One of the things they don’t tell you about when you are pregnant is the after hair loss. It’s happened to me with all 3 of mine and each time it has been worse. Like clockwork, three months post partum, bang goes my nice hair and it all starts falling out.
The first time I would just clog up the plug with loads of hair everytime I washed it and my hair got everywhere, I had to hoover loads to pick it all up. Luckily I naturally have lots of hair so it wasn’t too noticeable.
With the second baby it was worse as this time around my hairline I grew back hair that had fallen out in little baby fluff, tufty patches which was really annoying.
Third time and I actually noticed the thinner patches. They were particularly bad around my hairline again and worse towards my temples. While having my hair done months later my hairdresser found about 5/6 patches of hair regrowth all over my head. Ava is 23 months now and my hair around my hairline is still growing back, it has been particularly fine and fluffy around the left side of my forehead and so I swapped my side fringe over to cover it up.
My poor hair has definitely been through it with a bad hair dye job last year thrown in to the mix. I decided I needed to change a few things to look after my hair.
Here are some of the things I have done to help improve the quality of my hair in the last year. 5 simple hair care tips;
- Invest in a good leave in conditioner. I actually think this is the one thing that has made the most difference. The price of the conditioner put me off initially but I wish I had bought it sooner as using it my hair is smoother, feels stronger and just generally healthier. I use more than the hairdresser suggested and after a couple of months of use, including daily washing on holiday, I still have loads left.
- Cut down on the heat. It’s easier to do this in the summer but cutting down on the amount of heat you subject your hair too definitely makes a difference. I try and let it dry naturally and then straighten it if I want to, or scrunch it and leave it. When it’s hot I’ve been letting it dry and then just putting it up instead of styling, so I’m not re straightening parts of it each day.
- Stop picking. After my disastrous dye job I would sit and pick the damaged ends of my hair or search through for split ends and pick them. Now when I catch myself doing it I go and apply some hair oil to the ends instead. If your hair is already dry, applying it like this won’t make it look greasy, infact my hair seems to absorb it in and then I have less crispy bits to annoy me.
- Get a detangle hairbrush. The detangle hairbrush I got in one months My little Box, has changed the way I brush my hair. To start, when my hair was in bad shape I struggled to use it, but now I really notice a difference and it means I don’t damage any knotted hair after it has been washed.
- Use and Invisibobble. I’ve seen these around for a while now but have only just got myself one. They don’t leave a kink in your hair, help you avoid damaging your hair and the best part for me is that the Invisibobble stops your hair pulling on your head giving you a headache. I don’t know why I didn’t get one sooner.
I was lucky that although frustrating and worrying at times, my hair loss and hair damage weren’t extreme. I do know however how much even a little bald patch can affect your confidence. I was fortunate that mine has grown back, albeit slowly.