POST PARTUM SHEDDING; HOW TO HANDLE IT

My normal hairline while I was still breastfeeding; and a very happy toothless tot!

Hello and welcome back! Today I hope to shed some light on this important subject; a woman's hair is her crowning glory after all 😉. First of all, what is it? It is the loss of hair particularly along the hairline by a woman at months after she has given birth, and is believed to be caused by hormone changes, diet, and aggressive styling among others. 
I did lose my hairline and had to cut my beloved little locs off after an episode of cornrows done by a lady who had no experience whatsoever with locks, something I thought was a rare occurrence in Kenya as pretty much every salon I see lists loc repair as one of the services they offer. So I write this from an experienced point of view and do hope that it will help others not to go down the same path I went.While the hormones are the biggest culprit here, the other factors definitely give it an extra push so the way to solve it is by a multi-pronged approach which is what I will write about today.

Contraception

You are probably wondering what this has to do with hair, and the answer is simple;hormones. Most family planning methods as you know play around with hormones and this leads to plenty of side effects among them weight gain, cramps, strange period-like issues, swollen feet, and of course hair loss. Due to these, you may want to approach your doctor or general physician and ask them to give you an alternative and effective method which won't be problematic, and will suit your lifestyle. This will be the best thing to do since if you go to a pharmacy to pick something recommended to you by someone else, it may not be as kind to you as it was to them, and a pharmacy's main job is to sell drugs so they may not bother counseling you on your purchase but will assume you know your stuff. So take the time to visit a clinic, and your hair will probably thank you for it.

Diet

We are what we eat, and this could not be more evidently seen than by looking at our hair. As much as it is just so much dead and dying cells, it is directly affected by what we eat because each day hair grows and each day it is also shed, so if you can eat foodstuff to promote its fast growth you will gain more than is lost. Also note that if you are breastfeeding, little one is consuming plenty of your nutrients so you need to up the ante with vitamins and minerals, which you will find in plenty in fish, ....... I have seen people clock tremendous results by using supplements like fish oil, omega, and beta carotene, but I personally believe that it is better to seek them out in nature as opposed to man made pills, so I will not expound on the supplements as I have no experience whatsoever with them.

Weaning

There are a few methods to wean your baby, and I believe that the method you use might influence your hair growth and loss. Stopping cold turkey for instance seems the worst option because of baby's emotions, and your hormones. Both of these tender things (emotions and hormones) will get such a sudden and abrupt stop that it will wreck havoc on baby's and your system, because slowing down to a stop will give toto time to adjust and get used to less and less nursing over time, and also give your emotions time to regulate themselves. Also, going cold turkey might require you to take some medications to stop the production of milk whose composition is not too friendly for your hormones. In this regard, I believe cold and steady is the way to go.

Styling and Maintenance

This here is a no-brainer really, because the tighter and more often you style your hair, the more hair loss is likely to occur, regardless of whether you are nursing, or have a baby or not. Right now when your hair is especially delicate, you should take extra care to use protective styling that is not too tight, and that will stretch out the time you need to have it redone. Also, hair products will have to be the best, and you might want to lay off of experiments at this time. What I use the most for great results is castor oil and coconut oil, which I recommend if you can stand the smell as some people say that it is nauseating for them. 

I do hope this information will be of help to you and will help save your edges and your sanity hehe. Til next week, keep safe and have a lovely and productive week ahead, chao 💕