The Hair Chronicles....Traction Alopecia.

I must confess, I have suffered from traction alopecia. Sad, I know but everyone has their flaws. The worst bit about it is I know why the hair on my temples are doing a disappearing act on me. My weave, my lovely Premuim Now full fringed weave, it the cause of this horrible calamity!

 Traction alopecia is hair loss or thinning because the "tracks" of the weave, braids or any hairstyle is too tight and the scalp becomes inflammed and hair loss occurs. Inflammation of the scalp is usaully those tiny little bumps that occur after getting the hair braided and when you see little, tiny, white bulbs, those are hair follicles, it is safe to say that now would be a good time to start freaking out.

                                                      

 Now I have been weaving non stop for the past four years and my sides are currently in a good condition, they was a time when there was no hair whatsoever, zero, zilch,nada, cabbage patch bald! Here's what Ive learnt so far; Tell your hairdresser if your braids are too tight, make her undo the braid and do it again much loosely. How do you know if its too tight? Are you reaching for an asprin when you get home because the headache is registering 8.5 on the Richter scale?
 Under NO circumstances should you ever get your hair relaxed, especially if it is in a full weave. It is a waste of money and hair is the strongest when it is natural and if you have to please stretch your relaxer.Wait atleast 2-3 months before you go for a retouch.

 Shampoo and condition, many (even I) are under the impression that washing a weave ruins it, it doesnt, infact washing a weave and blow drying it will give a more natural and belieavble texture. Washing your hair whilst it is in a weave is very important, it gets rid of dirt and helps with hair growth(a clean scalp is a healthy scalp), I sometimes just slap on a conditioner for the whole day and rinse it a couple of hours later because hair is dries out really quickly and if the moisture is not replinshed it will become brittle and break, like a twig. Deep conditioning atleast once a week especially during winter(the radiators do not help either) when it is really drying for hair and skin.

Lastly an intense protein and moisture mix, this has literally saved my sides and I apply my mix every night. It is a mixture of coconut oil,olive oil, almond oil, (are you seeing a trend here?)water and Megatek. This itelf requires its own post. But moisturize with a natural conditioning oil such as coconut or olive every night, I am not a fan of Pink Moisturizing Lotion or Dark and Lovely Moisturizing Lotion as they have a large amount of Mineral oil( again, its own post).

My little magic potion