Where Did All My Hair Go?

Postpartum Telogen Effluvium

By Teri Brown

Female hair loss is a relatively common condition experienced by women who have given birth. Understanding hair loss is important, as it can take some of the fear out of finding handfuls of hair in the hairbrush, shower drain and even in the fists of your curious newborn.

"A few months after I delivered my twins, I started noticing a lot of hair in my hairbrush," says Jennifer Hans, mother of three from Fort Wayne, Ind. "The brush, which I cleaned only occasionally in the past, needed to be cleaned every three or four days. It seemed like I was losing a ton of hair!"

Although Hans' hair loss didn't become visually noticeable, there are other women who aren't so lucky. Tenna Perry of Porter, Texas, saw definite signs of a receding hairline and the hair at the crown of her head was also visibly thin.

"It wasn't possible to brush my waist length hair without cleaning the hair out of the brush at least once," says Perry. "The drainage in the bath was a problem because of the hair clogs that would accumulate with each washing. I never realized how much hair I had until I started seeing it coming out on its own!"

A general thinning of the hair, occurring during a period of months, is a medical condition known as telogen effluvium. It is most often caused by a traumatic physical event such as childbirth. The event results in a disruption of the normal hair cycle and subsequent shedding of the hair.

Dr. Thomas J. Waliser, a physician at The Russell Center for Women in Englewood, Colo., says that in order to understand telogen effluvium, we must understand the cycle of healthy hair growth. According to Dr. Waliser, normal hair growth occurs in three cycles:

• The Anagen Phase – The cells of the hair bulb actively divide and produce a growing hair. This phase lasts two years to six years for individual hairs. Normally, approximately 85 percent to 90 percent of all scalp hairs are in this phase.
• The Catagen Phase – The hair stops to grow and the lower portion of the follicle involutes during a two-week span
• The Telogen Phase – This is the resting phase of the cycle. The hair is no longer growing but remains loose in the hair shaft until it falls out. The Telogen phase lasts three to four months.

Want to see more?

• Preparing for Postpartum Life: The Joys and Challenges of Life After Delivery
• iParenting Beauty & Wellness
• Terrific Tresses: Pregnancy or Not – You Can Have Great Hair!
• Hair's the Real Story: Expert Advice From Colorist and Salon Owner Shane Talbott
• Talk about it!