Hello world!

Its me, your thin-haired friend!

Today, it is my pleasure to delve into this topic. It is not going to be pretty (duh), but I think there is value in sharing the experience.

It is not an easy thing, hair loss. It does not matter who you are. It does not matter if it is due to disease, stress, age, genetics, having a baby or just a bad chemical job…losing your hair just plain sucks.

For me, a little background on the subject goes something like this:

My hair basically stayed the same throughout my entire pregnancy. Some women report glorious mermaid-esque locks while they are pregnant due to all the hormonal changes. Apparently the body holds on to all the hair it normally sheds (about 100 strands a day) which accounts for this wonderful phenomenon. Unfortunately my hair decided to stay in it’s normal, somewhat vegetative state.

I started noticing hair loss around 3 months after having Clara. For reference it was also the time my Postpartum Anxiety decided to flare up…read more about that here.  So lovely for these two fun side effects to kick in at the same time. Thanks side effects! And I noticed it right away. I was shedding absolutely EVERYWHERE. My hair would somehow wind up in the glove compartment, all over the coffee table, in the refrigerator! Not to mention it was completely covering Clara at all times. Her little hands just grabbed fistfuls of it. 4-5 passes through my hair with the brush would produce a thick coating of hair in the bristles. I could run my fingers through it at any point of the day and be left with this:

Then I started getting, like, super depressed about it.

Lots of breakdowns after washing my hair, or seeing a picture of myself, or looking at the back of my head with a mirror.

Then I started to do what anyone would do…researched wig toppers. What the hell is a wig-topper you ask? Basically a toupee for women. Just watch this video.

But then I realized that a good one (real human hair on silk) was going to cost upwards of $800. If I knew this issue was going to be my reality for the rest of my life, I would probably make the investment. But for now, I could suck it up.

So I texted my sister-in-law Shannon who is an amazing hairdresser and super knowledgeable about allll the products. Should I try Nioxin? Rogaine? A stimulating scalp scrub? Shannon told me the best way to fix the problem is from the inside out. ENTER: Collagen!

Shannon sent me a big bottle of collagen. I take 5 every day and plan to do so for the foreseeable future. So far, I have been taking it for about a month and it seems the severe hair loss has stopped for now. I do not seem to be actively losing handfuls like I was before. I am not sure if this is due to the collagen or that my body was just done..but whatever it is I AM HAPPY. The collagen will also help regrow the hair and will likely give me some fatty baby bangs. But I am here for it, tbh. I will take any kind of growth that I can get!

The next item to address was the immediate state of my hair which was abysmal at best. Don’t believe me? The proof is in the puddin’ as they say…

Just look at this sad pony…

I MEAN:

IT IS SO BAD

Barely the circumference of a magic marker you guys. And the bald spot surrounding my horrific cowlick on the back of my head ain’t helping matters. I texted these pictures to the person who does my hair and she wrote back immediately. “We need to cut it. As much as you are comfortable with.”

So I had four inches taken off.

MAN does this make a difference, am I right!? I feel like I could have even got an inch or two shorter? It feels WAY better and doesn’t seem quite as pathetic.

In addition to my new shorter ‘do, I am also switching up my hurr curr to include a few more volumizing products, such as:

Biolage Volume Bloom Aqua Gel Conditioner (for Ultra Fine Hair)

This conditioner smells amazing (I love how ALL Biolage product smell) and is perfect for not weighing my hair down.

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

This is probably the best salt spray I’ve tried. It provides the perfect amount of grit to achieve the tousled look, even with super thin hair.

Pureology Instant Levitation Mist

I have been using this product as a root-booster and while it does not give as much volume as the Big Sexy Hair, it does a fine job.

And in the end, yes…it is just hair. And as India Arie reminds us, “I am not my hair”. But then again, it grows from our head and is a big part of who we are. And while I am sad about losing it, I am MORE than okay with the reasons why I lost it. Namely – this little tike ♥.

And that’s the regiment folks! Have you experience postpartum hair loss? If so, what did you do?