After giving birth, my hair fell out a lot! In one survey, about 90% of women answered that their hair loss increased suddenly after giving birth.

is this okay? I think there are many people who are worried about it.

Hair loss is something most women experience after giving birth.

Symptoms are transient and resolve spontaneously within 6 months to 1 year after childbirth.

Hair loss that occurs in women after giving birth is called postpartum hair loss. It is said that it tends to occur between 2 and 5 months after giving birth, and there are various types of people, from those who feel that the amount of hair loss has increased to those who have a tremendous amount of hair loss. It is one of the worries that many people are worried about quietly because it is difficult to talk about.

Female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, which increased during pregnancy, decrease after childbirth.

Progesterone: Sustains hair growth

Due to the increase in female hormones during pregnancy, the hair that was supposed to fall out continues to be retained, and it falls out at once after childbirth, so you feel that your hair loss has increased.

<Hair cycle>

Postpartum hair loss caused by female horn balance,

Hair loss can be exacerbated by the combination of factors that further promote hair loss.

<Factors that promote hair loss>

(1) Stress due to environmental changes

② Malnutrition

(1) Stress due to environmental changes

After giving birth, it is a stressful time to balance childcare and housework, which is unfamiliar to you, and sleep deprivation due to the baby crying at night. Stress causes female hormone imbalance and lowers the action of estrogen .

It affects hair growth. This makes it difficult for new hair to grow, and even if it grows, it falls out quickly.

② Malnutrition

Baby priority and yourself later.

There may be many people who say that their own meals are easy.

Some people may be skipping meals for postpartum diet.

Lack of nutrients from food does not reach the scalp and hair, resulting in increased hair loss.

Postpartum hair loss can't be helped, but I want to do what I can for my hair! What are the countermeasures? ?

There is no way to prevent postpartum hair loss. However, the scalp environment tends to deteriorate due to stress and diet. It is important to keep the scalp in good condition for the hair. The following are recommended countermeasures.

<Recommended measures>

★Improvement of eating habits

* Quality sleep

★Hair care

★Improvement of eating habits

It is important to eat a variety of foods in a well-balanced manner.

Make sure that you are not deficient in nutrients that are especially necessary for hair growth.

In particular, it is necessary to actively take nutrients that Japanese people tend to lack .

①Protein

Hair is made of protein.

Protein can be found in many foods, but make sure you're getting enough quality protein . Meat, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products, and soy products are recommended.

However, avoid eating too much fatty meat and fish, and eat foods with a lot of red meat.

Example) For meat, select fillets and thighs

②Vitamin C

Hair is made of protein, and collagen is one of the proteins that make up hair. Collagen cannot be made without the help of vitamin C.

It is a vitamin that should be taken actively because it is consumed even in stress.

Vitamin C is easily lost during the cooking process, so fruits that can be eaten raw are recommended .

＜Fruits rich in vitamin C＞

Citrus, strawberry, kiwifruit

③ Zinc

The main component of hair is a protein called keratin.

Zinc is an essential nutrient for making keratin. It is important to be conscious of zinc-rich foods.

<Food rich in zinc>

red meat, shellfish, nuts

* Quality sleep

Sleep is an important way to relieve daily stress.

I think it's difficult to get a decent amount of sleep because I take a nap with my baby or have to wake up in the middle of the night crying.

Rather than ensuring a long sleep time, it is necessary to trim the environment so that you can have "good quality" sleep.

1. soak up the morning sun 

Exposure to sunlight as soon as you wake up in the morning will help your body release melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep at night.

Babies have a shorter sleep cycle than adults, but you can reduce waking up in the middle of the night by spending time in a bright place in the morning and darkening the room when you go to bed at night.

2. Smartphone until 2 hours before bed 

Exposing yourself to strong light, such as blue light, before you go to bed reduces the function of sleep-promoting hormones.

It leads to a decline in the quality of sleep, so let's use smartphones and computers by 2 hours before going to bed.

3. Empty your brain before bed 

Before going to bed, I often sing lullabies and read picture books.

Instead, they wake up the brain and may prevent you from falling asleep .

Then you can't get into a deep sleep, and it's the cause of waking up on the way.

Let's go to sleep! Then go to bed, darken the room and be quiet .

By reducing the number of waking up in the middle of the day, mothers can also sleep slowly.

★Hair care

It's quite difficult to prevent hair loss, but try not to put a burden on your hair as much as possible.

- Use mild shampoo

Choose a mild shampoo to avoid washing away excess sebum from your hair.

・For hairstyles with less burden on hair 

Avoid hairstyles that pull your hair tightly , such as ponytails.

It can damage your hair and scalp and cause hair loss.

・Natural drying is ×

Natural drying creates friction between hairs and is a factor that damages hair.

Always use a hair dryer .

<How to use the dryer>

① First, towel dry firmly. Minimize heat damage by minimizing the amount of time the hair is exposed to the dryer.

② When drying, start from the root of the hair. The wind blows from the top, side, and back, and does not continue to hit the same place.

③ Keep the dryer 10 to 15 cm away from the hair to dry.

④Finally finish with weak warm to cool air

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