help with PP hair

[mommy2two]

I am almost 4 months PP and I have just past BSL long layered hair. I am really struggling with my hair. It is shedding awfully. I only wear it up in a bun on the top of my head, a ponytail, a loop with a ponytail holder, or half up with the length down. I have a VERY dry and ITCHY scalp, so I use tea tree oil shampoo, and I use so soft by redken for a conditioner. My hair likes cones. I have slightly wavy, medium-fine, thick hair.

I am so tempted to cut it! And I mean CUT into a pixie! I feel stuck in a rut!!

Help me figure out what to what do with it for sleeping, and for other stuff please!

[imaroo]

What is PP?

What are you looking for? Tips to deal with shedding? Or styling ideas? Both?

[MiaBeth]

PP stands for post-pregnancy, I believe -- been there three times! I think it's an awkward phase, no matter what. I look back at pictures of myself with my newborn(s), and boy, is my hair bad. I would try and resist the urge to cut it, because eventually you'll have more time for styling. French braids are easy, pretty, and give you nice waves when you take them out. For night, sleep braids will keep it nice. Can you tell I like braids?? As far as itchy scalp, could be a lot of things. Have you tried an anti-dandruff shampoo to rule this out?

[mommy2two]

My avatar pick is my hair now, when I wear it down and straightened. Yes, PP means postpartum, I had a baby girl in November. My hair doesn't do sleep braids well because of layers. I haven't french braided lately.

[jesis]

The shedding will pass, try to ignore it if you can unless it becomes serious, in which case you may need to go talk to your doctor.

I have layers as well and I try to always braid my hair in a simple braid if I can. Especially at night, because I always wake up with less tangles, which means less shedding, and less damage from combing/brushing. I have naturally thin hair and I don't think it's all that bad, so like I said, try to ignore it and maybe it will quit and it won't be as bad as you thought?

Either way, good luck! :)

[Naiadryade]

I've never been pregnant so I don't have a lot to add.

Except that, as someone who has just recently reached BSL and has layers and hairs of many different lengths... I have a lot more success with pigtail braids than a single English braid. There are always hairs that end up falling out of the single braid, but two right behind or over my ears keeps almost everything contained. I also recently learned to dutch braid, and one of those keeps all my hair contained--except for two whispy bits in front of my ears which come out by the end of the night, but I think that's a rather pretty morning look...

Hope this helps you braid with layers!

ETA:
For itchy, flaky scalp, try ACV. Dilute it and let it soak on your scalp for a while.

You could also try rubbing castor oil into your scalp. That has helped me a lot with dry, itchy, flaky scalp recently. It might even reduce your shedding too! Just put a drop at a time on a finger, then rub so there's a sheen over all your fingers, and massage into your scalp. Repeat until you've covered your whole scalp. I do this every 1-2 nights, and it's generally all absorbed by the morning.

[kpzra]

I know how frustrating the PP shed can be, I had almost waist length hair when my daughter was born. I had the same type of shed, got sick of my hair being everywhere and cut it to jaw length layers. I was so mad right after I did it since it was on a whim while shopping, I should have waited and thought about it. For your scalp I'd try a dandruff shampoo made for itchy scalps ( Hand and Shoulders used to have one) or ask your doctor. It took a good year for my hormones to even out, but I was nursing for that time.

[torrilin]

An itchy scalp can be a lot of different things. It could be seborrheic dermatitis, which is a kind of scalp infection. It could be the itching that goes with hives, which are a sign of an anaphylactic allergy response. It could be psoriasis. It could be eczema. And there's probably a good 4-5 rarer things it might be too. It could also be that your shampoo is a stronger detergent than your skin really needs, and your poor scalp is getting dried out and itchy from it... not exactly a medical problem, but not exactly not either.

Tea tree oil can be quite irritating. I know some people like it for itching symptoms, but for me it's not a good idea (I have a lot of reaction to fragrances). It's usually not recommended for folks with psoriasis or eczema either. In your position, I'd see a dermatologist and see what needs to be done to rule out the big stuff like hives or psoriasis. Chances are they'll recommend trying some fragrance-free products to rule out things like my scent issues. The products they recommend might not be the greatest, but it's at least a starting point.

The other obvious thing to try is a gentler routine. A really easy way to take your current shampoo and make it more gentle is to dilute it. You don't actually need a head coated in foam to get your scalp clean. I usually dilute by taking about a dime's worth of shampoo, and using my hands to massage it into a lather, then I press the lather into my scalp and give myself a nice gentle scalp massage to spread it around. Some posters here use things like squirt bottles to get their shampoo of choice diluted enough.

As far as style variety... I'm not sure how much is realistic with a newborn around :). My sister in law pretty much lived in headscarves and twin braids while my niece was a newborn. She was (and still is) at that awkward phase of growing out a pixie where she had a ton of layers and not much would stay in. Especially with thick hair, that phase will seem like it lasts forever.