Health

The Cost of Becoming a MILF

Think Hollywood moms bounce back by diet and Pilates alone? Here's what it really takes to score a hot post-baby bod

by Rose Curiel | COMMENT

PHOTO 5/8

Hair Growth Treatment Mama Drama: The stress of having a newborn may make you feel like pulling your hair out but you shouldn't -- because your body has that whole rapid hair loss thing covered post-delivery. When you're pregnant, explains Dr. Tabasum Mir, MD, a dermatologist who specializes in non-invasive cosmetic treatments, the extra estrogen in your body is really great for your hair; it grows faster, it feels thicker and it's not falling out. But once your estrogen levels return to normal and your mane doesn't have that hormonal boost, it starts to fall out at a rate that alarms many a mama. "The actual hair phenomenon is called telogen effluvium," explains Jegasothy. "The different hairs on your head are at different cycles at any given time, but if you have a major trauma or incident -- such as a surgery, an illness or pregnancy -- it can cause all of the hair to go into the dropping or catagen phase of growth." So, basically, just as your baby's hair starts coming in, yours starts disappearing.

Mommy Makeover: Some doctors will tell you that you only think you're losing hair because you got accustomed to your estrogen-enhanced, voluminous strands, but that's little comfort when you're finding clumps of hair in the shower drain. If you don't want to wait out the temporary hair loss (normal hair growth tends to resume about a year after giving birth), platelet-rich plasma scalp injections can offer a fix. A doc takes growth factors found in a person's blood and injects 'em into the scalp, leading to what Jegasothy says is a typical 30 percent increase in growth.

Cost: $500 - $1,000 depending on level of hair loss

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