By Karen Welcome

It all begins with a look in the mirror or gazing at recent photos, your hair is thinning, your scalp is more apparent or there are patches of baldness existing. Or, when you realize that the hairs floating around your home cannot be chalked up to normal shedding.

What’s alarming is that problems of hair loss are all too common with Black women and sometimes the root of the problem isn’t always hereditary. Often we damage our tresses by doing things such as pulling our hair too tight for a more polished look or straighten and curl chemically processed hair. Often, by causing irreversible trauma, our styling techniques may be stripping us of the beauty we work to attain.

Here are some common hair loss conditions to avoid:

Traction alopecia occurs from the tight pulling of ponytails, weaves, glues, hair rollers, cornrows, and braids and is the cause of thinning and baldness around the hairline and may cause scarring alopecia if maltreatment continues.

Traumatic alopecia comes with the use of chemical products that create changes in hair texture. It also occurs after straightening or curling hair with excessive heat and oil, scalp burns and relaxing ends that have been previously treated with relaxer.

Centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (also known as hot comb alopecia) is an affect of damaged hair follicles as scar tissue is formed on an area of the scalp and hair loss spreads throughout the entire scalp.

Thankfully these are conditions that can, more often than not, be treated before they have permanent effects. The key is consulting a dermatologist to determine the possible conditions and treatments of your hair loss while it’s early. What’s also important is discussing hairstyles that manipulate the hair less with your stylist. Many people have the misconception that coarse hair textures can withstand certain styling techniques but often you’ll find your hair is much too delicate . Your hair will also recover with a healthy diet and exercise, keeping your tresses moisturized and conditioned, and limiting your use of heating and chemical products.

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