by Crystal Styles - Advice Blogger
Public Speaker / Journalist / Columnist / Author
Contributing Writer - Black College Today Magazine
Social Media Mgr. / Asst. Dir. of Marketing - Aunt Jackie’s Curls & Coils, Aunt Jackie's Girls, Texture My Way, Organics, Kids' Organics, Africa’s Best and more.
Contributing Writer - Black College Today Magazine
Social Media Mgr. / Asst. Dir. of Marketing - Aunt Jackie’s Curls & Coils, Aunt Jackie's Girls, Texture My Way, Organics, Kids' Organics, Africa’s Best and more.
To book Crystal for speaking engagements: Submit your request in the "Contact Crystal" form to the right of this post.
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What type of alopecia does tight sew-ins cause?
What?! - Don’t Get It Confused
New leaves, like human hair, do return indeed—zillions in fact, which causes us to forget that they had temporarily gone away. But don’t get leaves confused with hair. Humans have an average of about 100,000 hairs on the head at any given time (zillions would be a bit much..you agree) with about 100 of those strands shedding each day; a very normal process, I should add. I thought I would throw in a poetic comparison of the leaf life cycle (smile), just as a little something to ease your anxiety while we discuss a stressful subject—excess, abnormal hair shedding…Yikes! And while my findings may not be the absolute answer for all readers, there is valuable information here to help.
In Black College Today, July-August ’14 edition, we discussed reasons, and a few solutions, for hair shedding that does, at times, stem from a lack of moisture in dry, summer heat. Now, we’ll talk more in-depth about reasons for extra excess shedding of tresses and some additional solutions to help you discover the one or ones that work best for you!
Do You See What I See?
Yes, I know. You’re looking in the mirror and you see a family resemblance occurring--your hair is thinning in the same areas on your scalp as your grandmother, grandfather or one or both of your parents. Or wait! No one in your family is bald, but your hair is gradually thinning? What?!
Life Cycle of Hair
In order to understand what might be happening to your tresses, you should first understand the life cycle of hair. Hair transitions through (3) phases. The Anagen phase: this growth phase lasts 2 to 6 years, as cells multiply creating new hair across the scalp while pushing out old hair. The Catagen phase: hair growth stops in this phase, while club hairs are formed (when the sheath of the hair follicle root attaches to the base of individual hairs, completely cutting them off from blood supply). And the Telogen phase: in this phase, it is very common to see a dry, white substance around the base of hairs pulled out or shedding from your scalp. Club hairs detach during this resting period which lasts about 100 days. Just to note, all three phases are usually occurring in different areas of the scalp, at the same times. Any phase may dominate certain areas of the scalp, giving way to hair growth or shedding at different rates, causing you to possibly experience longer or shorter hair strands on varying sections of your head.
Self-Inflicted Hair Shed! Did I say that? YES--I did!
Calling All Weave Wearers: STOP your hairstylist in his/her tracks (yes..pun intended) from braiding your hair too tight! I can’t tell you how many professional braiders I’ve heard boastfully bragging about how tight they braid hair. I’m sorry to tell you, but this is not a badge of honor. Braiding hair too tight, especially around the edges of your hairline, causes traction alopecia for thousands of weave wearers. Many weavers ignore the gradual signs of balding by continuing to get tight sew-ins, as a means of covering over the damage. “Camouflaging allows women to forget or ignore the alopecia as it insidiously worsens,” says Dr. Susan Taylor, MD and Harvard Trained Dermatologist (Huffingtonpost.com).
STOP!--and start asking your stylist to braid your tresses gently. Trust me, if the weave is sewed in correctly, it will last. If your favorite stylist is incapable of implementing a better technique, then search for a braider who knows about hair care. Don’t be afraid to look for someone who will care about your real hair, not just raving over how fabulous your weave looks.
Take a mental snapshot of what I’m about to say. So your stylist braids your hair super tight to your scalp, causing tiny fine bumps to raise around the edges of your scalp, not to mention the 3 day headache you are about to undergo (but of course, you probably ingested a couple of pain relievers prior to sitting for the sew-in, right?). Then, the stylist tightly sews a protective net over your braids (of course the net is good protection against weave friction, but the tight sewing method adds additional stress to your hair follicles, cancelling out the purpose of the net which is designed to protect your hair from breakage…hmm). Now, it’s time for the tracks! One by one, your stylist sews in each weft, tightly wrapping another layer of thread around the already binded braids. When done, you walk away feeling like you just had a face lift. Is anyone following me?….this is not good for your hair--follicles--or scalp! Now you might be saying, well my hair is strong and can take the pressure. I say, have a few conversations with women who thought the same but over the years realized they now have bald spots. If no other hair issues exist, simply changing braiding techniques will allow your hair to grow back but continuing to tightly braid your hair can cause permanent balding…so beware.
Doctor’s Orders
Now that you have a little more information about hair loss, the next step is to get a checkup. Talk with your physician to see if certain conditions like diet deficiencies, thyroid disease, scalp fungus, internal infections or chemicals could be causing excess shedding.
There are some medications, both prescribed and over-the-counter, known to slow down hair thinning. Discuss both non-surgical and surgical solutions with your doctor. He or she can help you make a sound decision about the correct remedy for you. If your hair shedding is due to scalp fungus, try using a good dandruff shampoo at least twice a week, but be sure to add moisture to your hair after each treatment. Deep conditioning and hot oil treatments may help too.
Hungry Hair
This is just my opinion, but I suggest you try boosting your intake of dark, colorful vegetables, protein and vitamins before diving into surgical hair replacement solutions. Be cautious of your diet habits. Hair needs protein, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamins including A, B, C, D, E, and biotin. Don’t forget about foods rich in iron, zinc and minerals which play key roles in healthy hair growth. If you’re starving yourself to get into that fav dress you bought last summer, you could be altering your hair health in the process…make sure your diet includes nutrients for internal health as well as healthy skin, scalp and hair.
Above all, try not to stress over your hair loss. Stress, in itself, can possibly cause hair loss to accelerate, so don’t sweat the small stuff. And as always, be well...and be Happy!
Check out Crystal's articles in each new edition of Black College Today Magazine!
Guess What?
You can tell Crystal what beauty care topics matter to you by contacting Crystal @ Crystal-Knows.blogspot.com. Maybe your topic will get picked for a future article!
