Why is my hair falling out after having a baby?

It is called telogen effluvium. Pregnancy holds hair in its growing phase, and a few months after delivery all of it sheds at once. It starts two to four months afterwards, it can be alarming in volume, and it usually recovers without treatment over six to twelve months.

Can I take finasteride for hair loss?

Not if there is any chance you could become pregnant. It causes birth defects and is not prescribed to women for hair loss on that basis. Topical minoxidil is the mainstay for female pattern hair loss instead.

Which blood tests actually matter?

Ferritin, thyroid function and a full blood count. Ferritin matters most because iron can be low enough to affect hair while the haemoglobin still reads normal, so a blood count on its own can look reassuring and be wrong.

Does wearing a tudung cause hair loss?

Covering the hair does not. Pulling it does. Traction alopecia comes from the same tight pinning point day after day, and it shows at the temples and the hairline. Caught early it recovers fully; left for years it does not.

Will PRP work for me?

It works on follicles that have thinned rather than ones that have gone, and it works better once iron and thyroid have been dealt with. That is why it is assessed before it is booked rather than sold as a course up front.

Is female hair loss permanent?

Shedding after childbirth or illness usually is not. Female pattern hair loss is gradual and ongoing, which is why starting early matters more than which treatment is chosen. Scarring types are permanent, and those are the ones to be seen about quickly.

Hair loss in women, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur

Women rarely lose hair the way men do, and the treatment is not the same either. The parting widens while the hairline holds, iron and thyroid explain more of it than anything else, and the best known drug for men is unsafe for many women.

Ask about hair loss in women What causes hair loss in women

Bloods firstiron and thyroid before anything is sold
Differentfrom men's, and treated differently
Postpartumshedding usually recovers
Assessedbefore a course is booked

The hair loss patterns women actually get

Women rarely lose hair the way men do. The hairline usually stays, the parting widens, and the shedding is often diffuse rather than patterned, which is why advice written for men so often misses.

Your parting has widened, or you can see more scalp at the crown than you used to
You are shedding heavily two to four months after childbirth, an illness, surgery or a crash diet
Your ponytail is noticeably thinner than it was a year ago
There is thinning at the temples where your hijab or your bun pulls
Your periods are heavy, or you have been told before that your iron is low

Sudden patchy loss with smooth, clear circles of scalp is a different condition and needs seeing sooner. So does hair loss with scalp pain, scarring or redness, because scarring types do not wait.

What causes hair loss in women

More often than not there is more than one cause running at once, which is why treating only the obvious one disappoints.

Female pattern hair loss: The commonest. The parting widens and the crown thins while the front hairline holds, which is what separates it from the male pattern. It is gradual, it runs in families, and it responds best when it is caught early.
Telogen effluvium: Diffuse shedding that starts two to four months after a trigger: childbirth, a fever, surgery, rapid weight loss, or a period of real stress. The hair comes out by the handful and it is frightening, and it usually recovers on its own once the trigger has passed.
Iron deficiency: Common in women who menstruate and easy to miss, because you can be low on iron without being anaemic. This is why ferritin is measured rather than just a blood count.
Thyroid disease: Both an underactive and an overactive thyroid thin the hair. It is a blood test, and treating the thyroid treats the hair.
Polycystic ovary syndrome: Worth considering where hair thinning comes with irregular periods, acne or unwanted hair elsewhere. It changes what treatment is appropriate.
Traction: From tight buns, braids, extensions, or the same pinning point under a tudung day after day. It starts at the temples and along the hairline, and caught early it is entirely reversible. Left long enough it is not.

What the workup for female hair loss involves

The history, which does most of the work
When it started, whether it was sudden or gradual, what happened three months before it, your periods, your diet, and how you wear your hair.
Looking at the scalp
The pattern is diagnostic more often than any test. A widening parting, temple recession under tension, and smooth patches all mean different things.
Bloods
Ferritin rather than just haemoglobin, thyroid function, and a full blood count. Hormonal tests where the history points at them. These come before anything is recommended, not after.
Treating the cause first
Iron replaced, thyroid corrected, traction relieved. When one of these is the answer, it is the whole answer, and no amount of anything else substitutes for it.
Then what is left
Topical minoxidil, and PRP where it suits. Reviewed against photographs at a set interval rather than an impression of whether it is working.

What is safe for women, and what is not

This is the part most often got wrong, because the best known hair loss drug for men is unsafe for a large group of women.

Appropriate

Topical minoxidil, which is the mainstay for female pattern hair loss
Replacing iron when ferritin is low, and correcting a thyroid that is off
PRP, on follicles that have thinned rather than gone
Changing how the hair is tied or pinned, which is the entire treatment for traction

Not for you

Finasteride and dutasteride in any woman who could become pregnant: they cause birth defects and are not prescribed for this
Starting a treatment course before iron and thyroid have been checked
Treating postpartum shedding as permanent, when it usually recovers on its own
Any promise of regrowth on scalp that has been smooth and bare for years

What else the clinic does about hair loss

Hair loss

The main page: the patterns worth acting on, what causes them, and the tests that most often explain it outright.

Hair PRP

Platelet-rich plasma from your own blood, injected into the scalp. Assessed before it is booked, and not sold as a course to someone whose iron has not been checked.

Health screening

Where the ferritin, thyroid and full blood count sit if you would rather have the wider picture at the same time.

Who you are dealing with

Your doctor: Every doctor here is named on this site with their training, and one of them is a Family Medicine Specialist on the National Specialist Register. You are seen by a doctor rather than assessed at a counter.
Your records: Held in the clinic's own encrypted system rather than on paper in a drawer, so the doctor seeing you has the rest of your history in front of them.
Your follow-up: Questions afterwards and repeat prescriptions go to the doctor who saw you, directly on WhatsApp rather than through a front desk.
Your time: Walk in any day until 8pm. The clinic has served Kepong Baru since 1981 and most of what is on this page is done in one visit.

Come in, or ask first

Walk in any time we are open (daily, 9:00am to 8:00pm), or send a message and ask whatever you need to ask before you do.

Anything you'd like to add (optional)

Your messageHi, I'd like to book a visit about hair loss in women.

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Common questions

Why is my hair falling out after having a baby?: It is called telogen effluvium. Pregnancy holds hair in its growing phase, and a few months after delivery all of it sheds at once. It starts two to four months afterwards, it can be alarming in volume, and it usually recovers without treatment over six to twelve months.
Can I take finasteride for hair loss?: Not if there is any chance you could become pregnant. It causes birth defects and is not prescribed to women for hair loss on that basis. Topical minoxidil is the mainstay for female pattern hair loss instead.
Which blood tests actually matter?: Ferritin, thyroid function and a full blood count. Ferritin matters most because iron can be low enough to affect hair while the haemoglobin still reads normal, so a blood count on its own can look reassuring and be wrong.
Does wearing a tudung cause hair loss?: Covering the hair does not. Pulling it does. Traction alopecia comes from the same tight pinning point day after day, and it shows at the temples and the hairline. Caught early it recovers fully; left for years it does not.
Will PRP work for me?: It works on follicles that have thinned rather than ones that have gone, and it works better once iron and thyroid have been dealt with. That is why it is assessed before it is booked rather than sold as a course up front.
Is female hair loss permanent?: Shedding after childbirth or illness usually is not. Female pattern hair loss is gradual and ongoing, which is why starting early matters more than which treatment is chosen. Scarring types are permanent, and those are the ones to be seen about quickly.

Ask about hair loss in women, Kepong, until 8pm

48, Jalan Lang Kuning, 52100 Kepong Baru, Kuala Lumpur.