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.

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! 

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.

On Being Texlaxed

9:16a

In May of 2009, I decided that I was tired of flat, limp, bone straight relaxed hair. I did some research and decided that I wanted to texlax my hair. I don't remember the exact date of my relaxer before my first texlax, but my first texlax was on July 18, 2009. I didn't see much difference that time as only my roots were texlaxed.

Over the next 6 months I did a two 10 week stretches and a 14 week stretch. I am in the midst of a 14 week stretch now (my next texlax will be March 31, 2010). This has been my hardest strech so far. My roots aren't the issue, but the detangling has become a major job. When I was bone straight, I didn't have to detangle at all. This is all new to me.

The thing that makes me the most happy is that my hair is much thicker and alot healthier as my strands aren't relaxed within an inch of their life. I have to change my thinking though. I'm used to being able to wash, detangle, and dry all in an hour. I haven't been leaving enough time for myself to do all those things and be gentle with my hair. As a result I have experienced some damage from me just being careless and in a rush. Lesson learned.

My hair does better when I just leave it alone, but having found boards like LHFC, I haven't been content to leave my hair alone. I've tried all types of things that didn't benefit me and may have even set me back. I've gone from long to short to even shorter. Lesson learned again.

Being texlaxed takes more work being that I am dealing with a texture that is curlier than the hair that I was used to having for 25 years. I realized that the moisture/protein balance is crucial for texlaxed hair and that coconut oil is a life saver! Another great lesson learned.

Last night was wash night and I loved seeing my texture. It excites me to see that my hair is growing and is so much healthier than where I started from. It may not be easy but it really is worth it.

Close up picture of my texlaxed hair

Another shot of my texture - my ends are still relaxed bone straight

A happy surprise. I found a several spiral curls at the back of my head where I have virtually no more relaxed ends

Another shot of the curls!

Deep Conditioning Tip

I heard this tip way back at the beginning of my hair journey and totally forgot about it. I came across it again today and will definently try this for my next deep condition this weekend.

TIP:

Try microwaving conditioner for 10 seconds and applying it to freshly shampooed hair. Allow to sit on the hair for 5 minutes and then rinse.

Your hair still gets the benefit of the heated conditioner but you don't have to sit under the dryer for 30 minutes or leave the conditioner on for hours. I rarely have time to sit for that long without interupption so for me, this may be a life hair saver!

Thin Strands

11:36a

I have been blessed with thin strands. I say blessed because some people really do think their hair is a curse {my sister}. My hair does grow pretty quickly and I'm grateful for that, as I've been able to see that what I've been doing, is in fact working.

The one thing I wanted when starting my journey was healthy, thick hair, and I think I'm on my way to having just that.

There are a few things that I have discovered {and some that I have yet to try} that thicken hair up for the ladies with strands that are thinner than our thick haired counter parts.

Texlaxing. I contribute the thickness of the 3 inches that I've processed recently to texlaxing. My strands aren't as stressed as they used to be when I literally relaxed my hair within an inch of it's life. Well, it was actually my stylist that was overlapping and relaxing my hair to death, which leads me to my next point.

Eliminate Heat. I believe that banishing the flat iron has improved the condition of my hair as well. The blow drier never sees the light of day either, save for using the cool setting. Heat is really damaging and the less I use it, the more I realize how detrimental heat can be to my thin strands. This weekend, with my cut, I did get a blow out and a flat iron, and I have been debating whether or not to continue the sleek, straight look. I even bought a new, ceramic flat iron and a good heat protectant. But at this point, I'm really about health over vanity.

Eggs. Now I have tried the eggs and I absolutely loved the strength and the thickness that eggs added. For me, protein can be my downfall and after such a heavy protein treatment, I need triple the moisture. Next time I try the egg, I know how to combat the possible breakage that can come from protein overload.

Castor Oil. I use castor oil to seal my hair. I honestly can't say that my increase in growth is due to castor oil since I don't apply the oil to my scalp, only my ends. I've heard marvelous things about Jamacian Black Castor Oil and it's aid in thickening hair.

Those are the things that work for me. Over time, especailly with the texlaxing, I'm sure I'll reach my goal of having thick, healthy hair.

Miconazole Nitrate

11:04a

When starting my hair journey back in May {man, time flies!}, one of the issues I wanted to correct with my hair were my horribly thin edges:

I began to search for things that would fill in my edges quickly and was surprized when I learned about Miconazole Nitrate. What is that? Well, simply stated, it's this:

Yeast infection cream! Miconazole Nitrate is found in both yeast infection creams and in Neosporin. Since it has antifungal properties, it will remove dandruff and bacteria from the scalp, thus promoting hair growth.

There were so many women on the hair boards praising this stuff for growing their edges back and when applied to their whole heads, giving them amazing growth results. I was immediately intrigued since I happened to have some of the stuff in my medicine cabinet! One of the warnings, though, was that the miconazole nitrate could possibly cause headaches, as one of the things it does is cause blood to rush to the area where it is applied, this is why growth occurs also, increased blood flow to the area.

Excitedly, I applied the cream twice a day for a few days. The first day, was fine, I noticed a little tingling but nothing out of the ordinary. By the third day, my head was pounding and on fire in the areas where I had applied the cream to.

I don't think I used it enough to notice any recognizable difference. And I definitely don't plan on using it in the future. I've decided that growth aids aren't neccesarily for me. I am impatient for my hair to be where I want it to be, but at the same time, why go through the stress of trying to speed up what nature has under control?

A better alternative for me has been the aloe vera gel. I don't use it nearly as often as I should, but I can really say that my edges are filling in.

But as far as miconazole nitrate goes, try it, you might like it!

Great Hair Articles

8:07a

There are two articles that are my go to for information. Audrey Sivasothy is the author, and she herself has an amazing head of hair, so I feel I can trust the information. If you ever have a issue with knowing the difference between shedding and breakage or your protein and moisture balance, take a look at these articles.

Shedding

Protein and moisture balance