Whatever you do, avoid tight braids!
All it takes is flawed technique to get tight braids. Having your hair so close to your scalp that the skin is pulled is a surefire way to cause problems: both short-term and long-term.
For example, your short term suffering may include:
- headaches
- itchy scalp
- dryness
- flaking of the skin
Hair is not meant to be pulled so taught that it looks like you got Botoxed! If you feel a noticeable difference than when you wear it in other hair styles, you are wearing that particular braiding hair style too tight.
In the long term, tight braids can advance a condition known as traction alopecia. Often most noticeable around the "edges" (sections of the scalp where the hairline is most visible like your forehead), alopecia can be hard to reverse. Furthermore, hair loss in men and women is a multi-billion dollar industry that you need to be wary of. Between medications, therapies and practitioners, you can see the best hair results if you are gentle with your scalp and the braids you have put in from the outset.
If you already suffering from the damage that such hair style techniques have caused, then try one or more of the following tips:
- take down the hair style
- switch stylists
- use fewer hair extension wefts, if applicable
- wash using gentle conditioning shampoo as you scalp massage with your fingertips (but not fingernails)
Try to avoid self-treatment with lotions and potions. Get a professional if you want your hair back. Seeing a specialist like a dermatologist or trichologist will get you a personalized traction alopecia cure (which may be several months of treatment) to reverse any hair loss from having your braids too tight.
Remember that you always have options for great looking hair styles; that is one of the many benefits of braiding in the first place!
For example, instead of braiding styles that require three strands of hair, get two strand twists or comb twists. If you really must have intricate styles, then think about whether your hair can rely on hair pins or accessories to anchor sections instead of always creating tight braids to hold the style.
Links (each opens a new window)
- Skin of Color Center: American dermatologists who treat textured hair loss
