This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

Postpartum Hair Loss Photos Show This Brutal Side Effect Of Mom Life

Nine brave women bare it all as part of our "Life After Birth" series.
Ottawa mom Colleen is one of the brave women who shared their postpartum hair loss photos with HuffPost Canada.
Colleen
Ottawa mom Colleen is one of the brave women who shared their postpartum hair loss photos with HuffPost Canada.

It's pretty easy to spot a new mom (Zombieus Maternus) in the wild once you know how to identify one.

Often, she's sporting the official mom plumage: leggings, a baggy T-shirt speckled with fluids (both hers and her young's), and sunglasses (sunlight burns her sleep-deprived eyes). You're most likely to find her in her natural habitat β€” her nest β€” but she also often migrates to playgroups, school drop-off lines, and doctor's offices (hand, foot and mouth disease is a particular threat to this species).

But a new mom's most distinctive feature is often her hair: or seeming lack thereof.

Parents Editor Natalie Stechyson's hair, growing back in fashionable spikes, at one year postpartum.
Natalie Stechyson
Parents Editor Natalie Stechyson's hair, growing back in fashionable spikes, at one year postpartum.

Postpartum hair loss, which can affect about half of women who have given birth, leaves many new moms with thinning strands, patches where the scalp is slightly more visible than one might like, and β€” eventually β€” regrowth that can resemble at best a mullet and at worst a lion's mane.

The first episode of our new parenting series "Life After Birth," starring, um, me, tackles new mom hair loss with honesty and humour. I think it's time to celebrate our mom hair in all its patchy, jabby, unwashed glory. For many of us, it's a badge of motherhood and just as worthy of attention as stretch marks (nay, mom stripes) and bathing yourself exclusively with baby wipes (mom showers).

WATCH: HuffPost Canada Parents Editor Natalie Stechyson bares her bald spot in "Life After Birth." Story continues below video.

After the launch of "Life After Birth," I asked moms to share photos of their patches, spikes, and unwanted bangs with HuffPost Canada. And they came through like a mother.

Here are nine brave moms who bared it all:

Erin Weatherall

Name: Erin Weatherall

Lives in: Almonte, Ont.

Describes her postpartum hair as: "Completely unnecessary wings."

Colleen

Name: Colleen (requested her last name not be used)

Lives in: Ottawa

Photo taken at: Nine months postpartum

Emily

Name: Emily (requested her last name not be used)

Lives in: Chester, U.K.

Why we love this pic: Her curls are taking her six-month postpartum mom bangs to the next level.

Ricki-Lee Bloom

Name: Ricki-Lee Bloom

Lives in: Ottawa

Describes her postpartum hair as: A "baby halo."

Michelle Butterfield

Name: HuffPost Canada Communities Editor Michelle Butterfield

Lives in: Calgary, Alta.

How she feels about her mom bangs: "I just love looking like a total asshole."

Carol Johnston

Name: Carol Johnston

Lives in: Markham, Ont.

Those postpartum wisps are: Impressive

Kristyn

Name: Kristyn (requested her last name not be used)

Lives in: Ottawa

Describes her hair as: "... the only thing I've cried over about my postpartum body."

Burlington, Ont. mom Sarah is so scarred by getting lice she asked for her photo and last name not to be used.
Jure Gasparic / EyeEm via Getty Images
Burlington, Ont. mom Sarah is so scarred by getting lice she asked for her photo and last name not to be used.

Name: Sarah (requested her last name not be used)

Lives in: Burlington, Ont.

Why she's sharing a tale of woe instead of a photo: "It's still too close."

In her own words: "I can take the postpartum hair loss to a new level of disgusting ... I caught lice from my son who just started jk [junior kindergarten] ... I also have a four-month-old ... delousing involves using a metal nit comb to remove the lice. Every pass through of the comb pulls out wads of hair. I can't use toxic shampoo because I am breastfeeding. I can only be deloused with the comb. My husband uses the vacuum cleaner on the comb; I'm surprised he doesn't use it directly on my hair like a flowbee ("Wayne's World" reference to date myself). Yuck yuck yuck."

Aloha

Name: Aloha (requested her last name not be used)

Lives in: Cochrane, Alta.

Mom 'do courtesy of: Dry shampoo and not showering for three days. "Basically, waking up, spray the magic and off doing mommy stuff."

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.