Postpartum Shedding

This is the dirty little secret I wish someone would have told me about when having a baby.

Postpartum shedding.

It's real and it's not fun.

Here's my story:

When I was pregnant, I did not lose one strand of hair. My hair was thick, luscious, shiny. All the things you want your hair to be. All the time.

I knew that during pregnancy, hair goes through a major growth stage. What I didn't know was that I'd lose so much hair that I thought I was going to be bald.

This was my third pregnancy, so I thought I knew everything there was to know about having a baby. Diet, weight gain, random gross things that happen to your body? No problem, I knew all about it.

But I had no idea that postpartum shedding was a real thing. I cried and then I cried some more. I scoured the internet trying to find some information that might ease my mind but there was nothing helpful, nothing useful.

What helped in the end was realizing that this was my body's reaction to the fluctuation in hormones and that it wouldn't last forever. Eventually my hormones would level out and the crazy hair loss would stop.

My baby is 21 months now and the shedding has slowed immensely. I think the biggest advice that I could give if you experience postpartum shedding is to not freak out. It's part of the process and it will end.

The best thing you can do in the mean time is take great care of your hair. Here are some things that can keep your healthy while your body transitions:

1. Keep hair moisturized.

Deep condition your hair for at least 30 minutes every time you wash. Moisturize daily with a creamy based product and then seal with an oil based product.

2. Wear protective styles.

Buns and updos are great. Try not to manipulate your hair too much but be sure to comb through regularly to remove all the shed hair. If this isn't done you could see tangles.

3. Eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Don't discount taking care of the inside and how if affects the outside, even your hair. I began taking a hair, skin and nails vitamin during my shedding and I did see a difference in the health of my hair. Be sure to drink plenty of water.

Postpartum shedding can be a scary thing but remember to stay calm and do what you can to take care of your hair while your body is changing. Take your mind off of the shedding by enjoying your new, bundle of joy.

REVIEW: Palmer's Coconut Oil Replenishing Hair Milk

It's always been a struggle to find a product that works for all three of my girls and me. All of our hair types are extremely different and we need different things.

That's why this product saves my life.

It's Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula Replenishing Hair Milk. It has no sulfates or parabens, which isn't one of my requirements for a hair product but it is a plus.

It's extremely moisturizing and it's lightweight. I also really feel like it soaks into the strands and really hydrates. I love the light coconut scent and the fact that it leaves no residue on the hair. I really love this stuff. It's a staple.

*I purchased this product. Review is my own.

Hair Today

I've been rocking a bun for the better part of two weeks. 

Finally let it down to breathe before washing. 

Wash regimen to follow.

Simple Make-up Routine

 I like to keep my makeup routine fairly simple because most of the time, time is of the essence. I usually have somewhere between 10-15 minutes to get myself together before I have to be out the door, so I focus on 3 simple things: face, lips and eyes.

FACE

The foundation that I use is Revlon ColorStay in Mahogony (440). I love this stuff because it is so lightweight and it's the only foundation that I have found that matches perfectly right out of the bottle. I have yellow undertones and find it pretty hard to find foundation.

I use a foundation brush to apply and I tend to apply my foundation very lightly. I use a powder to set and I'm done with my face.

EYES

I always play up my eyes. Eyes are the center of the face and they absolutely cannot be ignored. I stick with a pretty neutral palette for daytime. I use Maybelline New York Bronze Glitz palette. I love this palette. It's understated but adds that pop. I use the top for inner corner of my eye to brighten my eye. Next I use the middle on my lid and the bottom color on my brow bone. And of course I finish up with eyeliner and mascara.

Perfect eyes every time.

LIPS

I always have this stuff in my bag. It's inexpensive and I love the way it looks on my lips. It's N.Y.C. Extreme Lip Glider Lip Gloss in Downtown Brown.

Unless it's date night, I have to keep things simple in the beauty department. What's your beauty routine?

Is it simple or complicated?

Back and Relaxed

It's been awhile since I've occupied this space. 

One baby, two moves (from Philadelphia to Tampa to Houston), I'm back and ready to talk hair with a little bit of beauty thrown in. 

I've moved from texlaxed (partially relaxed) to fully relaxed and I've learned a lot about hair care. 

I have three daughters , all with different natural textures. To say that it's been a learning experience is an understatement. 

I'll be discussing tried and true methods that I've learned along the way and discovering new techniques and products too. 

I can't wait to get started! 

Loving Lately: Loving Lately: Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk

I neglect my hair.

I put it in a bun most days and forget I even have hair.

The two products that really save my hair's life are the Organix Nourishing Leave In Milk and the Anti Breakage Serum.

I use Organix Nourishing Leave In Milk daily as a moisturizer. It leaves my hair feeling silky and hydrated.

I follow up the leave in with the Anti Breakage Serum. It locks in the moisture and I have really seen an improvement in the strength of my hair using this product over time. It also adds killer shine and it smells scrumdiddlyumptious.

*I bought these products myself. Review is my own.

The Pony

This week I have been rocking the pony. It's easy, low manipulation and did I mention easy? I've decided to stretch the flat iron as long as I possibly can to limit the amount of heat I use. Wash and deep condition will be this weekend.

Texlax Update - May 30, 2010

2:47p

This texlax did not go as well as I planned. In fact, it was kind of a disaster. My time management was horrible and I used double protein on accident and didn't have adequate time to deep condition my hair after the double dose of protein.

I did have some breakage after the deep condition and I was horrified, but my hair seems to be recovering fine now, with no additional breakage.

The main disaster was that I left the relaxer on for too long on the front of my hair and it came out a lot more straight than I would have liked it to be. It still has some texture, but it is not uniform with the rest of my texlax.

I have done some research and I've decided that I have not been relaxing my hair enough to get the texture I want. My hair has more texture than I would like and that leads to tangles and lots of frustration for me. Since I mainly would like to wear my hair straight, I have decided that while I won't relax bone straight, I'll relax my hair somewhere in between my previous texlaxes and bone straight.

It doesn't make sense to underprocess to a point where it causes frustration for me and thus hair loss when I can texlax to a point that is managable but also doesn't compromise my texture too much.

This texlax has been a learning experience for me, as I'm understanding what my hair needs and what I need in order to manage it. I believe that I can have healthy hair if I do process it a tad more than I have been doing and still gain the benefits of thickened, manageable hair.

Length Check

2:33p

Starting point -- September 2009

April 2010

 June 2010

I had a huge growth spurt from March until now with at least 2 inches of new growth. I texlaxed on March 30 (accidentally relaxing the front of my hair a lot straighter than I wanted) and I can see significant growth.

Ponytail Length

2:28p

Ponytail in September 2009

Ponytail in June 2010

Looking at my ends I need a major trim on those ends (it has been 10 months) but I am happy at the growth I have gotten in the last 10 months. Thanks to my texlax, my hair is a lot thicker and a lot healthier.

Flat no more

11:07a

Every time I see this blog post and this picture of my flat ponytail, I cringe. The whole reason that I decided to texlax in the first place was to thicken my hair so that flat hair would no longer be an issue for me.

Having bone straight relaxed hair, I always struggled with having body and always had an issue of thin hair right after a relaxer.

Finally being almost fully texlaxed, I have that problem no more. Evidence below.

My airdried pony tail that is full of body and life!

Both pony tails were airdried, but this one has so much more body and girth. I love it. Any doubts I had about continuing to texlax are gone. It does take more effort than bone straight hair, but the results are so worth it.

Product Review: Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Anti Frizz Serum

10:58a

Product Description: The Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum offers long-lasting frizz control. Its revolutionary, ultra-light, leave-in formula is rich in micro-nutrients that penetrate deep into the hair to nourish it intensively. Your hair is protected against humidity, making it silky-smooth and shiny.

My Finds: I was at my local CVS one day, trolling for a product, even though I didn't really need anything. For some reason, the Garnier Fructis line always catches my eye even though I have had less than stellar results from products I have tried from this line before. Maybe it's the green and the sleekness of the bottle. *shrugs*

I was pretty excited to try this because I was wearing my hair flat ironed and I wanted something to add shine and nourish my hair at the same time. Everything this product promised to do.

Nourish and shine it did not. This product had no effect on my hair. No shine. No nourish. No nothing but a waste of $3.33. Promptly the next day, I returned the product. The first hair product I have ever returned.

Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Texture Shot

11:23a

11 week post texture shot of slicked back hair

Dollar Store Haul

8:21a

Ok so maybe not quite a haul considering it's only two items but I was only testing the waters. And the waters are nice. Especially with only a $1 price tag.

E.L.F Luscious Liquid Lipstick (Cherry Tart) & L.A. Colors Mineral Eyeshadow (Teal)

I went in the Dollar Store to find some western themed things for my daughters Western Party at school and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a makeup display. I have been to that Dollar Store plenty of times, but I have never really noticed the makeup display. I took a closer look and there seemed to be a few gems amongst the mash of products they had for sale.

Two that caught my eye were the E.L.F Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Cherry Tart and the L.A. Colors Mineral Eyeshadow in Teal. And for one dollar I was more apt to test these products than pricier ones that I may not end up liking.

Once I got home, I tore open the packages anxious to see if my $2 were well spent.

They were.

A little blurry but I love the sponge tip of the lipstick

Even though this product says it's a lipstick, I'd say it's more like a tinted gloss. I like the sponge tip and how it glides on easily. The subtle color it gives is great and it has a shiny finish that I love.

Color is light but glossy. A great work lipstick for me.

Next up was the L.A. Colors Mineral Eyeshadow in Teal. Truth be told, I did not have high hopes for this eyeshadow. Since I'm a brown skinned woman, shadows need to be highly pigmented to show up on my lids. For $1, I wasn't expecting much.

The shade in real life is so much more vivid.

I applied this shadow and I was immediately impressed. The color payoff was great and the true color really came out vibrant on my lid.

Teal eyeshadow, E.L.F gold eye shadow in crease, black eyeliner and mascara

My only regret with the eyeshadow is that I did not apply a primer before I put it on this morning. I guess I will test the staying power of this shadow too. I hope that it does great because for $1, I'm in love. They had several other shades that at some point in time I will return to get. I'm no longer afraid of the Dollar Store products and I'm actually excited that I can get some bang for my buck there!