As I watch my Boss attending to a lot of women during one of her many consultations with Traction Alopecia Free Hair, I observed these women are in a state of frustration and despair, and come asking for help with their hair loss and scalp issues.

Guess what…

As soon as the wig comes off, my heart just sinks to the pit of my stomach and I feel like shouting here is another one of our beautiful women suffering from the “chopped hair” syndrome – all in the name of beauty!!

So the question is

Why do these women have what we technically refer to as traction alopecia?

This question is best answered with this scenario which I believe you all would readily relate with.

Are you ready?

Let’s go….

You walk into your favorite hair salon asking the hairdresser about relaxing your hair and then for one of the fashionable weaves or braiding styles that is currently the rage in Lagos.

Knowing that you have a 4C hair type, you ask for the strongest relaxer available to give you that particular straightened look you are going for.

After some time relaxing your hair, which is now tightly braided or crowned, with the weave on, you leave the salon feeling on top of the world – just like a supermodel – and both men and women cast you admiring glances wherever you go.

And to be fair the hairstyle looks fabulous and is exactly what you wanted.

So what is wrong with that scenario you might ask? Nothing beyond the fact that you don’t have any idea what sort of chemicals are in that relaxer kit your hairdresser used on your scalp.

Is it a recognized brand and approved for use in a cosmetic setting? Or is it even a fake brand? The chemical is also probably left on your scalp beyond what is the recommended period of time, seeping deep into your scalp and mingling with your follicles causing damage.

Imagine doing this every six weeks, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade.

The end result is damaged frontal hair, which starts with miniaturization of the hair follicle (hairs in the frontal region become thinner over time). Eventually, the follicles die and you go bald around the hairline, with the result that rather than your hairline framing your face, it actually starts a couple of centimeters back from your natural hairline resulting in the very obvious syndrome of you looking like you have a prominent forehead; looking skeletal or even in some cases obviously bald.

I don’t want to be a killjoy who doesn’t want women to look good. Far from it, I do want you to look good but in a safe, healthy, and sustainable way.

I also want you to be aware, informed, educated, and thereby empowered on this issue. So you can say to your hairdressers what are you doing at this stage of my treatment? What products are you using and why? Stop what you are doing etc.

Alopecia has been associated with hair-care practices in African women. Loss of scalp hair can cause psychological distress affecting the quality of life. The African hair is naturally curly and the desire for straight hair has resulted in the use of chemical treatments and different grooming practices.

There is a high prevalence of alopecia in women in Nigeria. There is a need to educate women on the need to avoid excessive styling, which leads to hair loss. Excessive styling of treated hair causes more hair loss, according to experts.

Our recommendations

If you are into tight braiding, make sure that the pressure is not too much, and it is not too tight, as the process is being carried out. Only you can tell what is too tight, so tell your hairdresser.

We would also recommend our receding hairline package which is a must-have for every sister battling receding hairline or bald edges. SUITABLE FOR NATURAL, TRANSITIONING, AND RELAXED HAIR. This package will help keep your hair and scalp super healthy.

Finally, give your hair and scalp a break from relaxing and braiding periodically. Take a break from relaxing and braiding, leave your hair natural for some days to allow the follicles to recover from any damage that might have been caused by the relaxing and braiding processes.

For those of you who already have damaged hair, there is still hope. We have a great number of treatment products that can help you restore your hair follicles.

Pop into our product page here and see our range of packages and we will give you a free assessment in a friendly nurturing environment.

Keep looking beautiful – you are queens – but please don’t damage your crowning glory in the process!

P.S. Leave a comment if you got value from this blog post.

Thank you.