MadameNoire Featured Video

Getty

Toya Wright gave birth to her daughter Reign with partner Robert Rushing back in February, and from the outside looking in, she’s had a pretty smooth transition back into parenthood after having her first daughter Reginae nearly 20 years ago. She’s also had a pretty smooth postpartum experience. She’s back to exercising, being a businesswoman, and both feeling and looking like her old self again — except for when it comes to her hair.

The 34-year-old let fans know on Instagram on Thursday that since giving birth, she’s found herself losing quite a bit of hair. After initially freaking out, she did some research and found out she’s presently dealing with postpartum alopecia.

“Postpartum Alopecia Is so real,” she wrote. “I didn’t know why my hair was falling out. I just noticed my edges and the middle of my hair were getting super thin. Every time I would wash my hair it would come out in chunks. I’ve always had full edges. I did some research and found out that new moms are surprised to be shedding more hair than usual in the first few months after giving birth, but it’s perfectly normal. there’s no need to panic: Your hair should be back to normal around your baby’s first birthday. That’s way too long to be without edges but it’s a part of the beauty of giving birth.”

As she stated, hair loss after baby for most new moms is usually temporary. Increased levels of estrogen can help your hair grow luxuriously when pregnant, holding on to strands that usually would have come out. But once those levels dip post-birth, there is a chance that hair will fall out quite a bit. Breastfeeding also contributes to the loss because of increased prolactin levels. The end results are thinned out areas around the hairline, and for Toya, in the middle of her head.

It’s a situation that passes as you go through your natural hair cycles, so there isn’t one set remedy for it. Some people say they dealt with it by continuing to take their prenatal vitamins or using hair supplements. However, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends just adjusting your hair care regimen for the time being. That includes trying shampoos and conditioners that specialize in adding volume, avoiding heavy “conditioning shampoo,” putting conditioner mostly on your ends and trying options for fine hair if your strands thin out greatly. These efforts can help your hair look less limp. And if that doesn’t work, a haircut is always a good option.

Thankfully, if you can’t fathom cutting your hair if you find yourself in this situation, get some relief in the reality that postpartum shedding can come to an end around six months to up to your child’s first birthday.

Toya isn’t the first well-known woman to share her experience with this. Interesting enough, it is former friend Tamar Braxton who also spoke about her struggles with postpartum hair loss after people were pretty cruel about her thinning edges when they saw them on Braxton Family Values and Tamar and Vince after having Logan.

“When u HAVE your baby …(my son) your hair falls out!!” she said back in 2014. “Thanks to @simplicityhairoil for my hairline coming back! But if it didn’t work I would BUY me some. Glad you all get to see the changes while #bfv & #T&V on T.V.”

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN