Lea Michele is shedding light on a common side effect of new-mom life.
“The postpartum hair loss is REAL,” Michele, 34, captioned an Instagram Story on Tuesday.
In the photo, Michele, who welcomed her son, Ever Leo, in August, with husband Zandy Reich, holds a clump of hair in the palm of her hand.
Michele shared a second picture of herself that showcased her her chest-length tresses.
“Enjoying this long hair while it lasts because the mom bob is right around the corner,” the “Glee” alum wrote.
Michele is most likely experiencing telogen effluvium, or TE, a stress-induced shedding caused by an event such as childbirth. It’s completely normally and usually temporary, according to Dr. Adam Friedman, professor and interim chair of dermatology at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
“Delivery is day zero, and then three months later, you start shedding like crazy,” Friedman previously told TODAY Parents. “The good news is that this is a temporary thing. You’ll plateau and then the hair will start to grow back. But it does take roughly a year to run through the entire process.”
If Michele had spots of completely bald scalp, that could possibly indicate a condition called alopecia areata, an autoimmune form of hair loss.
“You get these perfect circles of complete hair loss because the immune system will attack hairs in that location,” Friedman said. “Delivery can trigger alopecia areata.”
In 2016, Michele told beauty and wellness website Byrdie that she keeps her strands shiny by dabbing the ends with coconut oil and the roots with "some nice eucalyptus oil."