When Your Hair Won’t Grow Back: Stress, Motherhood, and Starting to Heal

An Honest Look at Postpartum Hair Loss, Chronic Stress, and Finding Small Ways Forward

Welcome to Tried & True.
You won’t find trendy must-haves here — just my honest thoughts on the things I’ve tried and loved (or at least found truly useful). Consider this my virtual note-to-a-friend on what’s helping in real life.

It Starts from the Top (Literally)

Hey friend, welcome back!

Well, my 4th baby, at 2 years old, just threw her pacifier in the garbage. It was honestly the cutest thing. We recently went on vacation to Seaside, FL, and we forgot to bring her pacifier. We didn’t realize it until we got to Seaside and realized she had been in the car for 9 hours with no paci, and she didn’t cry at all. She had a couple of rough nights and nap times, but just this week, I was cleaning under the couch and she was with me and she found a paci that had fallen back there. She put it in her mouth for a second, took it out and looked at me and I said, “eww paci” and she said that back to me. “Throw it in the garbage?” I asked, hopeful. She said, “Garbage!” And walked it over and threw it in herself. With the paci gone, I packed up all the baby bottles, breast pumps, milk bags, baby bath tub, swing, walker, everything, and that chapter of our life is officially closed.

I had four babies in seven years, while carrying the weight of adulthood, and keeping up with everything life threw our way. As you guys know, I started this year feeling exhausted and disconnected from myself. But, I didn’t realize how deep it ran until I started paying attention to what was happening physically, too.

Today’s chapter is about something I hadn’t expected to impact me so much: hair loss.

The Thing About Postpartum Hair Loss

I knew postpartum hair loss was technically normal. But when it happened to me—clumps in my hand after every shower, a thinning hairline staring back at me in the mirror—it felt like another quiet signal that I wasn’t okay.

Culturally, this hit deep. In Kenya, where I grew up, hair is more than hair. I think it’s the same for any culture. Hair is a part of how we show up, how we care for ourselves, how we’re seen. Healthy hair meant you were keeping up, you were well. I wasn’t.

Over time, I tried to make peace with it. I shaved my head four years ago and wore wigs for a while, telling myself it didn’t matter. But every time I caught my reflection, it reminded me: something in me wasn’t healing. My hair became a kind of mirror for all the things I was ignoring.

A Wake-Up Call in Nairobi

When we traveled to Kenya last spring, I sat in the same salon I went to as a kid. I lied to my hairdresser—told her I’d just shaved my head, not that my hair hadn’t grown in four years. Saying it out loud felt too vulnerable, too exposing. But the truth was, even after braiding it and giving it time, nothing changed. I realized this wasn’t just about hair. My body was still running on empty from years of chronic stress.

Finding Small Ways to Repair

When I got home, I started looking for ways to support my body’s healing, not just cover it up. I came across Nutrafol—again, honestly, thanks to Instagram—and something about it stuck. It wasn’t just about hair growth; it was about stress, hormones, nutrition, and all the invisible ways our bodies keep score.

So, I started taking their Hair Growth and Stress Bundle. Not because I think there’s magic in a bottle. But because I wanted to give myself a small act of care every day. One tiny reminder that I’m allowed to want to feel better: in my mind, my body, and yes, even my hair.

It’s been about a year now, my hair has grown by about 4 inches, and it’s not falling out in the shower anymore. I feel a little less on edge, a little more hopeful. And right now, that’s enough to keep going.

Why I’m Sharing This

I’m not here to tell you Nutrafol is the answer for everyone. I’m sharing because I know what it’s like to feel like you’re falling apart from the inside out, and how small steps can start to knit you back together. If this resonates, maybe you’ll check it out. Or maybe it’s just a reminder: it’s okay to tend to yourself, even in quiet ways no one else sees.

Here’s to healing, from the inside out.

(If you’re curious, here’s the link I used to get started. It includes a little discount, but no pressure. This isn’t about selling you something. It’s about sharing something that’s helping me remember I’m worth taking care of.)