“I want to have pieces of hair missing from my hairline and be forced to stick to the same cover-up hairstyles” – said no one ever. Yet why does it happen so much? Time and time again people find themselves shopping for hats, caps, Googling miracle hair growers, gluing hair patches or applying makeup to the scalp; no kidding, we’ve seen it all.
The sad part is that in some cases, hair loss in ethnic hair is not as a result of genes, but mis-information. Here are some of the causes of hair issues that many are not aware off.
Dramatic weight loss
It’s summer time and the trend is to look good so that you can soak up the sun in that perfect selfie body. As controversial as they may be, crash diets are still common. What many don’t know is that the sudden weight loss is traumatic to your body and may result in thinning hair or hair loss (that can take up to 6 months to correct itself). This could also be as a result of vitamin and mineral deficiencies in your diet.
Beware the “doek“
South Africans – especially those with ethnic hair – swear by the doek. It is something that transcends cultural and racial divides. You see it come out when young and old women go to sleep, yet is common to see women wear doeks during the day as well. It is often a piece of cloth, scarves or even stockings that are tightly wrapped around the head throughout the night.
This head gear can also be part of compulsory uniform for churches or traditional everyday wear for women. All of this continuous tight pulling of hair under the notorious (and often stylish) doeks can lead to a hair loss condition called Traction Alopecia.
If you are into ethnic looks and prefer braids and dreadlocks, all that tight twisting and pulling can also result in Traction Alopecia. Hair relaxer to make ethnic hair a little more “manageable” can also result in hair thinning or hair loss. It is strange how the “cures” society believes to be true can actually lead to more hair loss, but check out the next in our series for more on this.
For more information on how to avoid or treat hair loss; contact us today for a free consultation with our trained experts.
