You made it through your pregnancy. And labor. And the newborn phase, on zero hours of sleep. You think you’re finally in the clear, and then BAM, the hair loss hits. While it can be extremely jarring (and deeply emotional), what you’re experiencing is one of the most common postpartum surprises. It’s called telogen effluvium, and there’s a very clear biological explanation, but, more importantly, there is also a path through. One that starts with nourishing your body back to baseline, which is exactly what our Collagen + Beef Liver capsules were designed to do.

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The problem is that most postpartum hair content treats the shedding as a cosmetic inconvenience to wait out rather than a signal from your body worth paying attention to. Your hair is trying to tell you something about what's happening with your nutrient levels and we're going to get into all of it here.

Why Postpartum Hair Shedding Happens

During pregnancy, elevated estrogen essentially presses pause on your hair’s natural shedding cycle. Normally, about 10% of your hair is in the resting (telogen) phase at any given time, meaning it’s in a holding pattern until it sheds. But high estrogen during pregnancy keeps more of your hair in the active growth (anagen) phase for longer than usual. Think about it: have you ever noticed how unbelievably lush pregnant women’s hair is or how quickly their hair and nails grow?? Now you know why.

After giving birth, estrogen drops off quickly and quite dramatically. And all those follicles that were held in growth mode suddenly get the memo and shift into the resting (telogen) phase together. Then, about three months later, they shed together. Sometimes in alarming clumps. This is tellogen effluvium, a synchronized, delayed shedding response to a major hormonal shift. In other words, it’s your body catching up to nine (really ten) whole months of biological override!

The typical shedding window is three to six months postpartum, with a peak around month four. For most women, it resolves on its own as their hormones stabilize. But, for many, the shedding lingers longer than we’d like it to, or the regrowth comes in slower and thinner than we expected. That’s where nutrition comes in.

What Your Hair Is Asking For

The hormonal shift after birth is unavoidable, but how long it takes your body (and hair!) to recover is deeply influenced by your nutritional status. And the hard truth is that most new mothers are running on empty in that department. That’s because pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding seasons of life. Your baby quite literally builds their entire body from your very own nutrient stores. That never gets old, no matter how many times you think about it, right? Then, birth itself involves significant blood loss. Then breastfeeding keeps drawing from those same reserves. 

So your body isn’t betraying you by deprioritizing hair growth in the postpartum season. It’s actually being extremely logical and keeping you safe, as your hair isn’t a survival organ. The good news is that replenishing your nutrient stores makes a big impact on how quickly your hair recovers, how thick the regrowth comes in, and how depleted you feel overall. Here’s what your follicles are asking for postpartum:

Iron 

Low ferritin (aka your stored iron, not just your circulating iron) is one of the most common and underdiagnosed drivers of prolonged postpartum hair shedding. As we mentioned earlier, blood loss during birth depletes iron reserves fast, and breastfeeding keeps it going. The sneaky part is that many women are told their iron levels look fine on a standard blood panel, while their ferritin levels tell a totally different story. If your postpartum hair shedding lasts more than six months, it’s definitely worth getting a full iron panel, or at least having your ferritin checked. Don’t let a CBC be the end of the convo!

Retinol 

Vitamin A is essential for healthy scalp oil production, follicle cycling, and skin cell turnover. But not all Vitamin A is created equal. Retinol is the pre-formed, active version that’s found in animal foods, and your body can use it immediately. On the other hand, beta carotene in plant foods (like carrots and sweet potatoes) is the precursor to Vitamin A and, therefore, must be converted to be used by your body. This is why it’s sometimes called Provitamin A. Depleted retinol status after pregnancy is wayyyy more common than people think, and it shows up as sluggish follicle recovery, slow regrowth, and as skin conditions, too.

B12 and Folate

Because hair follicles are some of the fastest dividing cells in your body, they have an insatiable demand for B vitamins. B12 and folate specifically fuel the rapid cellular turnover that keeps follicles cycling properly. Pregnancy and breastfeeding both significantly increase demand for both, and a deficiency in either can extend your shedding window and slow regrowth way down. If you were relying on a prenatal for B12 during pregnancy, now is not the time to ditch it.

Collagen 

Did you know that each hair follicle is physically anchored in a collagen scaffold? This is the dermal papilla and the surrounding connective tissue that holds it in place and supplies it with nutrients. Without enough collagen support, even well-nourished follicles can sometimes struggle to produce strong, thick strands. This is one reason why focusing solely on vitamins and minerals without supporting the structural foundation can leave you wondering why your hair seems off (and why we included clinically studied Verisol collagen alongside grass-fed beef liver in our Collagen + Beef Liver capsules).

CoQ10

CoQ10 (or Coenzyme Q10) is an antioxidant that supports mitochondrial function in hair follicle cells. It’s essentially giving your follicles the cellular energy they need to actually complete a full growth cycle. Think about it this way: when you’re exhausted and running on fumes, your productivity tanks. Your hair follicles are really no different. They need fuel to do their job, and CoQ10 is a big part of that fuel.

Nourishing Foods to Load Up On

• Organ meats (especially beef liver)

• Shellfish (especially oysters)

• Pastured eggs

• Fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines)

• Dark leafy greens

• Bone broth 

• Pumpkin seeds

• Slow-cooked, bone-in meats

• Legumes

Next Steps to Support Recovery

• Get a full iron panel, including ferritin, TIBC, total iron, and iron saturation

• Eat enough protein – aiming for at least 80-100g daily postpartum, and more if you’re breastfeeding

• Don’t crash diet! As tempting as it may be to “lose the baby weight”, now is not the time to restrict calories.

• Ease up on slickback ponytails and heat styling to avoid unnecessary stress on your hair

• Prioritize real, deep rest to preserve nutrients and support follicle cycling 

• Keep taking your prenatal, switch to a postnatal, and/or take organ capsules