I feel like I am going bald and I’m upset no one told me that this was going to happen. “1st of all” everyone, pregnant or not, glorifies your hair growth during pregnancy. “OMG isn’t it so nice, the prenatal pills make your nails and hair grow so lovely and healthy” yea, yea but what about your after birth hair? What about all the shedding and the glorious strains that are falling out now that we’re a month into this motherhood life? Why you all didn’t tell me this was a possibility??? Well I’m going to tell you what they didn’t tell me was going to happen to your after birth hair.

See as a Black Woman, hair is life. I was made from the sun, kissed in all it’s love. Every curl, kink and coil on my head is important, necessary and made to shine bright. But I’ve been on a hair struggle for years. My hair has flourished but always took it’s time to grow. I’ve moved to places with horrible harsh waters that has attacked my hair, making it more difficult for it to be at it’s best. Then the prenatal pills and pregnancy comes along and my world turns upside down for a period.

The period of growth!

Pregnancy expands every hair follicle to maximize on its beautifulness. My hair was growing and flowing throughout pregnancy. Most of the time my hair was in protective styles* (see any google search of black girls and protective styles). But once I took it out to wash and change to another style, you better believe I did a length check hunnie. Yes, I was in love. Especially since my son was taking my beauty from my face and increasing my pimple life, my hair was triumphant.

I walked into my baby shower like “yesss L’Oréal commercial.” My hair was long and healthy. For someone whose hair grows slowly, this was such a win! Everyone could see the growth and of course contribute it to the prenatal and pregnancy.

Hair growth and healthy hair is serious for a natural headed black girl like me. Although I wasn’t having a rough pregnancy this was definitely a highlight. But I knew the hair growth (and nail growth) was coming. Everyone admires how hair growth is increased during pregnancy.

I once watched a video on YouTube of a woman who buys prenatal pills from Canada to make her hair grow. Mind you this woman wasn’t pregnancy or expecting to get pregnant soon. She simply did it because she wanted her hair to grow. And she already tried other methods including vitamin E pills but it wasn’t effective. Isn’t that crazy! This non-pregnant woman was talking prenatal pills for growth!

I Gave Birth to My Son and Everything Changed

So I was growing and flowing, then I gave birth to my son. I didn’t get my labor and delivery braids, like I should have done* (Mostly a black female move. See we go get our hair braided when it gets close to our due date. This helps to not have to worry about doing your hair while your in labor and in the hospital.) My hair was out and doing it’s own thing during labor and delivery. I looked crazy so although my mom took photos, I refuse to show them to people.

But like I was saying, my son came out of the womb head first, specifically the back of his head. All you could see was his curly black hair. Well this is what they told me of course. I couldn’t see anything, but one of the nurses yelled out to me “He has a lot of hair, like Mom.” So this growing of hair was an external and internal thing.

About a month or so after I had given birth to my son, I went to wash my hair and I noticed there was a severe amount of hair coming out of my head. I just looked around like “am I going bald, what the heck is this about.” I didn’t immediately connect it to this after birth stage. I literally thought something I was doing had went terribly wrong.

Till finally someone says something.

My Mom goes, “oh yea her hair started shedding after she had my brother”. She had the nerve to ask me if I remembered her hair was so long during pregnancy but she lost some of it after birth. I was 8 years old. I didn’t remember her hair. But the real issue here was why she didn’t say anything earlier. Like you know, when I was in my last month or even weeks of pregnancy. I could have at least mentally prepare myself.

It didn’t end with my Mom. When I brought it up to other moms that I am dealing with this serious issue, they all-of-a-sudden remember that this also happened to them too. One mom told me that her shedding lasted for months. Another told me my hair will adjust back in less than 2 years. If you could see how wide my eyes grew when I heard 2 years. I can’t live life like this.

For a while I was loosing it about my hair coming out. It put me in a little bit of a depressed state. Any time I had to comb my hair to go outside, it just reminded me of my hair struggle. After birth your body is going through more changes. It’s shifting from being with baby to being without baby. You’re already trying to figure out who you are in this new body. Who needs another layer of stress on top of that? No one! I know this may sound superficial to some people but I believe as women we are our hair. It is the crown on my head. So when something like this happens to it, of course I am deeply affected.

Everyone gushes over how much your hair grows during pregnancy. But why doesn’t anyone warn you that after birth it could potential fall out. Are you listening? I said, I felt like I was going bald! This is a serious matter. Who doesn’t want to know that this could happen to them? Especially if you’ve been in such a good mood about your hair growth then this happens and it’s like what the heck do I do from here.

For the Win (conclusion)

So I’m trying a few things. I put black castor oil on my scalp regularly. This is suppose to help thicken and increase hair growth on its own. I figured it could help in growing back my lost hair. I continue taking my prenatal pills, 70% due to breastfeeding and 30% with hopes it will balance out my hair lost. Hope. I have to keep hoping that this serious shedding will stop soon.

You may be faced with a similar hair struggle after birth. I don’t wish this on anyone. But maybe knowing now can help you get ahead of this shedding thing. Know that you are not alone in this. This has happen to many women and many women have over came this. I am currently still in this struggle, so we’ve got to help each other through this. Once we get to the other side, we’ll feel much better. I will tell you what my boyfriend Pop says to me, “You’re still beautiful.” This too shall pass.

Is your hair shedding or experiencing a change after you gave birth to your kid? Tell me how your handling it or what methods you’re using to hold on to your strains.