Rihanna Admits She "Didn't Expect" Postpartum Hair Loss to Affect Her Like It Did
Trust that she's found ways to get "more creative and clever" with her hairstyles since.


Even Rihanna, Fenty Beauty mogul, multi-platinum artist, and fan of luxury dressing with a message, faces the most relatable of motherhood side-effects: postpartum hair loss.
Speaking to Refinery29 at the Fenty Hair launch party in Los Angeles on June 12, Rihanna admitted that shedding hair after becoming mother to sons Riza, 2, and Riot, 10 months, caught her by surprise. (Specifically, she said it was "not on the pamphlet" for pregnancy.)
“I didn’t expect it to happen in waves," Rihanna explained of the hair loss she experienced after giving birth. "I thought it would just happen and grow back."
Rihanna opened up about her postpartum hair loss while wearing her natural curls and a custom Khaite outfit to the Fenty Hair launch party.
The "Needed Me" singer noted that she lost hair in patches. “At that point you’re just like alright enough is enough," she said.
She was able to make the transformation work for her by experimenting with hairstyles in "more creative and clever" ways. She's dabbled in everything from blonde bangs and box braids to petal pink hair. Most recently, Rihanna debuted a pixie cut highlighting her short, natural curls—presumably to show off how hard her new hair care line works.
Rihanna officially launched Fenty Hair on Thursday, June 13. The line debuted with rapturous reviews from early testers, including Marie Claire beauty director Deena Campbell.
She test-drove the lineup of conditioning treatments and with help from Yusef Williams, Rihanna's longtime hair stylist. The verdict? "The products are effective; my hair felt healthy and stronger days after usage, and my blowout lasted an entire three weeks, even in the sweltering New York heat," Campbell said.
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Rihanna designed Fenty Hair with the goal of supporting stronger, healthier hair through every style—and phase of life. "You know how much switching my hair up matters to me," she said in a statement. "I’ve had almost every texture, color, length, from weaves to braids to natural—so I am launching a flexible line of products for not only every hair want, but every single product is designed to strengthen and repair all types of hair, which is what we truly need!"
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Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion news editor at Marie Claire, leading can't-miss coverage of runway trends, emerging brands, style-meets-culture analysis, and celebrity style (especially Taylor Swift's). Her reporting ranges from profiles of beloved stylists, to breaking brand collaboration news, to exclusive red carpet interviews in her column, The Close-Up.
Halie has reported on style for eight years. Previously, she held fashion editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion expert in The Cut, CNN, Puck, Reuters, and more. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence in journalism. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College. For a closer look at her stories, check out her newsletter, Reliable Narrator.