'I tried hair filler to see if it could hide my postpartum hair loss'

It's been a mane changer

Between the shiny, millennial-centric brands delivering fresh drops through your letter box, the more established, cult buys and the indie outfits selling natural and organic products, the beauty landscape has never felt more cluttered.

To help you to navigate this brave new world of retinol, AHAs, jade rollers and double cleansing, WH beauty editor, Perdita Nouril, is here to try and test the new drops that are making their way into her (very full) bathroom, via her column, Beauty Dispatch.

Here, she'll share the freshly released heroes & treatments that she loves: ready to let you know where to spend your skin and hair care cash.

This time around, she tries Hair Filler treatment at the Hadley Yates salon, London.

It's said a thousand times over that nothing can prepare you for motherhood, and while I was indeed taken aback by the sleep deprivation, what I really didn't envisage was looking at my reflection in the mirror and muttering "what on gods green earth is that?" as a tufty new sprout of hair reared its head somewhere rather random around my scalp.

If like me, you're among the 50 percent of new mums who's had to deal with the rollercoaster of postpartum hair loss then you'll understand what i'm talking about. For me, the shedding has been quick and fast, while the regrowth has been slow and frankly, annoying.

While 'new mum hair' was initially way down on the list of priorities when my new babe in arms arrived, I'm now at the stage where postpartum hair loss has got me longing for my old locks.

I'm not the only one. It's a condition that celebs struggle with too. The likes of Ashley Graham, Kim Kardashian and Kate Hudson have been open about their struggles with the condition.

So, determined not to get too dispirited, and to haul myself out of the hair style rut I've been living in (i.e. centre parting with low bun) I booked myself in with the inimitable Hadley Yates, a stylist who told me hair filler would be a great new treatment to try (FYI, there's no needles involved).

Pioneered in his eponymous central London salon, hair filler is an innovative, yet practical, in-salon solution to instantly create flawlessly fuller, thicker hair, and in my case detract from the dodgy looking regrowth.

Here's everything you need to know...

In contrast to traditional extensions, hair filler is all about adding thickness and body - not length. Zoned into targeted areas, the custom micro-sized extensions are skillfully blended to the chosen areas with nano keratin bonds, so that they look seamless against your natural hair. Ultimately, they work to add invisible body, volume and texture, which creates a discreet yet transformative result.

'It’s all about making "the unnatural, natural"; amplifying the hair in just the right places,'explains Hadley. 'Hair filler is perfect for those with finer hair types looking for more body - or for individuals who might be experiencing the trauma of hair thinning and hair loss caused by factors such as post-pandemic stress, or postpartum and menopausal hair loss,' he adds.

'Hair filler has many benefits; from creating natural fullness for those with finer hair, to correcting haircuts by hiding uneven areas and reviving volume for hair that has been heat damaged or overprocessed through bleaching,' says Hadley.

The areas that hair filler can target include:

During my consultation, my hair was colour-matched from a range of 52 shades of ethically sourced Indian temple hair so it could then be seamlessly blended with my natural strands.

'Typically, 3-4 shades are combined per client and we can add colour to enhance and give the hair dimension. Then we work out which areas need the filler service - whether the crown, base or the temples,' explains Hadley.

'The fillers are then attached using keratin bonds. As this is a natural product, keratin works really well with the hair without causing any damage. The filler extensions are hair extensions cut into halves and quarters - so only a small amount of hair is attached to your natural hair making them super lightweight, with no tension caused to the current hair and scalp. The service takes around 1 hour per area to complete,' he adds.

'Filler extensions last around 3-4 months - dependent on lifestyle. For example, if you swim lots, chlorine can weaken the bonds. We advise using a sulphate-free shampoo and to avoid applying conditioner at the roots to maximise the longevity of the bonds,' reveals Hadley.

As for their removal, Yates explains that they are taken out by an oil-based remover which softens the bonds, then a remover tool is used to gently break down the bond which easily slides out the hair.

I'll be honest, before I booked in, I was worried I would have so much new hair, I'd end up looking like an Afghan Hound fresh from Crufts. Thankfully the end result was super subtle yet really impactful.

I had just enough volume around the crown and the temples to mask any gaps, yet you couldn't notice any of the bonds. Plus, the colour was a perfect match as I had two different shades put in to recreate the tonal brown hues of my natural hair colour.

My mane has always had the ability to grow to Rapunzel lengths and often I'm told how glossy and long it looks, but since having kids and losing what feels like a never ending amount, people never utter the words I really want to hear. ‘Bounce’, ‘volume’, ‘thickness’.

Yet, since having hair filler, I'd be lying if I said the compliments slung my way haven't put a spring in my step. And while of course I don't live for this kind of validation, it’s a nice-to-have. Pleasingly, I also can't remember the last time I shoved my hair back into a top knot, either. Oh The Joy.

As for manageability? Sure i've got more hair which you'd think would mean more hassle, but actually my styling time has surprisingly lessened. I no longer spend an age using a multitude of hair powders, texturisers and volumisers. Instead, I wash and dry with my GHD styler and let it swish happily around my shoulders. A good hair day indeed.

Costs start from £425 with Hadley Yates (Salon Director & Co-Founder), or from £375 with Jack Litherland (Extensions Specialist).

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