Postpartum Hair Change

[fifi134]

Hi ladies, my hair has seriously been the bane of my existence postpartum. My baby is now almost 16 months, and my roots are extremely thick, to the point t that I can barely get my fingers through. My edges are slowly growing back in, but I’m just super frustrated at how my texture has changed.

Nothing I use seems to be working, so I’m wondering if it’s my routine that needs tweaking? I wash about every week, and deep condition every other week. I either use a leave-in and twist my hair, or I revair it and then twist. I have no issues in terms of it growing, but my ends seem to continually be a mess despite regular-ish trims.

I’m just super annoyed at how my hair still seems foreign to me. I thought by now things would go back to normal, especially as I’ve finished nursing, but I guess I was wrong.

Did anyone’s texture change permanently? I really hate my roots. Any suggestions on what I could try?

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

1. I don't remember 2.have you got any lab work done? Maybe its a hormonal issue.

 

[Rocky91]

Honestly, I have no suggestions, just here to vent with you I’m convinced that my hair is still wonky even with a 19 month old, but I’m powering through. I’ve noticed a loss of density and a higher propensity for breakage in the crown.

A DC/style routine twice a week seems to help for adding moisture and embracing buns whenever I get tired of it, usually 2-3x a week. Despite all this, I seem to be retaining length like you are. Maybe consider just using braids or some other style to give yourself a break?

Also from what my doc implied, it seems I should expect things to be “off” in my body until at least 2 years postpartum. That readjustment period is longer than we realize.

 

[yamilee21]

Hi ladies, my hair has seriously been the bane of my existence postpartum. My baby is now almost 16 months, and my roots are extremely thick, to the point t that I can barely get my fingers through. My edges are slowly growing back in, but I’m just super frustrated at how my texture has changed.

Nothing I use seems to be working, so I’m wondering if it’s my routine that needs tweaking? I wash about every week, and deep condition every other week. I either use a leave-in and twist my hair, or I revair it and then twist. I have no issues in terms of it growing, but my ends seem to continually be a mess despite regular-ish trims.

I’m just super annoyed at how my hair still seems foreign to me. I thought by now things would go back to normal, especially as I’ve finished nursing, but I guess I was wrong.

Did anyone’s texture change permanently? I really hate my roots. Any suggestions on what I could try?

I had 3 children, and my texture changed with each one of them, to whatever texture *they* had… and they each had different textures! Even worse, I was already experiencing perimenopause when I had my last (oops) child, so my hair just kept changing. And now that I’m finally past menopause, I have a different kind of hair that I can’t figure out at all (texture change, porosity change, more shrinkage than seems possible, thinness, breakage - you name it).

You will probably just have to keep tweaking your routine and/or your products, until you can get closer to managing your hair in a way that is less frustrating. For example, when air-drying, I used to put my products on right after washing my hair, but now I find I have to let my hair get mostly dry first, and then the products seem to work better. I also realized that I have to keep my hair in a few braids/twists to prevent breakage, which was never an issue for me before. It may take you a while to figure things out, but it’s important to track your routine, and adapt. Our hair texture actually can change throughout our lives; for kids, “real” hair comes in sometime around toddlerhood/preschool years, and often changes again around puberty. My older son is a young adult now, and his hair has inexplicably changed again - oddly, to a texture looser than the one he was born with.

Good luck figuring out your “new” hair, and try not to get too frustrated.

 

[ScorpioLove]

Can someone expand on the texture changes? Is the individual hair getting finer, curlier?

About to deal with post partum in a few months and we plan for baby # 2 about 2-3 years after that.. does that mean messed up hair for almost a decade :-( ?

 

[fifi134]

Thank you ladies for commenting.

I did get my hormones checked @ItsMeLilLucky. I did so several times bc I was dealing with night sweats, which ended up being related to me nursing. Since I quit about a year postpartum, that’s completely stopped. But everything was always in the normal range. ‍

@Rocky91 Girl 2 years?! Omg lol. I will say I have to moisturize more, so tryna do that at least once a week after washing my hair, which I do weekly.

@yamilee21 Thank you sis, reading your post was really eye opening for me. I finally bought some better, high quality products (Joico moisture recovery shampoo and conditioner), and wash day has now been a breeze. Even with my tighter roots, I’m not having any issues with detangling. I can still do all my usual styles too, it was really just the tightness and dryness at the roots that were making me upset. But realizing that my body has changed permanently in some ways, and temporarily in others, and has always done this pre and postpartum, has been helpful.

@ScorpioLove For me, my roots are a completely different texture than before. I was a 4a/4b/3c mix before, and now at the roots they feel like they’re 4c. I don’t have 4c hair so I’m not exactly sure, I just know it’s super tight and compact if it’s dry. I have to really go into my roots when moisturizing to ensure the product is being applied well.

 

[yamilee21]

Can someone expand on the texture changes? Is the individual hair getting finer, curlier?

About to deal with post partum in a few months and we plan for baby # 2 about 2-3 years after that.. does that mean messed up hair for almost a decade :-( ?

Texture changes for me meant tighter curls after #1 (think 3c/4a), much looser curls and super-low porosity after #2 (think 3a/b/c), much tighter curls and “normal” porosity after #3, and now after menopause, even tighter curls (think 3c/4a/b), more shrinkage than imaginable (10 inch strand curling upon itself to 1 inch, for example), much less density, and high-porosity (hair can air-dry without products in about an hour… used to take 36-48 hours to air-dry). However, I have had medium to coarse strands the entire time, even now.

But it DID NOT mean messed up hair for a decade. Once I adjusted after #1, my hair looked good most of the time, and it was especially gorgeous (in retrospect, ) between #2 and #3, growing to the longest it ever was.

#3 combined with menopause and a surprise autoimmune disease is what wrecked things… (still hopeful that it can turn around… eventually).

 

[ScorpioLove]

Texture changes for me meant tighter curls after #1 (think 3c/4a), much looser curls and super-low porosity after #2 (think 3a/b/c), much tighter curls and “normal” porosity after #3, and now after menopause, even tighter curls (think 3c/4a/b), more shrinkage than imaginable (10 inch strand curling upon itself to 1 inch, for example), much less density, and high-porosity (hair can air-dry without products in about an hour… used to take 36-48 hours to air-dry). However, I have had medium to coarse strands the entire time, even now.

But it DID NOT mean messed up hair for a decade. Once I adjusted after #1, my hair looked good most of the time, and it was especially gorgeous (in retrospect, ) between #2 and #3, growing to the longest it ever was.

#3 combined with menopause and a surprise autoimmune disease is what wrecked things… (still hopeful that it can turn around… eventually).

That’s interesting seems like you went from 3b to type 4?

Did dad’s hair type play a role at all? (Does he have 4ab hair?)

 

[yamilee21]

I always had a little bit of different hair types, but the proportions are what kept changing.

I don’t think their father ever grew his hair beyond about an inch in length, but when he used conditioner regularly, he had silky-ish looser curls, maybe 3c?

 

[DVAntDany]

I'm experiencing this right now. My baby is almost 14 months old. The hair that has been growing since post partum has such an extreme difference from my old texture that there is a very distinct line of demarcation. It is coarse, wiry and tangled. The hair in the back keeps balling up and breaks off when I touch it. It started changing during pregnancy, but what I have now is far worse. I currently hate dealing with my hair. I'm thinking about either cutting it short or getting locs. I was anemic. Unfortunately after getting that under control, the hair has become worse. I have no advice. I too am dealing with this same struggle and give you my deepest sympathy.

 

[ScorpioLove]

Did anyone take iron supplements and or tea rinsed post partum?
Did that help with shedding at all? My hair isn’t naturally very dense so the thought of losing more is causing me so much anxiety rn.

 

[DVAntDany]

Did anyone take iron supplements and or tea rinsed post partum?
Did that help with shedding at all? My hair isn’t naturally very dense so the thought of losing more is causing me so much anxiety rn.

My hematologist told me to try Blood Builder for my anemia instead of straight up iron to avoid constipation. It worked on bringing my levels up. So I no longer had to get an iron transfusion. However, my dermatologist said to start back on prenatals because my thumbs nails still had spoon shaped dents. That helped with my nails.

I was told by my dermatologist that the shedding was normal. He gave me some type of topical to help speed up the regrowth but told me it wasn't necessary. I never used it. I'll see if I can find out what that was. I think it was a topical steroid, but I'm not sure. He also said that my baby's hair would shed also. A couple months later, she started shedding too.

 

[Lylddlebit]

Did you get on a different birth control after having the baby? Birth control negativity impacts my hair (amongst other things) more than the hormonal and postpartum adjustments. Evening primrose oil with black cohosh, iron, red raspberry leaf tea, and fenugreek help to keep my body balanced if I take them a few days before and all through a cycle.

Everything from pelvic tenderness to shedding and mood swings is eradicated when I take those. I discoverd the benefits during post partum.