Hair Changes During Pregnancy – 3 Possible Changes & Treatment

There are bound to be hair changes during pregnancy and many expecting mothers are usually left surprised and confused at these changes. The hair is one area where many people do not pay too much attention to – especially expecting or nursing mothers. Naturally, there are three major phases for the human hair, call it the hair’s life span or circle, and you will not be wrong.

Firstly, there is a growing phase, which is also referred to scientifically as the Anagen phase. This is the phase where there is evidence of how your hair will grow and the areas it will sprout out from. The active growth of our hair begins in this phase and leads to the Catagen phase which indicates the end of the active growth of the human hair.

The last phase is known as the Telogen phase which many experts regard as the final resting phase of the human hair circle. This is the phase where your hair begins to fall out, and like you know, some people experience this phase faster than others.

Okay, welcome back from science class! I felt the need to introduce us to the usual life circle of human hair so that we can better understand how pregnancy can disrupt this circle.

Also, from the course of this article, you will find out that there are certain ‘normal’ hair treatments and procedures which we should not engage in when we are pregnant. Does your hair treatment affect your unborn baby in any way? Well, you will find out this and more very soon.

Let’s check out all there is about pregnancy hair changes, hair treatment during pregnancy and answer the questions you have been seeking clarifications on.
Is it not just the hair? No, it isn’t! Let’s get to it!

 

Hair Changes During Pregnancy

Apart from it being a natural life circle for hair, women lose hair daily – whether or not we are combing the hair. It is estimated that every woman loses between 50 to 150 scalp hairs daily.

Is this a good thing? Well, experts say it is normal, especially if the woman is still in her hair active growth phase. It is a normal occurrence for an expecting mother to experience changes in her hair during the period of pregnancy. According to research, this is due to the hormones responsible for the growth and depreciation of your hair.

However, it will be a great relief to know that these changes you are experiencing – or bound to experience are not permanent. In fact, more women lose a reasonable quantity of their hair during the postpartum period than they did during the breastfeeding phase. So, no – pregnancy doesn’t come with all the worst conditions as you are thinking.

But, wait a minute, who says you will lose your hair during pregnancy? Do not give me that look! I said there will be changes; I never said the changes will always lead to losses in your hair volume.

The changes in your hair which are as result of hormonal activities can make the hair thinner or thicker, which means that the action that occurs differs from person to person. But while we will all love for our case to be the latter – that is not always the case – you may lose hair during pregnancy.

On some occasions, the volume of the hair will not change, but the color will change significantly – prompting many ladies to apply dye to their hair. But should you be dying your hair during pregnancy? We have this answer and more with this article!

Let’s highlight the possible hair changes that can occur during pregnancy.

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3 Possible Hair changes that Occur During Pregnancy

1. The Hair can Become Thicker in Volume

As you already know, your hair has its life circle. The way this works is that after growth, hair strands go through a rest period of about 2 – 3 months after which new hair will start erupting – pushing down the existing stands in the follicle.

During pregnancy, many women are bound to experience that their hair is thicker in volume. The science behind this is that the hair itself isn’t thicker, but rather, the hair remains or stays longer in the growing phase. The increase in the woman’s Oestrogen hormone prevents less hair from falling as usual.

2. The Hair can Become Thinner in volume

Many women experience loss of hair during pregnancy and this is due to a decrease in the level of the Oestrogen hormone. Why will a woman experience a decrease in Oestrogen? Well, these are the possible reasons:

  • Hormonal Imbalance (this is frequent in women during pregnancy)
  • Stoppage or Reduction in Oral Contraceptive Pills
  • Abortion or possibilities of a miscarriage or Still-birth

3. Discoloration of the Hair

Many women experience discoloration of their hair which is as a result of their Oestrogen imbalance. To keep up with their look, many pregnant women usually opt to dye their hair.

According to research, applying a color or dye on your hair when you are pregnant is not harmful to either the mother or the child. Your hair has no tendency of absorbing enough chemicals that can in turn be harmful to the developing baby.

However, it is advisable that you should not engage in dying your hair until after the first 12 weeks (also known as trimester) is complete. Holding up to this caution will go a long way in putting you on the safer side as regards any complication or reaction whatsoever.

 

Hair Treatments During Pregnancy

As ladies, we are very particular about our hair. So, it is not a thing of surprise to see that many women will want to take action to combat the hair changes they are experiencing during pregnancy.

When women experience discoloration or loss of hair, they are bound to apply treatments to their hair. While I usually advise women not to take this action, since the condition is only for a short period, the truth is that many women do not feel comfortable with the changes and will take action.

While these treatments do not necessarily have any effect on the hair, you should be cautious when applying chemical treatments to your hair. Some hair treatments used for straightening the hair contain a chemical known as formaldehyde.

Although there is no trace that this chemical causes direct harm to the baby, it is widely known that the chemical contains carcinogen. Hence, it is best you avoid it totally. What is a carcinogen?

Carcinogen is an agent known for causing cancer in humans. They can be harmful when they interact with the DNA of humans in any way possible and thereby lead to genetic mutations.

[Also Read: Safety Tips to Going to the Beach While Pregnant]

 

Should You Dye Your Hair While Pregnant?

Let’s face it, as an expecting mother; you are going to get different advice from different people. They will claim that if you do not follow these advises, you are bound to risk having a miscarriage, complication, or even still-birth.

Yes, many of these pieces of advice are true and if not followed can lead to severe consequences. But some of these bits of advice are purely baseless and completely unfounded. Like I always advise, whenever you are in doubt, ask a medical expert.

A lot is being said about exposure to harmful chemicals when you are pregnant, but the question remains – does this also apply to hair dyes? Well, I am no medical expert, but I can tell you that hair dyes are not toxic or dangerous – especially when you are sure of using a quality brand. So, you can apply dye to your hair while pregnant without experiencing any complications or threats. Yes, this applies to permanent or non-permanent dyes.

Yes, I agree that sometimes the dye – during the application, may come in direct contact with your skin. The truth is that the chemical content is not absorbed into the skin, and when it does, only a little quantity goes in. This is not capable of causing any harm to the developing baby. So, although I would not naturally apply dye on my hair while pregnant, you are not at risk if you chose to.

 

Final Verdict

A woman’s hair is her crown, so more than anything you are bound to notice the changes in your hair – even when you are pregnant (and have a million other more important things to worry about).

As an expecting mother, you will experience a lot of changes to your body – and most of them are completely normal. So, your first point of action should never be to panic.

One interesting thing about pregnancy is that you have been around a person – or people, who have gotten pregnant and did not notice some conditions like hair loss. But in your case, you will notice that and more.

Every woman reacts to hormonal changes differently and the period of pregnancy comes with a whole lot of hormonal changes and imbalance. In all, hair changes during pregnancy and many other conditions that accompany pregnancy are not a cause for alarm.