Friday, September 6, 2013

Operation Terminate Postpartum Shedding


Dirty hair before washing. I'm in need of a trim!

Unfortunately the monster known as postpartum shedding has arrived with a vengeance. During my last wash day I noticed an increase in shedding. My hair was shedding double what it normally does. I won't go as far as to say it was coming out in clumps, but it was above my comfort level. For those of you know don't know what postpartum shedding is, let me explain.

During pregnancy you have an increase in hormone levels. One of those hormones is called estrogen. The increase in estrogen causes your hair to shed less. On average we normally shed about 100 hairs a day. During pregnancy many will see a significant decline in this number, hence fuller hair during this time. After you give birth your hormones start to balance out and your hair enters a resting phase. You then notice an increase in shedding. Not all women experience this. I am a part of the "lucky" few who is/has.

After having my son I shed significantly for over a year. At that time I was going to a salon on a biweekly-monthly basis. My then stylist recommended protein treatments monthly. I'm not sure what products she used, but it did not decrease my shedding. After a while the shedding became "normal" to me and I stopped trying to fix it. This lead to thinner edges and uneven broken hair. Now that I know better I plan to do better. I immediately ran to my local BSS and picked up a few supplies. I purchased Queen Helene's Garlic Shampoo and ORS Hair Mayonnaise. While there I also discovered they sold Alter Ego Shampoo, Conditioner, and Hair Mask. These items ranged from $21.99-$29.99. I was tempted to purchase the hair mask, but decided to give the Queen Helene a try first. After all I only paid $3.99 for the Queen Helene.

Last Saturday (8/30/13) I decided to try out my new products. My first impression of the shampoo is that is is extremely drying to the hair. I had to follow up with a lather of my EverStrong Hydrating Sulfate-free Shampoo to add moisture back to my hair. This dryness almost made me not want to follow up with the ORS Hair Mayonnaise because I figured it would make my hair even more dry. After all it is said to be a medium protein treatment. Well I'm glad I decided to use the ORS Hair Mayonnaise because it left my hair super soft and moisturized. So far I am impressed with this product. I will be giving a full review of both products after a month or so of using them. I will say that the shedding has slowed down a little. I also noticed a decrease in breakage! Now that it is the end of the week I'm noticing the shedding has picked back up, but I will be using the Queen Helene shampoo on my next wash day. I will be keeping you posted on my quest to slow down this shedding.

Have you or anyone you know experienced shedding? What action did you or they take? Suggestions are greatly appreciated. Until next time happy hair growing!

5 comments:

  1. ORS Hair Mayonnaise is GREAT! Don't use it more than every 2nd wash day though, the protein overload WILL happen if you do. Regarding the shedding, I really think that tea rinses DO work, but not black tea, softer teas like Rooibos (google it if you don't know it, it's awesome for drinking too, and babies LOVE it!) and green tea.

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    1. I only plan to use the hair mayo 1x per month if needed. I use ORS for my light protein. I never thought of using green tea. It would definitely be less messy than dark tea rinses. I will keep this in mind. Thanks for the suggestions!

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  2. ugh! The devil that is postpartum shedding! I went through it too with my last little one. I called it Shed Dread

    The shedding lasted for 2 months and it was torture! Luckily for you, you've already got some really good things going---Keeping breakage at bay + garlic and tea rinsing is known to slow shedding. The best thing for me was to de-stress. Stressing is natural, but it will only make things worse in the long run.

    KLP @ SavingOurStrands

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  3. I read your blogpost and it was very helpful. I did a tea rinse once and it was so messy. I think they will be my last resort for that very reason.

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  4. I love ORS hair mayo! try applying the black tea using a spray bottle or an applicator bottle, might make it less messy.

    Do keep us posted on what you try, and how it's working

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