Throughout pregnancy and afterward, a lady may experience some form of hair loss. Postpartum hair loss is a real result that some new mothers face after giving birth. This hair loss can occur immediately after giving birth and can last anywhere up to a year post-delivery. It may be slight but sometimes it can be extreme. This is the last thing that a new mother needs to worry about while trying to juggle all of the responsibilities of being a new mom. Laser Caps or Laser hair growth caps have come to the rescue of many.
It is important not to stress about this, especially when there are therapies and devices like laser caps out there to help you! If you are a new mom and suffering from hair loss, keep reading. Below I will go into detail about laser caps to combat postpartum hair loss. I will then discuss how and why they work. Enjoy!
What is Postpartum Hair Loss?
Postpartum hair loss is also referred to as the hair loss women face after pregnancy. Your hair loss can be slight, or you may notice your hair falling out in clumps while brushing or shampooing it in the shower. Why does this happen you might ask?
If you are familiar with the hair growth cycle, you know that it consists of three different stages. These stages include anagen, catagen, and telogen. The anagen stage is the growing stage. The catagen is the transitional stage and the telogen is the resting (shedding) stage. The average person loses about 100 strands of hair every day.
During pregnancy, a woman’s hormones produce an immense amount of estrogen. This estrogen allows a woman’s hair follicles to remain in the anagen stage of the hair growth cycle for a long period of time. This is also why some women report having remarkably thicker, healthier hair during their pregnancy.
Following pregnancy, your hormone levels begin to “even out” and return to their normal levels. When this happens, the hair on the scalp returns to the 3-stage hair growth cycle. You may experience extreme shedding and hair loss in the months following your pregnancy term due to this. This is because your hair is finally entering the telogen (shedding) phase of the cycle. Women can lose up to 400 strands of hair per day during this time, leaving bald patches on the head. Essentially your hair is falling out all at once, making up for the 9 months where your hair remained in the growth stage.
You may also want to read:
- Beyond Baby Blues: Coping with Postpartum Depression
- Self-Care – Most Essential but Neglected Part of a Mom’s Life
Treatment for Postpartum Hair Loss
The good news is, postpartum hair loss is usually temporary. This means that your hair should return to normal after several months. But many moms have reported that their hair grew back noticeably thinner after giving birth.
Whether you are struggling to grow your hair back, or you have it back but it is thin and brittle, a laser hair growth cap might be your answer. You can use these laser caps to combat postpartum hair loss. They are FDA-cleared and proven to be safe and effective for human use.
What is a Laser Cap?
Laser caps for hair growth are devices that use low-level laser (light) therapy to regrow hair. This technology can also be abbreviated as LLLT. This light therapy helps prolong the anagen stage of the hair growth cycle, allowing hair follicles to grow. The devices emit low-level laser therapy through medical-grade laser diodes placed inside the laser caps.
When this light therapy is emitted, it stimulates blood flow in the scalp. This blood flow travels all throughout the head and triggers the problematic areas to encourage cell regeneration. These cells in the hair follicles are given a “boost” from this light therapy and start to begin growth in the thinning areas. The treatment will also strengthen and thicken existing follicles already alive and growing.
How Does a Laser Cap Work?
As mentioned above, laser caps are FDA-cleared devices on the market for customers in the hair growth industry. These caps contain upscale technology and are intended for individuals suffering from hair loss and thinning. They are also used by individuals looking to improve the health and thickness of their existing hair.
Laser caps are used every other day. The treatment time may vary depending on the company, but most are worn for anywhere between 8 and 30-minutes. Your scalp needs a day of rest in between treatments, hence the usage of every other day.
The best thing about these devices is that they are used at your own convenience. They are designed to be hands-free and completely portable. The treatment is done whenever and wherever you please! This means it’s your choice whenever you find a good time in your day. All you have to do is charge up the battery, power the cap on, and watch the magic happen. Most caps on the market even have a built-in timer so you do not have to keep track of the treatment time. They will automatically shut themselves off.
How Long Does It Take to See Results?
With consistent, religious every other day use, most individuals see results anywhere between the 4-8-month mark. It depends heavily on the individual and the amount/type of lasers in the cap. The more lasers a cap contains, the more effective it will be in a shorter amount of time. Also, medical-grade laser diodes produce the most effective results compared to LEDs.
Conclusion
If you are a new mom suffering from extreme postpartum hair loss, I hope this article provided the necessary information about laser caps to help you combat your hair loss. They have been clinically proven to regrow hair on the scalps of both men and women. Get ahead of your hair loss now!
This can be an extremely stressful time, so take advantage of the products available that can help you. As always, make sure to consult with your physician if you have any questions related to the therapy used in the laser cap devices.
Jamie Razzouk-Ahler says
Thank you for this article . I have been so curious about laser caps so this was nice to stumble upon. I will share for postpartum hair loss I did use the baby blues postpartum hair loss vitamins (https://babyblues.care/) and they have been amazing in changing the quality of my hair from feeling so thin and dry and also for slowing the shedding. feel like its mom code to share so had to put it out there.