Severe hair loss during pregnancy

A woman's body will undergo slight changes after pregnancy. In the early stages of pregnancy, she will experience morning sickness and changes in taste. As the fetus grows, her body will become swollen and she will have difficulty moving. Due to changes in hormone levels during pregnancy, she will also lose hair, which is why many pregnant women lose their hair after childbirth. This article introduces the causes of hair loss during pregnancy and how to improve it. Let’s take a look.

Is it normal to lose hair during pregnancy?

Pregnant women may experience hair loss. There are several main reasons for hair loss in pregnant women:

1. Changes in hormone levels

During pregnancy, the expectant mother secretes more estrogen than usual, and the rate of hair loss slows down. In this way, the life of the hair is extended. The reason why the hair gradually increases is that hormonal changes cause 90% of the hair to form a growth zone at the same time (usually only 90% grows while the rest is static). Therefore, during pregnancy, the expectant mother's hair will be more "luxuriant", and the normal shedding of the expectant mother's hair may become a large amount of shedding after delivery to make way for new hair to grow.

2. Nutritional imbalance

Pregnancy is an extremely exhausting process for expectant mothers. Both their own health and the growth and development of the fetus require a lot of nutritional supplements. Some expectant mothers have a monotonous diet during pregnancy, which cannot meet the nutritional needs of themselves and their fetuses. If the expectant mother has poor digestion and absorption functions, or her diet is too monotonous or picky, it is easy to suffer from nutritional deficiencies or unbalanced nutrition, resulting in insufficient supply of protein, vitamins or minerals in the body, thereby affecting hair growth and metabolism.

3. Mood swings

From a psychological perspective, pregnant women, especially those who are pregnant for the first time, will experience great mental stress. For example, will childbirth be painful? Can they recover to their previous state? Will they have a boy or a girl? Will the baby be healthy? And so on. Expectant mothers become emotionally fragile and anxious, which causes dysfunction in the cerebral cortex, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and nerves controlling hair blood vessels to malfunction. Blood supply to the scalp is reduced, resulting in malnutrition and hair loss. If sleep is affected during pregnancy, it may also cause hair loss in expectant mothers. What's worse is that when the hair falls out, the expectant mother will feel anxious and uneasy, which creates new mental stimulation. This cycle causes the hair loss to become more and more serious.

What to do if you lose hair during pregnancy

1. Relax and get enough sleep

You should know that if the expectant mother's mental state is unstable, her hair quality will also change accordingly. Therefore, during pregnancy, you must avoid mental stress and keep a good mood, because tension can only aggravate the degree of hair loss. It is important to realize that hair loss is a temporary process and your hair will grow back quickly after giving birth. At the same time, you must maintain good and sufficient sleep, which can promote normal metabolism of skin and hair. Try to sleep no less than 8 hours a day and develop a good habit of regular sleep.

2. Choose a mild shampoo and wash your hair properly

In order to avoid hair loss, expectant mothers should choose mild shampoos that are suitable for them. The correct washing method also plays an important role in hair care, which mainly includes the following steps: brushing hair, washing hair with clean water, washing hair with shampoo, using conditioner, and absorbing moisture from hair with a dry towel. At the same time, avoid using a blow dryer, it is best to dry naturally to reduce damage.

3. Strengthen the external care of hair

If hair loss is severe, expectant mothers can also try to take care of their hair. They can use a nourishing hair mask every two to three days or apply an egg white on washed hair, massage and then wash it off. You should know that egg white is rich in protein, which can provide nutrition to hair and increase its toughness.

4. Massage regularly

Regular massage can promote blood circulation and is beneficial to hair metabolism. Expectant mothers can usually use the fingertips to massage the scalp, including kneading, pinching, tapping, and rubbing.

① Kneading: draw circles when kneading, and do not raise your nails;

② Pinch: Relax the force when pinching;

③ Knock: Move forward, backward, left and right with the hair whorl as the center;

④ Rub: When rubbing, press downwards with your thumb from the back.

5. Nutritional Supplements

Expectant mothers who often suffer from hair loss often have iron deficiency in their bodies. Therefore, you should pay attention to your diet and eat more iron-rich foods, such as soybeans, black beans, shrimps, cooked peanuts, spinach, eggs, hairtail, carp, bananas, carrots, potatoes, etc.

In addition, since vitamin E can promote blood circulation and accelerate hair growth, expectant mothers should also pay attention to supplementing it. They can eat more walnut kernels, olive oil, corn, malt, peas, sesame, sunflower seeds, fresh lettuce, cabbage, black sesame and other foods.