This is definitely one of those posts that you will either totally relate to, or, just be like “huh?” Even if you are in the “huh?” category, it still might be a good heads up for you in case it happens to you someday, or, at the very least, just be an odd phenomenon that you can read about that happens to other people! So, there isn’t an official word that I’ve found for this side effect that can happen after you have a baby, but Postpartum Baby Bangs is what I call them, so we’ll just stick with that. I have found quite the community of other moms (and curious observers) when it comes to talking about my hair journey lately on my Instagram stories, so we thought it would be kind of fun to do a post about it too and talk about it all in one place!
Usually you have about 90% of your hair in the active growing phase while the other 10% is in a resting phase, but during pregnancy (1), the amount of “resting hair” rises (due to higher estrogen and progesterone levels). While that can give you an amazing preggo mane, those levels even out after pregnancy and somewhere between three and six months after the baby you start to shed the hair your head has been holding onto all that time (and maybe even more depending on the person). (2) Now, I was warned about the hair loss from friends, etc. but my mom was the only one to warn me about the set of extremely goofy looking baby bangs that grew around the perimeter of her hairline after each baby. Well, wouldn’t you know it that about five to six months postpartum I started losing what felt like allll my hair (I could get about a softball size clump after each shower/hair drying session) and if the thinning hair wasn’t bad enough, about a month later I started to notice some small mini fringe at the front of my hairline in between my part—and that was the start of the hair journey I’m still on 15 months later.
At first, it was so short that it just looked a little odd, but once it started to grow in, it looked like I had a small wispy mustache growing at the top of my forehead and I was horrified. Then it grew longer and looked like a small handlebar mustache curled downwards. At that point, I began to realize that this growth was happening across the front of my hairline (the bangs area) and also down the sides, and oh, also around the back. I had my very own 360° set of mini micro bangs. As someone who never appreciated the micro bang, even in it’s ’90s heyday, I certainly wasn’t suddenly into them now all the way around my head. Apparently, the hair loss thing happens to most all pregnant women in varying degrees, but the full set of mini bangs regrowth is less likely, yet still relatively common. So, depending on the length of baby bangs, you can imagine that a normal cute ponytail (or any type of topknot or updo) was totally out of the question. And, since I also had hair growing back in all around my head, and not just around the perimeter, I had little spiky hairs sticking straight up all along the top of my head since they weren’t long enough to fall over and lay down yet. So I also looked like I had rubbed a latex balloon across the top of my head at all times. Cool!
Do you want to hear a fun story? Great! So about eight months after my “bangs” starting growing, they were finally getting to a length where they were still way shorter than the rest of my hair, but starting to integrate into the whole head and behave a little more (and I finally wasn’t noticing them first thing every time I looked in a mirror). Guess what I realized had just started to happen? Round two! I stopped breastfeeding four months or so before that as my milk production had dried up and I think that’s what trigged a full second round of starting the entire thing over again. That was a pretty sad moment for me, to be honest. I had just started to feel a little better about my stupid hair and now I had to start from scratch again.
This is definitely one of those things where other people probably didn’t notice nearly as much as I did, and people like my husband tried to convince me it wasn’t a big deal, but it didn’t matter. Postpartum life is a rough time in so many ways (along with a lot of joy too, of course) and your body and sense-of-self can really take a hit during that period. It seems like that time is especially hard for a first-time-mom as you are making that huge leap into motherhood and dealing with an entirely new identity on top of everything else. Anyway, it may not sound like a huge deal to some, but for me it was (and still is) one of the more frustrating parts of my postpartum life. If you’ve ever come home with a bad haircut and had to wait for it to grow out, then you get the feeling. It’s felt like I had a bad haircut. Every day. For the past 15 months. Thankfully, my second crop of bangs is just getting to the length where I feel like I won’t think about them as much in another two to three months, so I can at least feel an end in sight there. But that thought also makes me laugh because if it happens to you, it will probably happen with each baby, so once they finally grow out, it’s probably about to happen again with the next kid soon!
I have had some moms tell me that their bangs stopped growing at weird lengths and just stayed there without growing out all the way to join the rest of the hair, so that is also a possibility for some women (and I guess could happen to me in the future too!). The weird thing for me was that my hair only grew on one side while I was pregnant (my hairstylist kept laughing at how lopsided it was each time I came in), but after I had Lola it started growing really fast (which was always a problem for me before having her. So I actually have the longest hair I’ve had since I was 16—it’s also the thinnest hair, but I feel like it’s trying to make up for it with length, ha ha.
Anyway, that’s kind of a long intro to a few tips with how to deal with postpartum baby bangs if that’s something that happened to you …
Consider a different hair color: I’ve gone back and forth between darker and blonder over the years and I was trying the ombre grown out look when the bangs first appeared since it’s more low maintenance. For me, having the dark root line meant my baby bangs were also dark and so they showed up pretty prominently on my pale skin and also stood out from the majority of my lower hair that was a lighter shade. Once I went back to all blonde, that really helped the bangs not stand out as much on my pale skin—a big help! I could see that some people may not want to dye them, thinking it may weaken them, making the grow back time longer. But it was worth any extra time it may have added for me.
Use witch hazel spray to tame the bangs: When the baby bangs got to about 3/4″ long, they would stick up and out in the weirdest directions and I wasn’t sure what to do until someone on my stories suggested using a witch hazel spray to try and tame them—it worked! I would add witch hazel to distilled water in a small spray bottle in a 1:2 ratio (one part witch hazel to two parts water), wet the baby bangs with the spray, slick them down to my forehead in the direction I wanted them to go with a boar brush comb (for some reason that comb works better than a regular brush or comb for this), and let them dry while basically stuck to my forehead. Once they were dry, they actually stayed down without being crunchy or weird looking like if I had used gel or a hair spray—a huge help!
Use scarves or head wraps around the hairline (or hats!) for the more difficult growing seasons: Something like what I’m wearing in the photo above is great for cooler seasons like it is now to hide the fringy hairline (and it can work with your hair up as well), but a cute scarf or turban wrap would be perfect for warmer weather. Of course any kind of hat works too!
Try a different part or bangs: Depending on how your bangs are growing in, switching your part location between side and middle could help hide the new growth better. For some, cutting in actual long “regular” bangs could also help cover the new growth, but ask your hairstylist for their advice based on your hair loss/growth. I used to have long bangs and I thought about going back to them to cover the baby bangs. But my hair had gotten so thin in front I didn’t really have enough left to do bangs, so I had to just wait it out.
Make a hair-growth spray: I wanted to use something to help my bangs grow faster, and since taking biotin supplements never worked for me in the past, I made a hair-growing spray with distilled water, Solubol (it acts as the carrier for water-based sprays), and rosemary essential oil (great for promoting hair growth!). For a 4-ounce spray bottle, add about 16-20 drops of rosemary oil into an empty bottle with the Solubol, mix together and then fill with distilled water. Spray at the locations where you want growth and rub into the scalp gently with your fingertips. I usually do this at night or a few hours before I would wash my hair since it gives your hair a wet look even once it dries, but I’ve also used that to my advantage to slick back my hair if I want to do a ponytail now that the bangs are a little longer. I’ll spray it on the bangs, rub it in, and then brush it all back into a pony and let it dry—you don’t even notice the bangs at all with this method!
Focus on positive physical thoughts instead: With all the body changes that can happen after delivering a baby, this can be really hard at times, but try and divert your attention away from negative thoughts about your body towards positive ones. If you don’t have anything positive to say about your hair at the moment, that’s OK, and remember you still have your gorgeous eyes, or killer legs, or whatever else you’re feeling good about at the moment. I for one found it super helpful to get lash extensions about a year into postpartum life—they just made me feel a little better, even on an average Tuesday, so it was just a nice little lift of self-confidence in a season where it can be hard to find some (one of these journals could be really helpful as well!).
I absolutely don’t want to make it seem like life is all about how you look and that the goal is getting back to not having “weird hair” or anything like that. I think it’s more about how all of a sudden after giving birth you have so, so, sooo many things that are new and uncomfortable and odd and unfamiliar within your own body. So when you also have a totally foreign hairstyle all of a sudden, it can be just another layer of not feeling like yourself anymore. There’s a layer of patience and acceptance that has to kick in, but it can be frustrating in such a whirlwind of a season already, that it may take longer for that to happen than it would in more normal circumstances. I do really think it also helps to have support on all the weird mom things that moms go through (body related or not!), and I know I did feel better about my hair woes when I shared my ridiculous bangs with others and saw that I was not the only one who dealt with them! If you’re in that boat now or in the future, I hope this post made you feel a little less alone too! We’ve got lots of fun DIYs and kid projects in our kiddo archives so give those a glance as well to do some fun things with your little ones! xo. Laura
P.S. Check out more cute hair accessories and clean beauty on our wishlist and shopping pages!
Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Additional Sources: 1.) American Pregnancy Association. Available at ncy.org/pregnancy-health/hair-loss-during-pregnancy/. 2.) Today’s Parent. Available at https://www.todaysparent.com/baby/postpartum-care/why-postpartum-hair-loss-is-totally-normal-and-how-to-stop-it/.
55 Comments
Happened to me with both of my pregnancies! ? Glad I’m not alone!
So rough, hey? My baby just turned 7 months old and I started noticing this weird baby hair thing happening all around my head. I have dark brown, super curly hair…now with baby bangs that flip upwards. Just let that look sink in… lol! Oh there’s a few wirey greys poppin out too. ???♀️
YEP! My daughter is 11 months old and the baby hairs started growing about 3 months ago, I have dark brown coil-ish curly hair, so you can imagine what they look like on me lol. They just flip out of control and make all of my front hairs stick out. I’ve found that straightening my hair helps, although I never really do because I don’t have the time and don’t want to damage my hair. So wait it out seems like the option here!!
Oh my goodness!!! Yes!! I’ve had 3 kiddos so far, my youngest is 2.5 years old. And I STILL have the weird baby bangs! I lovingly call mine my “devil horns” because it’s literally just two patches at my temples, that always stick up funny and never seem to grow all the way out. Haha! Definitely going to try witch Hazel and the boar brush comb! Thanks!!
This was soooo relatable. After a lot of searching and going down the google rabbit hole I found a postpartum hair vitamin from Baby Blues that has been really effective for growing the weird baby hairs quickly. It’s meant to replenish the vitamins shed after having the baby. It has helped slow the shedding as well. Only thing Ive found to work. I tried the oil drops and i just felt like my hair was always greasy – I couldn’t take it. Not sure if it’s ok to share brands here but linking where I get them in case: www.babyblues.care I was literally keeping the vacuum in my bathroom because I couldn’t stand seeing all the hair fall on the floor. Hope this helps someone!
Oh my goodness, this is so relatable! My last two kiddos are 15months apart and now almost 3 years postpartum I’m still trying to get my hair back to “normal”. Not only have I had crazy, whispy regrowth, it has started to curl in ringlets only along the hairline! So I have to straighten all these baby bangs which almost always ends with me burning my forehead! ??♀️
Thanks for this recipe, I’m excited to give it a shot!
I have a case of e baby bangs now. I knew it just be a thing but wasn’t sure how to search for it. My baby is almost 10 months and my baby bangs are about an inch and look immensely awkward and poofy. I look forward to trying the witch hazel spray. For some reason I hadn’t considering wearing a head band or scarf but I’m going to give that a go as well.
AWE! This post was so cute and relatable. I went through major postpartum hair loss (i had bangs to begin with ..but still ) I found a really good postpartum hair gummy to use by my second pregnancy and it really helped. Unfortunately my first pregnancy was a learning experience and i ended up taking my OBGYN’S advice and chopping my hair off into a bob so it would look more full. The gummy i took and actually still take now that my youngest is 3 is called Baby Blues .. I think its on Amazon or babyblues.care but anyway its passion fruit flavored and well a gummy so its easy. I also just started using my lightstim red light device on my scalp for a few minutes ( i’ve been reading up on red light therapy) . Hope this helps someone!
Thank you so much for this post! I did not breastfeed but I’m going through a second round of postpartum hair loss. My dermatologist has never heard of this and told me to use rogaine. But I’d rather just wait it out. Did yours finally come back and stay back after the second loss?
I have had a permanent bad hair day from when she was like 2….twice I have hacked it all off myself and she is almost 8 and I think along with all the physical changes…coming to terms with urself and motherhood,including your hairdo is a whole new kettle of fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, so I have heard about postpartum bangs from my hairstylist when she had her son and I also have heard of what I am going through now, baby bangs. I’m currently 12 weeks pregnant and today I had my hair in a top knot, not entirely normal for me until the pregnancy acne happened and I have been trying to keep my hair away from my skin. Well with my hair up I noticed a three inch long layer of crazy curly, frizzy, and abnormally coarse hair all around my head. Did anyone else notice the texture of their hair change from fine to coarse during or after pregnancy as your hormones went on a roller coaster ride?
I’m 6 months postpartum, and my husband just asked me the other day why I cut little ‘wispies” at my hairline. I almost strangled him. The fuzz of growth all over my head was making me berserk – I feel a lot better reading your article and all your comments! Making humans is tough!!! Thanks for sharing!
I can relate ????. I laughed so hard I cried.
“So I also looked like I had rubbed a latex balloon across the top of my head at all times. Cool!” ????
Currently looking to cut ????my booty length hair to a much easier to mange length and possibly a style that hides my under fro.
Momming is a painful handful of hair at a time. Tiny fist to the sky✊! Thanks for the laugh ✌️
Thank you so much for the camaraderie and advice you provided in this post! I have been rocking the 360-bang look as well, so I feel your frustration! I haven’t been doing much with it, except giggling at how intense it stands up after baby gets his bath! I never knew about the rosemary benefits, or how to use witch hazel to tame the mane. love following you ladies!
Urgh. Going through this (again!) right now. In regular circumstances, good hair days are few and far between, but now they are literally impossible. I’m at the stage where they are long enough to be noticed but to short to be dealt with. Silver lining: its winter. Give me all the hats!
Sooo glad i am not alone! I thought i was the only one cos i don’t know anyone who experienced this before. I think i’ve been dealing with this for more than 5 months now. And i still don’t know what to do it! It bothers me all the time whenever i look at the mirror–horrifying! Hope it will grow fast soonest
Ooooh my gosh, this this this! Such a problem! Thanks for talking about it! Makes us all feel like crazy. I’m almost done breastfeeding though so now you have me worried about a round two…!
I’ll be 70 and this is the first time I have seen that this is a real thing. I always thought it was just me back in the day. Also, heads up for the coming menopause fun times , lol.
Wait! Are you saying this could happen again during menopause?? I got the baby bangs 10 years ago after the birth of my daughter, so can totally relate to the article. However, last January this happened all over to me again! And I didn’t have a baby?! My hair isn’t growing back in, about 2” long now all over my head. ???? I’m 41!!!
I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS A THING!
My third baby is almost 8 months old, and i have been wondering what the heck is wrong with my hair! Thank you for letting me know that I am not alone, and that there is hope! 🙂
You aren’t alone!! 🙂
Laura
The baby bang struggle is too real!!! With my son, I went ahead and cut bangs, which really helped mask the wispy growth, but they were a pain to style since I have wavy hair and it was in the summer months. With my daughter, I’ve tried to mask it with headbands, little clips, and braiding the front portion of my hair. I also avoid heat styling as much as I can to prevent breakage. It’s slow going, so I love the rosemary essential oil tip!
Honestly, I was just happy it grew back!!!! I had sparse hair, almost bald spots. It was scary. I’m very low maintenance, but I was not keen on shaving my head again! I look like your 90′ s baby picture on my best days (16months post partum) and I’m very ok with it.
Thanks for sharing this great read in a different way I can relate – hormones are so weird at times! I have not had children but seem to have the same issues. Funnily enough I am taking a natural progesterone tablet due to an imbalance and my hair was coming out in the shower like a softball sized clump too. I am going to try the hair growth spray…..I will try anything because my hair is my confidence. All the best 🙂
https://diznz.wordpress.com/
Can you link to your turban in the photo? Or similar? Please and Thank You
Here you go!
https://rstyle.me/+vPvPiJtbr2BfWqz44JRSTA
Laura 🙂
Awesome post!! I am going through this now, 10 months postpartum! I didn’t know what these weird bangs were?? I had two kids before and never had this problem. Now on the third, I realized I had this hair sticking up around my face, every time I put in a ponytail! I think I have had it since the new year? I agree parting the hair in different ways can help! I am definitely going to try the witch hazel, though!!! Thanks!!
Even though I have never been pregnant before I experienced this same thing when I started taking biotin. My hair was growing like crazy! I love all the way you styled them so cute!!
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com
Omg so???????? much ???????? yasssssss????????????????????????????????
Oh god, FINALLY SOMEONE PUT IT INTO WORDS! Almost 10 months postpartum and my baby hair bangs is just god forsaken. No matter what I treat it with I simply end up looking slightly electrecuted. Funny thing those baby bangs are actuly curly, while my hair is straight. So straight in fact it takes it 30 mins and 2 stronger wind blows to diminish any curling effort I ever took (sleeping with hot rolls on included). It just all looks beyond ridiculus, the only thing that helps are all kinds of woven side hairstyles, i.e. braids and dutch braids.
I am beyond excited to try your tips and hopefully the days of looking like a medieval franciscan monk will be over soon.
Hahaha! Yes, I know that electrocuted look too!
Laura
Ah yes, I remember this – it was the WORST, and I have curly hair, so there was basically nothing I could do!
Oh man, I bet that makes it so much hard to tame!
Laura
Oh my this speaks to me so much. I somehow never experienced (or noticed?) hair loss after my first child but after my second I wore a deep side part that I noticed getting wider and wider around 3 months post birth. I finally just cut bangs which covered it up, but it also inspired me to care for my hair a lot better. I stopped washing every day, got a silk pillowcase, and am way gentler pulling out ponytails. It all came back…but now I’m pregnant again. Bracing for more weird hair issues lol.
This was a helpful post—thanks! I’m going to try the witch hazel spray. Postpartum hair is the worst. :/ My kiddo is 18 months old and my baby bangs aren’t nearly long enough for ponytails yet. I’ve tried straightening them (for when I wear my hair down), but then they pop straight up instead (horror) and hair spray doesn’t really help to flatten them. Hoping witch hazel is the key!
Hope it works for you too!
Laura
Baby bangs are real!! TOO REAL. I just got my hair cut so my baby hairs don’t look too weird. I can’t wait to see how bizarre it gets when I have another baby. ????
I’ve got the 360 baby bangs too. I call it my “halo”. lol. And there are like 4 versions of the bangs because I had 2 babies 2 years apart with 1 year of breastfeeding each of them.
Your post was so relatable and also just made me chuckle because its such a strange/weird yet minor side effect of pregnancy.
OMG, I thought I was the only one! I told my mom and she said it was normal for her, the thin fluffy short hair, since she’s had short hair most of her adult life. And no one else understood what I was talking about. But gradually over a year, the thin layer of new bangs has grown for me, finally too a point that I can pinch it together and pin it and now it’s starting to integrate with the rest of my hair. Before that I always looked super unkempt and that mad me even more depressed than I already was… Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
Happy they are growing out for you! It’s such a big help when they can finally be pinned back again!
Laura
Just started postpartum hair loss with second baby which means I’ll be wearing a ponytail 24/7 to keep the shedding and bald spots at bay. I have thick hair but I got huge bald spots with my first baby. My stylist talked me into an undercut along my hairline on the left side of my head (as I was basically bald there anyway and always have a side part). I was able to maintain it myself and then grew it out without much issue.
One morning when I was about 6 months postpartum with my first kid, I looked in the mirror and I swear I looked just like the butler from Rocky Horror Picture Show. My hair was so thin and falling out, I was unshowered and greasy with these big dark circles under my eyes, ugh what a sight! LOL! I was more emotionally prepared to take a ride on the hot mess express when the second baby caused my hair to re-fall out. Add a good volumizer to your shopping list right under the extra large pads and granny panties for your journey into motherhood!
It is a rouuugh period for sure! It’s good to remember to be kind to yourself during that period—it gets better!
Laura
I can soooo relate to this. I got the shock of my life when my hair started to fall out in clumps. No one prepared me for it and it wasn’t on my mind what my hair does after pregnancy, as I was so busy getting used to my role as first time mum. I Lost my hairline and it thinned out to the point, where my scalp was shining through. I also had a bald patch at the Back near the nape. It is now improving and my hairline grows nicely back. I still use normal shampoo and conditioner but make sure it does not contain sulfate and silicone. I also used a headband which helped. Chin up to every mum out there going through the same. It takes time but it will improve.
It can be a lot more shocking if you don’t know it’s going to happen! Glad it’s getting better!
Laura
I have been wondering this for that last 16months since my baby was born! I have this all the way round my hair line, and it looks like I have chopped the back of my hair where the nape of the neck is! I’m so happy to have found someone who is in the same boat!
Being five months post partum I’m still in the hairloss phase but boy do I already grieve the loss of my beautiful pregnancy hair. I’ve had thin hair my whole life so I was so happy that I finally got to experience having thicker hair. I hope my bangs will help when the hair starts growing back again.
That pregnancy hair is great while it lasts!
Laura
Ahhh, yes. The good old days. Luckily I had bangs during those times, but the baby bangs liked to poke up through the mature bangs every once in awhile which was my favorite. Good post though. It made me laugh. It’s funny cause it’s true.
Ha! Yes, they are short but stubborn for a while!
Laura
I can SOOO relate! I’ve had 2 babies in 21 months. In total it took me 3 years for my hair to be its pre-pregnancy self. I’ve had the ‘old man hair gaps’ for a long while which made me wear my hair loose almost constantly. When that finally got away my hair was thin for until last year. Luckily I have a ton of hair but now I notice a BIG difference when brushing it. I hope your tips will help anyone out there. And hang in there yourself, Laura, it sucks but it will be better overtime!
Yes, then you know all about the struggles! Glad it’s gotten better for you 🙂
Laura
I loved the curled baby bangs look! So 90s like you said. 😀
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
OMG Thank you for sharing! There is almost no info about this out there.
I ‘ve had this challenge with each baby post-lactation, but in my case the pregnancies saved it… now my 3rd is definitely my last, AND this time I live in Costa Rica with tremenddous humidity… So – not even strong hair gel will keep it in place, i look like an electrocuted cat in cartoons. Now when i have the least time for myself seems i need it the most… The reality is that you can not give from an empty cup, so self-care, in whatever form is needed, must always come first. Have a great day
Thank you for this a lot. It helps me feel better about my same kind of hair problem.. Good to know that somebody understands.. 🙂