Rachel Conlan, Act+Acre’s co-founder, just had her first child. Reflections from the past few weeks as a new mother, below: 

While your body goes through an extraordinary amount of changes before, during, and after childbirth, I am rather embarrassed to say that the one that was the source of the most anxiety for me was the prospect of hair loss. Everyone has their thing, and for me, that thing is my hair. 

Why?

Quite simply, my hair dictates how I feel. Everything else can be falling apart but if I have a good hair day, it feels like life is easier to manage. As you can imagine, the clumps of hair falling down the drain the weeks following birth was not ideal. 

Rather than sit around and feel overwhelmed by this uncontrollable afterbirth effect, I decided to put a simple plan into action to help combat extended hair loss. I am just four weeks postpartum now—a far cry from the four-month peak of hair loss. The below actions are both targeting what’s happening to my body now and preparing for that potential acceleration of loss. 

+ Simplifying my hair care regime: 

Right now, my daily shower feels like the only time I get to myself. I used to be able to spend time on my hair care and styling routine. That definitely doesn’t happen anymore. At the moment, I wash my hair every few days with the Act+Acre cleanse. Right now, my hair is feeling very dry and brittle—likely due to breastfeeding and a depletion of nutrients—so I am substituting the Conditioner for the hydrating Restorative Hair Mask. 

+ Eating as clean as possible:  

While my chocolate cravings have continued postpartum (can you blame me?) I’m making an attempt to introduce foods into my diet that are not only good for recovery but good for the hair. This looks like protein-rich food such as eggs and upping my intake of fish for extra Omega-3s and magnesium. Dark leafy greens and berries have become a staple because of their iron and Vitamin C levels. I’ve been actively referencing our past guide of hair-friendly foods: The Best Foods for Your Hair.

+ Taking a hair-focused supplement: 

As part of my prenatal plan, I was already on countless vitamins and minerals, so rather than let a good habit go away, I started taking the Plant-based Hair Capsules the week before giving birth. Given I am breastfeeding and it feels like the baby is continuing to get all of my nutrients, I have found that not only does this feel like it’s helped my hair, it has also worked wonders for my nails and skin as well. 

Shop Rachel’s New Mom Selections: 

+ The Capsules

+ Restorative Hair Mask

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Ingredients

• Ingredient 1: explain the benefit of this ingredient and why it is good for the scalp and hair health. This is a good way to educate on specific nutrients or vitamins.
• Ingredient 2: explain the benefit of this ingredient and why it is good for the scalp and hair health. This is a good way to educate on specific nutrients or vitamins.
• Ingredient 3: explain the benefit of this ingredient and why it is good for the scalp and hair health. This is a good way to educate on specific nutrients or vitamins.
• Additional—salt, pepper, olive oil, etc.

• Step one to make this recipe
• Step two to make this recipe
• Step three to make this recipe

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.