can contribute. Or not getting necessary vitamins in general.

 

[havilland]

Be my guest, I feel your pain. From what I have learned, it can definitely be stress but also hormonal, so if you recently began birth control then that could be a culprit. I shed post-partum exactly as they say usually happens (3-6 months after baby) but then when I stopped breastfeeding it started up AGAIN due to hormonal changes. My derm also told me that being enemic (low iron) can contribute. Or not getting necessary vitamins in general.

oh yeah.....that does it too! i tell you, babies are a hot mess

i had some shedding again after i stopped nursing, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the original post partum. i remember standing in the bathroom with handfuls of hair and i just started yelling at my husband, hair in hands, "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ME!!!!"

i looked like Cousin IT from the adam's family on crack.

my hair has never been the same as it was before the baby.though i recovered, my curl pattern is looser and my hair volume is less overall. my hair is also darker since i had him.

 

[RENIBELL]

RENIBELL

Your hair is beautiful. What kind of heat do you use once per month, direct heat?

LisaMar,just seeing this mention, sorry, yes i use direct heat once a month.blow dry and flat iron lightly,then Bun
thanks for the compliment

 

[Babygrowth]

My baby is 4 months old and Idk if the shedding is normal or because of the baby. I never really paid attention to my hair before. I guess I will just watch, wait and see.

 

[leiah]

As soon as I recovered from postpartum shedding I got pregnant again! My hair thickened up nicely during my pregnancy. I'm 3 months postpartum now and just starting to shed, which is much sooner than I did before. I'm actually not too worried about it, just going to let it happen. It seemed like a big deal last time and I did lose A LOT of hair but I know i'll bounce back eventually.