African-American female hair loss may occur suddenly or gradually over a long period of time. African American women must also realize that they have fewer hairs on their heads due to genetics than other races.
This can make any hair loss more noticeable. If hair loss is gradual, you may not notice it for a while. The natural look of African-American hair tends to make it look thicker than it really is.
What are the Causes of African American Women Hair Loss
There are many causes of African-American Female Hair Loss. Tight hairstyles like braids and tracks can cause hair loss. It doesn’t matter if you use sewing or glue to make the tracks. Wearing weaves and wigs may also cause problems at the points of attachment. Dreadlocks may also cause issues. Like other women, some black women may have problems with certain hair products, hair dyes, chemical or heat processing, and other hair care products. Permanent waves, straightening, and many other normal salon hair treatments can damage hair.
It can also be caused by genetics or diseases like lupus of the skin or thyroid disease. Some medications like chemotherapy or hormone treatments may cause hair to fall out. Eating a poor diet may also contribute to hair loss. Women also often lose a lot of hair after childbirth, when hair growth returns to normal and the hair that was retained during pregnancy is released.
Types of Alopecia Symptoms
Alopecia symptoms include a general thinning of the hair, especially on the crown of the head. If your scalp is developing scarring that results in permanent hair loss, you may experience pain or itching of the scalp. Hair loss may occur in patches. Hair loss may be sudden and in copious amounts. Unlike men who may experience baldness, women seldom have this problem. They lose less hair than men, and the hair that is lost is normally behind the hairline rather than changing the hairline. Hair loss may be compounded by hormonal events in a woman’s life such as menopause, pregnancy, or starting or stopping birth control pills.
Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia
Women of African descent suffer from a type of hair loss called central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia(CCCA). With this type of female hair loss, the hair follicles are destroyed rather than miniaturized and the hair is lost from the top of the scalp. When a hair follicle is destroyed, regrowth becomes impossible. CCCA sufferers will usually need a scalp biopsy for a full diagnosis.
CCCA is usually treated with anti-inflammatory medications and topical Rogaine (minoxidil) can be used to stimulate the growth in unscarred hair follicles. It is important to act quickly and visit a dermatologist as soon as you notice a problem.
It is thought that hair care practices might be behind CCCA. African American women use hot combs, heat, ointments, and relaxers on their scalp and often wear tight braids or heavy hair extensions which most white women would not. How we groom our hair does determine the amount of hair breakage and stress on the follicles.
It is also believed that hereditary factors might be the cause of CCCA. There are other causes of sudden hair loss and slower hair loss which might be the cause, so when looking for what causes rapid hair loss in women, the woman’s diet, overall health, and lifestyle need to be examined to find the exact cause, so a treatment can be found.
Rogaine (minoxidil) is commonly prescribed for female hair loss. Drawbacks include the fact that it has to be applied twice a day, will only work while the woman is using the product, and costs thirty dollars a month. However, Rogaine works well on some female hair sufferers and is definitely worth a try. There are other products on the market containing minoxidil, such as Empress Re-Gro, which is similar to Rogaine. Hair regrowth is not guaranteed with such treatments and it might take several months of application before you see any results at all.
Propecia is a hair loss drug and if you want to know how to regain hair loss for black women, this one might work. It cannot be taken by pregnant women but some people have had success with it.
If minoxidil does not seem to work and there is no obvious cause for hair loss, the answer to the question of how to regain hair loss for black women might be to disguise it. Bald patches can be disguised by a change of hairstyle or a hairpiece. Hair transplantation is another, more costly option. There are also various gels, mousses, colorants, wigs, and extensions on the market which can disguise the female hair loss if it is not too severe. How to regain hair loss for black women is possible but it might require patience to find the right solution.
How to Grow Black Hair
So many people want to know how to grow African American hair because of the different hair types.
No matter what your nationality is, your hair requires certain things to be healthy. Enough moisture, certain vitamins, a bit of sunlight (but not TOO much), and proper care are essential to hair growth—no matter what type of hair you have; there are so many different products out there that are designed to help how to grow African American hair. Some of them work, some of them do not, and many times people find the best products to help spur healthy growth through trial and error.
There is no secret to how to grow African American hair, but there are a few essential care tips that you can employ in order to keep your hair from breaking and incite growth. There is a myth that black hair just does not grow, but that is not the truth. No matter what texture or grade of hair you have, your hair grows at the rate of ¼ to ½ of an inch per month. Due to the stresses that members of the African American community put on their hair including heat, certain styling products, relaxers and such, this causes breakage.
African American Hair Growth Tips
1. Keep Your Hair Oiled
Depending on the texture of your hair, a light oil to heavier hair grease is essential to healthy growth. This keeps the stresses that you put on your hair every day from taking its toll on your hair by protecting it. It also conditions the hair and adds essential vitamins and minerals to the hair that are great for growth, as well as volume and shine.
2. How to make black hair grow is by Eating a Healthy Diet
- A healthy diet is essential to good hair growth. If you are not taking care of your body, your hair will reflect that. A diet rich in protein is a good idea for those who are looking to take extra special care of their hair, as the hair is made of mainly protein.
- Eat nutritious foods, especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Drink more water. When you eat foods that are as close as possible to their natural state, you get more nutrients.
- Leafy greens and other vegetables are rich in B vitamins.
- Vitamin E oil and coconut oil can be massaged into the scalp on a daily basis.
- Poor dietary habits are one of the leading causes of breakage and hair loss.
3. Be Gentle to Your Hair
Another one of the main causes of breakage in your hair is the way that it is treated. If you are picking and pulling at your hair, you are breaking it. If you find a lot of hair in your brush, you may be breaking it. You will naturally shed hair through the brushing and combing process but yanking and pulling through tangles will surely break off your hair and destroy all of your hard work. Combing your hair when it is wet leaves it susceptible to breakage even more.
When you get out of the shower, towel dries your hair and put oil or grease in it, whichever you usually use. This will allow the brush to move more easily through your hair and prevent it from breaking off as easily. It also promotes shine and health.
How to Grow African American hair is not that difficult; it is really a matter of knowing what it takes to have healthy hair and taking the necessary steps. Be gentle to your hair and give it the nourishment that it needs to grow and be strong. You will be rewarded after time with plenty of healthy new growth.