Postpartum Hair Loss Took My Edges Away. Then I Made The Situation Worse.

I had my first child in 2018 and stopped taking prenatal vitamins shortly after. Of course, my edges fell out. 😭

But they grew back! It took about a year but before I knew it, my juicy curls were back like they never left. (Honestly, I think they were even thicker than they were before.) After the birth of my second child last spring, my luck was not the same. Admittedly, I’ve been way more stressed this time around but I’mma be real. My edges have not fully recovered.

I’ve played with the idea of shaving my head or just shaving my edges. I haven’t been able to commit though. I miss how flexible my hair used to be, ya know? I don’t want to accept that I’ve changed and, my hair has too. I’ve done some braids because I’ve been traveling and doing more front-facing work this year, but for the most part, I’m home with my thin lil’ edges. Sigh.

In July, I gave up and went full “f*ck it” mode. I’d been wanting to dye my hair for a while because that’s what I do when I’m overwhelmed. Actually, let me back up.

There’s been a lot on my plate the past few years. Raising one baby, having another one, figuring out insurance, a since-resolved diagnosis that scared the piss out of me—I mean that alone is enough and it’s just a sliver of what I’ve been trying to navigate. When I get to the point where I’m at my limit, I tend to make some sort of change, whether it directly impacts the situation or not (giving myself some credit here, as I have historically attacked the issue head on!). The respective changes for tough life situations have previously included: break ups, new gigs and yes, hair dye.

I typically dye my hair alone and it comes out alright. Dyeing my hair while it was in a delicate state wasn’t my strongest idea, but whatever. Wasn’t my first time. I really just wanted to take some control. So boom, I get blonde dye and go to town.

The result? It was streaky and didn’t take in some areas, especially in the back. I had random yellow-orange spots and even though I applied the dye to my hairline last, my edges became the lightest area. So my edges are blonde now. Overall, it looked terrible wet and I was convinced my hair was damaged. I blow dried it and flat ironed it and actually came together. And since my edges were blonde, they blended in with with my scalp so my edges don’t look so bad now.

It’s likely that I’ll still end up cutting my hair because I still think it’s damaged from the dye, but next time I’ll go to a stylist and not let my hair be my stress ball. I can truly take control by addressing the areas of my life that need my attention.

But hey, I’m still working on holistic coping mechanisms. Pray for my hair, y’all.