As I see the hair falling out in chunks in the shower I
can’t help but wonder if there is a bald spot somewhere invisible to my eyes.
There is no way that I am losing so much hair and my scalp is looking full and
healthy. These are some of the thoughts that cross my stressful and sleepless mind
that has been dealing with postpartum hair loss at exactly four months after my
C-section. I have gone through this process before but for some odd reason this
time around seems like it’s a lot more than the last time. The panic has set in
and searching for the cause of postpartum hair loss on google has once again
started as if this is my first rodeo.
Thankfully I have found some answers and some rituals that I have been trying now for almost one month and I am happy to announce that IT WORKS. But first, let me start by saying that postpartum hair loss is very real and it can be scary. The good news is that it is not permanent and the hair will grow back.
I have to admit that it can be scary watching all the hair fall
out, after each stroke of brush and each shower and I know that this is
something a lot of us moms go through and it can be different with each
pregnancy. But after my research I found out that it is normal to lose hair
especially around the hairlines and temples. I was starting to feel like my
forehead was getting bigger every day and not in a cute way.
I have very long hair and with that comes the hair bands and
the hair clips. I used to pull my hair back to either a ponytail or a tight
up-do, which I later found out can be very stressful to my hair.
Throughout my research I learned to be gentle to my hair
especially during the process of shedding which I will get into more detail
later. First and foremost stop putting hair in a ponytail or pulling it back or
up. Be gentle with your hair and don’t put stress on your hair by pulling it up
or to a side. I started braiding my hair more to relax the roots and my scalp.
Doing a soft braid was life changing in this journey to a healthier hair.
Let’s talk about why we go through postpartum hair loss and
what causes this process to moms a few months after we give birth. I found out
that it is normal to lose hair after birth, and the shedding can continue up to
six to 12 months… yikes!
It is due to our body’s estragon levels. Did you know that
80 to 95% of our hair is in the growing phase? Which means the rest of our hair
is in the resting phase. After hair is in the resting phase for some time it
falls out. On a regular day we lose about 80 to 100 strands of hair a day. That
seems a bit much but that’s normal.
But, when we are pregnant our estrogen levels rise and it
prolongs the growing phase of our hair, which means fuller, thicker, shinier
locks, and less hair falling out. My hair was fierce during pregnancy. It had a
body of its own and I loved it. So what happens to those beautiful luxurious
locks of hair after giving birth? Well, I hate to break it to you but our
estrogen levels drop and that causes more of our hair going into the resting
phase which means losing a lot more hair and since we had not lost much hair in
the last nine months it is more noticeable to us.
No need to panic, this will only last six to 12 months. During
this time try to play with a new hair-do and use different texturizing hair
products. I talk about different hair products on my feed @Shibyshila a lot and
a couple of my favorites are:
The One by Fredrick Fekkai
Oribe Maxmista Thickening Spray (My fave)
Oribe Texturizing hair spray
Paul Mitchell Extra-body sculpting foam
It’s A 10 Miracle Blowdry Volumizer
In order to maintain the health of your hair,
make sure you are taking your daily multi-vitamins and I also recommend adding
Biotin to your daily supplement intake.
I have also gone back to my roots and brought back a few
tricks to help my hair relax and grow healthier, and I am so excited to share
it with you.
Postpartum hair loss is something that can be mitigated with
a little bit of a ritual that you can follow and stimulate more hair growth and
help more hair follicles hold on to hair. It’s made with three simple
ingredients that you can get from any health food store or order from Amazon
like I did.
- First ingredient: Caster Oil. It has been known
for having amazing skin and hair benefits. Use it as your hair oil to stimulate
hair growth. (5 tablespoons)
- Second ingredient: Avocado or coconut oil (5
tablespoons)
- Third ingredients: Rosemary oil (20 drops)
Mix all three and heat it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds
and massage it into your hair. Massage your scalp all over. By massaging the
oil into your hair you are stimulating the hair follicles. Once you are done massaging
it into the scalp, massage the rest of the oil into the rest of your hair.
Braid your hair or put your hair in a soft bun and let it stay overnight. Make
sure you leave a towel on your pillow to protect your pillow from all of the
oil. Do this once or twice a week and you will see the results of healthier,
shiner and thicker hair within a few weeks.
Your hair represents you. Be gentle to it and give it the hydration it needs to grow healthy and beautiful as it is meant to be.
