Postpartum hair loss

Hey guys, so in my previous post I talked about how I lost a lot of hair around my hair line mainly the front edges. I had thought it was dues to the tight weaving I had subjected my self to.

Turns out, I was wrong.

I saw a post on instagram on why TY Bello cut her hair and it got me thinking about my sudden hair loss. So I did a bit of research and it turns out I am experiencing postpartum hair loss.

I did not know this but a large number of women experience hair loss especially around the front parts of their hair, between three to six months postpartum.  This is exactly the areas where my hair has disappeared. I know this to be true because even though I am virtually bald in two spots in the front of my head; the amount of hair that is in my comb after I comb through is very unusual.

The explanation for postpartum hair loss is simple. Our hair grows in the process of growth - resting -shedding. During pregnancy, due to increased levels of estrogen, hair loss is reduced and the growing and resting phase for hair is lengthened. The hormone prevents our hair from shedding as much as it usually would. This is why most women have fuller longer, lusher hair during the months of pregnancy. After the birth of the child, the estrogen levels drastically reduce and this increases the shedding phase.

The good news is that this phase is over soon. Most women say their hair returned to it's per-pregnancy fullness before the child's first birthday. 

How I use dogonyaro or neem leaves

Two weekends ago I was getting my hair braided and the "braider" said I had dandruff ... Oh the horror!. I assured her that it wasn't possible but she insisted and I insisted right back. No way do I have dry white flakes on my scalp. Especially with all the oil I base my scalp with and me sef could not see the flakes.

So to be on the safe side I decided to use my dry dogonyaro leaves; as they have mortising properties and help fight dandruff. I boiled the leave and used the water to rinse out my hair after I deep conditioned. Some of the water got in my mouth; that was not a nice experience.

I put the dry leaves in a net like bag and boil. I think a few weeks of this treatment should help eliminate any white flakes on my scalp.

And the twist outs begin again

After many months of wash and gos, I decided to try a different look this week. On Saturday after my weekend hair regimen of co-washing and deep conditioning, I sectioned my hair and twisted. The plan was/is twist outs so I used Eco-styler gel and hair oils/butters to twist. I had to leave the twists in all weekend as I kept on sweating which got the hair wet. I would tie a t-shirt around my head to absorb some of the sweat.

So I un- did the twist this morning, happy with the results I used a hair band to style, now rocking a faux hawk like style.

Meanwhile it has been six months since my second BC can’t wait for my hair to be long enough to pineapple.

I have to know my hair's porosity?!

Not only do we have to know our hair type we need to know it's porosity as well. When I read or hear fellow naturals describe their hair in type and porosity I am like “mehnnn….. una get time “. But we all know that knowledge is power and using that power is even better. 

So what is porosity? Simply put hair porosity is the ability of our hair to absorb and retain moisture. Porosity is import ant in understanding our hair and hair care since moisture is what defines and shapes our hair (relaxed or natural). The inability of our hair to retain or absorb moisture will minimize our hair’s health and potential growth and length retention. The experts say that if we do not know our hair’s porosity we won’t be able to make the best product and maintenance choices. 

There are three different levels of porosity:

Low porosity: the cuticle of the hair shaft is too dense which does not allow moisture to enter or leave the hair shaft. Hair with low porosity are susceptible to product build up and take a longer time to completely dry.  

Normal/ medium porosity: hair with this porosity absorbs and retains moisture well; product properly formulated for this type of porosity will easily penetrate the hair shaft.

High porosity: open hair cuticle allows for moisture to be absorbed and lost easily. Overly porous hair can be a result of over –processing from chemicals, heating etc.

Stand test:

To know your hair’s porosity you can do a simple strand/float test.  All you need is a few strands of hair (clean with no products on it) a glass or bowl of water. Put the hair in the water and watch to see how fast or slow the hair sinks to the bottom. Hair with low porosity will not sink after a long period of time. Normal/medium porous hair will sink at a pace that is not too fast or too slow (like huh?!... I Know!). Hair with high porosity will sink very quickly in the test. 

So you know your hair porosity, now what? Well now you can buy products that are good for your hair and maintain a routine that helps balance or maintain the health of your hair. 

Hair with low porosity should avoid product build up, use water based products but avoid over moisturizing the hair. Use indirect heat like steam to open the cuticles, also avoid heavy butters and oils. 

Normal/medium porous hair should strive to maintain a healthy hair routine including deep conditioning, proper moisturizing and avoid too much heat. Excessive manipulation and heat can change the porosity of the hair. 

High porosity hair require product layering to retain moisture, heavy butters and oils work best on this hair also daily moisturizing is necessary. Cold water rinses will help close the cuticle and protein treatments will strengthen the hair.  

To date I believe this to be the most technical post I’ve put up. So I plan on taking the float test this weekend and will post the results and pictures next week. Have a good weekend 

Thursday morning preping for the weekend

It’s Thursday, the day before the weekend. For me and I am certain other naturals the weekend means TLC for a gorgeous hair. Natural hair can take up a few good hours no matter what the routine a natural has. And this does not include the amount of time it takes for the hair to completely dry…. Na wah!.... lol I completely understand when ladies say they are lazy when it comes caring for their hair, because it can be time consuming. Hey! But you know what they say “no pain no gain” and “beauty is pain” and in this case beauty is time consuming. 

My plan for this weekend is a 20 minutes deep conditioning and overnight henna. I usually have one or the other but I think my hair needs extra love as I have ignored it in the past few weeks due to me moving houses. All settled now in my new small apartment, my coils will get some good loving this weekend.

I will start off with co-wash using my inexpensive VO5 conditioner. Then apply my home made deep conditioning mix of avocado (they are in season), honey, EVOO and Miss Jessie’s best darn treatment. I will leave that in for 20 minutes, rinse out then use a cotton t-shirt to dab excess water from my hair. Note that I dab and not rub. I will then apply my locally sourced henna mix to my hair, put on a shower cap and tie my hair with an old head scarf and keep that in overnight. In the morning, rinse out thoroughly with luck warm water and then finish up with EVOO. My current length does not require too much work so I am constantly rock wash and goes.  Also I do not need to detangle and I do not comb. 

I have some Neem leaves (dogonyaro) I need to use. Neem leaves when boiled helps with dandruff, itchy scalp, fizzy hair and it also moisturizes the hair. Simply boil the leaves, fresh or dry and use the water to rinse out your hair. 

Whatever routine you have always ensure to reduce manipulation for length retention and think moisturize moisturize moisturize.

Hope you have a lovely weekend! 

short hair..... don't care