I experienced hair loss after giving birth. Using rosemary oil every night is helping my hair grow back.

• A skincare scientist experienced lasting hair loss after giving birth to her third child.
• After researching, she made a rosemary-oil mix and says she saw positive results after four months.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jennifer Davis Alexander, a holistic-skincare scientist. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

By the time I had my third child — my son — postpartum hair loss wasn't anything new for me.

When I had my second daughter, six years earlier, I had also lost a lot of hair. My hair was longer then, and I started to notice I was losing a lot of strands on the sides — so much so that I could see my scalp on the edges of my hair. But that time, my hair started to grow back after a few months, and I never really thought about it again.

Things were different with my son. I was 40 when I had him, and I already had two kids keeping me busy. I'm sure factors such as stress contributed to my hair loss. I had the same pattern as before, but this time, it didn't start growing back on its own. After six months of waiting — during which my self-esteem took a big hit — I decided I had to do something about it.

I searched for a natural, holistic treatment

From the start, I knew I didn't want to rely on chemicals to replenish my hair. As a skincare scientist, I'm careful about what I put on my skin because I believe everything we put on our bodies affects our health.

I was worried about side effects; plus, I was breastfeeding my son, and I didn't want to risk harming my baby. I started researching different oils and herbs hoping to find something that might work for me. I landed on rosemary oil.

What persuaded me to try rosemary oil is that it has been used traditionally for hundreds of years. It has been used in beauty preparations for centuries — including creams and oils — for its healing properties, including heat protection, wound healing, and hair growth. At least one study has found it can be just as effective as Food and Drug Administration-approved hair-growth drugs for female hair loss. As a scientist, I decided to make my own oil with fresh rosemary and avocado oil.

I made it by heating organic rosemary, bay leaves, and fenugreek in avocado oil. After it cooled, I added store-bought organic rosemary and bay essential oils and stored it in amber-glass vials.

Consistency led to results, but I knew other factors were at play

I knew consistency would be key if I wanted to see results, so I applied it every night. I put on the rosemary oil as soon as I got out of the shower so my scalp was still damp, which made it easier to spread out the oil. Then, I would massage it into my scalp to increase blood circulation and nourish the hair follicles.

After four months of consistent use, I started seeing positive results. New hair started to grow where it had been thinning, and it looked fuller overall. While I'm not quite back to my prepregnancy hair fullness, I'd say I'm about 85% of the way there.

While the rosemary oil made a big difference for me, I'm a big believer that with hair loss, most of us usually need more than a topical treatment. I believe my postpartum low vitamin D levels played a significant role — I had seen a doctor who tested my levels after I complained of hair loss, fatigue, and moodiness, so I started taking a vitamin D supplement.

Stress can also play a big role in overall health, and it can affect hair loss, so I knew I needed to address that. Along with using rosemary oil, I implemented stress-reducing practices including daily meditation, aromatherapy, and time outside. I tried to get as much sleep as I could and made my happiness a priority by doing things such as dancing to my favorite songs.

I hope is to get back to my "normal" hair in the next six months to a year. My plan is to keep consistently using the rosemary oil and finding simple ways to bring balance to my mind and body.

While focusing on my appearance may seem frivolous to some, I believe that when we don't feel our best, it can affect our confidence and how we show up in the world day-to-day, which, in turn, can affect our mental health.

For me, investing in my hair growth is about loving myself where I am right now and a journey back to finding myself.