By Kelly Simpkin-Clarke – founder of specialist haircare brand WeTwo London.
During pregnancy and for the first few months after giving birth, your hair can go through a number of changes. Most women will say that during pregnancy their hair felt much thicker and in great condition. The reason for this lies in science: an increase in the level of oestrogen in the body, to be exact.
This heightened oestrogen level, along with less androgens, causes the hair follicles to produce less sebum (oil), so hair is dryer and as a result appears thicker and bouncier. For some women, possibly with drier, thinner hair to start with, lack of sebum can make the hair very dry and unmanageable.
Generally, women will find that they may need to wash their hair less often during pregnancy as it’s less oily. These changes will happen almost immediately in your first trimester and then we get into your hair actually becoming thicker.
Hair grows in three stages, growing (anagen phase), resting (catagen phase), shedding (telogen phase). Each day we lose around 100 hairs, this is the normal natural cycle.
During the second and third trimester your hair will actually be thicker. Due to increased hormone levels, hair will stay in the anagen stage for a much longer period resulting in less hair fall. You don’t really lose that many hairs at all when you are pregnant.
This will return to normal 3-6 months postpartum with the sudden drop of oestrogen. With oestrogen levels returning to normal, hair that was in the growing stage will go into the resting and shedding stage, resulting in hair fall. It will appear that your hair is falling out at a much quicker rate than usual, it’s actually just that a lot more hair has left the anagen phase and entered the telogen phase. Most women are alarmed by this but it is totally normal.
WeTwo have considered the science when formulating our unique range. Alongside herbal extracts and essences we have included ingredients such as Biotin; a vitamin proven to play a role in the growth of healthier, stronger and thicker hair and one of the only natural hair loss treatments. So, you can be assured that with WeTwo, your hair will be lovingly cared for throughout its natural growth cycle.
Haircare Top Tips
1. When washing your hair, rinse it for an extra 20 seconds on the final rinse to make sure it’s completely clean. This will give you that salon shine!
2. Always wash your hair twice; the first time lifts the dirt from the scalp and the second cleanses the hair and scalp.
3. It’s OK to wash your hair every day. As long as you are using a good shampoo your hair can be washed daily. The oil that builds up on your hair daily, making it flat and limp, will simply be washed away giving you fresh bouncier locks.
4. Try not to wash your hair in bath water – this is dirty water and will not properly clean your hair. Take a jug into the bath with you and rinse your hair with clean water from the tap.
5. If you have long hair that tangles, try leaving it to dry a little before combing it through after washing. Hair is at its weakest when wet, so you are more likely to damage the strands and pull them out.
6. Use a heat protector spray to protect your hair from heat when blow drying. And if you use hair straighteners or tongs, try not to do so every day as the heat will damage your hair making it dry and brittle.
7. Get regular trims every 6-8 weeks if your hair is short, or 8-12 weeks if its long. This will make sure your hair is kept in tip top condition removing any dry ends that may split off.
8. When washing your hair avoid putting conditioner on the roots – this will weigh your hair down and make it feel greasier quicker. Apply mid-lengths to ends.
New Mum Hair Hack!
New mums always have less time for themselves so a great hair hack (especially if you’re not a fan of the ‘mum bun’) is to plait (braid) your hair after washing it and sleep with them in. After washing, let your hair airdry to around 80/90% and then part your hair and make two braids. Tie the ends and sleep lie this. When you wake in the morning, your hair will be dry and when you take out the plaits you will have lovely beach waves!
About the expert
Kelly Simpkin-Clarke is a mother of two and wife of celebrity hairdresser Nicky Clarke. With over 15 years’ experience working as a professional hairdresser, Kelly used her extensive knowledge to create the specialist haircare brand WeTwo London (wetwolondon.com), which has been designed for the specific haircare needs of pregnant and postpartum mums and beyond.
