Pregnancy
My hair got worse in pregnancy — is that normal too?
Everyone promised you glossy pregnancy hair, and instead yours went flat, greasy or frizzy by week 14. You have spent months quietly wondering what you're doing wrong. Nothing —…
Everyone promised you glossy pregnancy hair, and instead yours went flat, greasy or frizzy by week 14. You have spent months quietly wondering what you're doing wrong. Nothing — you drew the other hormonal card, and it's more common than the compliments culture admits.
Isn't pregnancy hair supposed to be amazing?
For many women it is: higher oestrogen levels hold more hairs in the growing phase, so less sheds and density builds (the full mechanism is here). But that's the retention side of the story. Hormones also change your scalp's oil output, your hair's texture and how reactive your skin is — and those changes don't take orders. Retention can come packaged with oiliness, limpness or a texture you don't recognise.
Why did mine go flat, oily or frizzy instead?
Sebum — the scalp's natural oil — is hormone-responsive, and pregnancy can push production up as easily as down. More oil weights hair at the root, which reads as flat and greasy by mid-afternoon. Texture shifts run through the follicle itself: the shape of the follicle influences whether hair grows straight or curved, and hormonal changes can nudge it. Some women's waves relax; others frizz. Add extra body heat and night sweats, and "glow" was never guaranteed.
Does bad pregnancy hair mean a worse shed later?
No. Your pregnancy hair experience doesn't predict your postpartum one in either direction. The shed that arrives a few months after birth is driven by the hormone drop at delivery, not by how your hair behaved beforehand. Women with unremarkable or difficult pregnancy hair go through the same timeline as women who spent nine months in a shampoo ad — what happens after birth is mapped here.
How do I manage hair I don't recognise?
Treat it as a temporary tenant with its own preferences. If it's oilier: wash more often and gently rather than harder, and keep shampoo at the roots. If it's limp: lighter conditioner, ends only. If the texture changed: stop fighting it with the old routine and work with the wave or the flatness for now. Most of these shifts settle in the months after birth, though some texture changes persist — more on that here.
What's one thing I can change this week?
Move your conditioner. This week, apply it from the ears down only, nothing near the scalp, and see what your roots do by day two. It's the single highest-leverage change for hair that's gone flat and oily, it costs nothing, and it tells you within a week whether weight — not washing — was your problem.
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic — Postpartum hair loss (hair cycle and pregnancy hormone background): https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23297-postpartum-hair-loss
- American Academy of Dermatology — Hair loss in new moms: https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/insider/new-moms
This article is general information, not medical advice. Postpartum hair shedding is common and usually temporary, but everyone’s situation is different. Please speak with your GP, midwife or maternal child health nurse about your own health — especially if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.