Although my journey into motherhood was joyous and exciting, I, like many other women went through massive physical and mental changes. Being a full-time student and first-time mother was overwhelming, the stress from trying to juggle the two, began to take a toll on my hair and eventually my mental health. My hair loss began a few weeks postpartum, I would notice little stands here and there, eventually, those strands turned into massive chunks on my pillows and in my shower.

I felt hopeless, and extremely unattractive the more hair fell, the lower my self-esteem went. I was desperate for a solution. I turned to online sources like YouTube, Tik-Tok, and Twitter for help. Unfortunately for me the time commitment and money required to upkeep these regimens were too much for my busy schedule. Around this time the many older women in my family came to visit me and my newborn. Although embarrassed, I shared the struggles I was having with my hair with them expressing my unhappiness out loud for the first time. They, like always comforted me and began to tell me about their experiences with postpartum hair loss, as well as the ancient beauty practices of our ethnic ancestors. Through this talk with my family, I began to reflect on my current beliefs around health and beauty.