Alopecia..or just plain old getting bald spots or thinning hair!

Help...I think I am losing my hair!

Whenever you think about someone going bald or their hair-line receding or the top of the hair getting thin...do you think of your Grandad and his friends, with their shiny heads and bits of hair round the sides! or do you run from the mirror too ashamed to confront your own HAIR ISSUE, and put on your comfort blanket...your trusty wig?

If the latter is you, then you- you are not alone so take heed.

There are thousands of women around the country who suffer with hair-loss problems.

The difference being the number of women who choose to actively do something about it.

Possible reasons for hair-loss in ethnic women/girls:

Weaves that are sewn on tightly
Braids/exstensions put in too tightly

Ponytails and other styles that can pull tightly and put tension on the hair-line
Chemical Abuse from relaxers/perms

Hereditary genetic disposition
Stress

Hormones
Pregnancy

Vitamin deficiency

Hair neglect

Traction Alopecia-(hair-line hair-loss)

In a society where wearing hair exstensions has now become second nature to many young teenage girls and women, you do not have to look far to see a girl/woman who has lost her hair-line- subsequently called ' Traction Alopecia' this is very common but wholly preventable among ethnic women.

This type of hair-loss is self induced, through how we do our hair, or sometimes it can be inflicted by parents (in mis-guided ignorance) onto their children, who have no control over their hair styles.

A severe example of traction alopecia caused by tight/ weaves/braids

The picture above has become so common placed in high-street salons, whereby the problem is not treated but just covered up by sometimes reckless hairdressers with a weave/wig-cap that will only serve to distress the remaining hair/hair-line!

How to prevent this happening to you:

1. When wearing ponytails don't scrape the hair up so tightly you look chinese!- (especially if you have a thin hair-line...try to do it loosely, or leave the hairline free- to protect and keep it!)

1. When getting a weave done, ensure the hair-line is left out and the canerows are not done too tightly. (Speak up- tell the stylist- if you feel a tightness, no style is worth losing your hair for)

1. If you have exstensions make sure they do not pull on the delicate hairs around your hair-line, its better to have to re-do them if they look messy, if put in loosely, than have your hair-line come out with the exstension when you take them out.
   

Over time if the hair-line is constantly stressed- the hair is permanently lost- but if caught in time the hair can be nurtured to re-grow with consistent attention, growth stimulating oils and regular massaging of the area.

Note the WARNING SIGNS:

If you ever get those tiny white bumps around the edge of your hairline where the hair is being pulled- then this is a warning sign- your scalp is being damaged- the hair is literally being pulled from the root! loosen your hair immediately if in exstensions/braids or a weave and massage the area to avoid permanent scalp scarring and hair-loss.

Parents Please Note:

Since you control the styling of your childs precious tresses...make sure that you do not damage the hair-line for that 'cute hairstyle'.

A child/toddlers hair is even more supscebtible to damage- so keep the styling loose.

Leave the hair-line tension free

Avoid canerow styles that pull the hair away from the face

Avoid tight ponytails and bobble styles

If your child says the hair is tight- Listen to them!

Adopt styles that leave the hair and moreso scalp stress-free, like free flowing twists, without the use of exstensions and please NO WEAVES!

This innocent looking style is already causing breakage around this child's fragile hair-line, by pulling away from the hair-line...

A simple hair-line loving hairstyle...using bobbles that contain no metal bits!

Alopecia Areata:

This is another common form of hair-loss affecting ethnic women, it forms small circular bald spots over the crown of the head, it can be quite distressing as is all hair-loss, but it can grow back, and does so in 90% of patients.

However if you feel you are suffering with this type of hair-loss, you should not be using any type of chemical on your scalp. I have witnesses over-zealous and un-educated hairdressers too often perming the remaining hair on a lady with this problem! Ridiculous.

Alopecia areata

What Causes it?

Alopecia areata is not contagious. It occurs more frequently in people who have affected family members, suggesting that heredity may be a factor. In addition, it is slightly more likely to occur in people who have relatives with autoimmune diseases.

The condition is thought to be an autoimmune disorder, in which the body attacks its own hair follicles and suppresses or stops hair growth

Other forms of hair-loss/Alopecia

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, another hair-loss condition common among ethnic women, is characterized by circle-shaped balding at the crown toward the front of the head.

Many trichologists blame this condition on the sometimes outrageous things we do to our hair with tension, heat and chemicals.

Light At the end of the tunnel: It can GROW back!

The picture below shows a lady suffering with balding towards the front crown section as described above. However she is now experiencing great growth results after only 3 months, with the help of the 100% Natural ROOT2TiP Hair Growth Pack, e-mail root2tiphair@yahoo.co.uk for details.

3 months later, thicker hair & growth

Another example of great results with using the Root2Tip Growth pack

Be positive:

At the end of the day you can either seek help for your hair-loss problems or choose to ignore them, hair-loss affects your confidence and self-esteem, but the best way to deal with that is to really get to the ROOT of the problem.

Take a positive step in the right direction today. E-mail root2tiphair@yahoo.co.uk for advice on great products.