Ngozi's Pregnancy Hair Journey

For as long as I can remember I’ve always been one of those women whose dreams and goals were primarily professional ones. I never dreamt of getting married until I met my now husband, and motherhood was always one of those “if it happens, it happens” things for me as long as “it” happened when I was “ready” so  when I found out I was pregnant last June, I went into a slight panic mode because it was super unexpected and I really didn’t know how to prepare or what to expect.

It wasn’t long before the morning sickness kicked in, and my energy levels were pretty much non-existent. The LAST thing I wanted to think about was what to do with my hair so I was convinced that I would be wearing a bonnet for 9 months straight lol. After attending a meeting with a satin bonnet on my head, (because I was too exhausted to style my hair) and realizing that when people were speaking to me their eyes managed to only look up, I decided I needed to do something to my hair that was going to work for me and the various changes I was about to experience without attracting “what is she thinking” stares.

The one thing that saved my hair throughout my pregnancy was protective styling. Not just any protective style though. Protective styles that worked for me based on how I was feeling at specific times of my pregnancy.

Here are 4 protective styles that allowed my pregnancy hair journey to be as stress-free as can be:

1. Senegalese Twists

Early on in my pregnancy, I was EXHAUSTED, to say the least. I needed a hairstyle that required nothing on my part. I wanted to get up and go first thing in the morning and crash on the couch at any given time without worrying about messing up my hair.

These twists seriously held me down during my first trimester, but the more my bump grew, the less pleasant it became to have weighted twists on my head. I needed something super lightweight that would give me the same benefits of twists, so I had to switch it up.

   2. Feed-in Cornrows

 After my twists, I transitioned into feed in cornrows because they were lightweight and easy to maintain which was perfect for me as my baby grew, and even more perfect for me when I unexpectedly had to be on bed rest for a few months. While I loved my cornrows, I didn’t love the fact that they got old pretty quickly so as the end of my 2nd trimester neared, and my baby showers were about to approach, I knew it was time for another hair change.

 3. U-Part Wig

After taking out my cornrows and realizing that at 7 months pregnant it’s probably not in my best interest to sit still for 5 hours to get them back in or even 3 hours to take them out, I knew my next protective style needed to be lightweight, easy to install, and versatile enough to get glammed up for my baby showers.

I opted for a For Koils Goddess U-Part Wig and had a friend of mine style it with wand curls for 1 of my baby showers and barrel curls for my 2^nd baby shower. It was the most lightweight style I wore throughout my pregnancy (surprisingly more lightweight than the cornrows), and it made me feel most like myself and most confident of any of the styles I wore.

  4. Sew-In 

As my delivery day approached, I knew I probably wouldn’t want to have to deal with taking a wig on and off, so I gave myself a sew-in with For Kinks Wefted hair. It was just what I needed because it was lightweight and didn’t require any curl defining so I was able to do minimal work to it. Now that my son is here, I have learned a whole new meaning of the word busy. I go between For Kinks and Blow Out because they don’t require much maintenance. Plus, my son loves to practice his fine motor skills by grabbing them all day lol.

Throughout my pregnancy hair journey, I needed styles that made things easier for me, and even more so now that I’m a new mom. With motherhood, somedays I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, other days I feel like I’ve got it all figured out. One thing I do know is that these past 5 months with him have made me a new (better) version of myself.

So cheers to all the moms out there. I have a new level of respect for you all! And to all the moms to be, I hope you're inspired to look to protective styles for your pregnancy hair journeys!