I'm 28 yrs. old female and losing a lot of hair on the sides.

by Stacy
(Indiana)

"Birth Control and use Rogaine." My family doctor thought it was a hormone change that a lot of women go through after having a baby and thought it would grow back.

I noticed after I had my second son I was losing a LOT of hair. I think I really noticed the hair loss when he was about 4 or 5 months old. So for the past 14 months I have been losing hair none stop. I have about half the hair I had before he was born.

I'm losing it mostly on the sides of my head around the temple area down to my ears. My right side is thinning much fast than the left side. I have a spot about the size of a quarter that has no hair. I had my testosterone, iron and thyroid tested and it all came back good. My OBGYN (Obstetrician/Gynaecologist) told me it was male patterned hair loss. "Take a Birth Control and use Rogaine." My family doctor thought it was a hormone change that a lot of women go through after having a baby and thought it would grow back.

I have a three year old and an 18 month old. They are 20 months apart and I had a C-section with both of them. I know that sometimes you can lose hair after a major surgery, but it’s been 18 months and it's still falling out. Is there any hope that it will stop falling out? What type of doctor should I see that can give me an answer?

Editor’s Comments

Dear Stacy,

I believe it’s normal to suffer from sudden hair loss after pregnancy. As a matter of fact post-pregnancy/post-partum hair loss is pretty common after giving birth. That is because your body hormones are elevated during pregnancy and it will suffer a fallback, especially your estrogen levels after birth and sometimes the drop of hormones can be more dramatic based on the individual. Operation stress as well as low estrogen levels can be a major factor of your sudden hair loss.

The hair loss usually occurs 3-5 months after giving birth and based on your case, you are probably suffering from Postpartum Hair Loss which in most cases, will return to normal after a short period of shedding. There is no definite time frame of when your hair will grow back but in most cases you will see some hair growing back 3-4 months after the initial hair loss. However in some uncommon cases where your hormone levels are still not regulated, maybe due to continued stress or some other reasons, your hair loss might continue further for a longer period of time.

The most common symptom of this form of hair loss is usually diffuse thinning where you will lose hair on every part of your scalp. That is simply because during this period a lot of your hair follicles will shut down randomly and the hairs can be easily dislodged and pulled out.

What I do suggest is to see a nutritionist to help you find a right nutrition to balance back your health and a dermatologist to look into your hair loss. Your derma will usually perform a hair pull test where he or she will determine your hair loss condition. If there are more than 10% of hairs coming out from the total amount, then you facing with a hair loss problem most probably related to Telogen Effluvium.

In my humble opinion, I do not recommend taking birth control pills as certain pills can really trigger more imbalances creating more hair loss. Rogaine is a good treatment for hair loss as it helps stimulates hair growth on most kind of hair loss. For your case which I assume is temporary, Rogaine and Viviscal is indeed my recommendations for you. Good luck and hope you have a speedy recovery.

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