Right after I experienced my hair loss I contacted Jc of the Natural Haven blog. If you are not familiar about her blog, it focuses on the health and science of natural hair. Her blog is great because she provides information that is backed by research. So, it really helps us to take care of our hair and understand the reasons why we do certain things to our hair. She provided me with some great information about my problem. The email exchange is below:
My email:
Hello Jc, the Natural Haven I have recently went completely natural on April 5, 2010 after 10 months of transitioning. I have a dedicated hair regimen. This regimen includes oiling my hair with natural oils (olive and coconut oil), using shea butter for my hair ends, co-washing (Herbal Essence Hello Hydration, Suave Naturals Coconut), and shampooing with Giovanni Deep Moisture Shampoo (once a month). I also braid my hair every night to prevent detangling and fairy knots. I avoid heat, blow drying, gels, and pressure on my edges. I have about 4B hair.
Imagine my surprise and outrage that I found just yesterday a small patch of missing hair. I have been feeling so down and depressed over this. I believe the missing hair is attributed to my tying a scarf on my hair and catching some hair in the scarf that I did not notice. This small section of missing hair is really bothering me and makes me feel as if maybe I don't know what I'm doing completely with my natural hair.
Are there any products or oils that can promote growth in this area? May you suggest some to me? Does this mean I have weak hair because this happened so easily?
Thank you in advance,
Constance C.
P.S. I have attached a picture of this section of hair. It is near the top crown right behind the middle twists in the front.
Her response:
Oh this is so unforturnate Constance! I am not a dermatologist by training and I really cannot give you a diagnosis. I would say that your hair does really look quite nice shiny and thick. I actually had a similar mishap when a piece of velcro got stuck in my hair (I blogged about it too!).
I cannot say if your hair is weak without testing it but I l will say that hair breaking under stress is normal.
In my personal opinion, I think you should just wait and see if the hair grows back. It can be as long as 3 months for the hair to begin resprouting. Do keep up the careful upkeep of your hair, it really does look good.
As far as products go. I blogged about garlic and onion as growth aids. I do believe I received some emails and comments saying this worked. Here is the link
http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2009/06/reader-questions-week-garlic-for-hair.html
Other people have talked about emu and castor oil but I have never seen science to back these claims.
If you do try the onion, do let me know if works for you!
ThanksJc
**I appreciate that there is so much support in the natural community. It is a very positive thing that we help/aid others, which is essential to our growth. I am going to take her advice and wait 3 months before I see a dermatoligist about this problem. I have noticed that some of the hair has begun to sprout back. However, I have also noticed that this area is still very weak. Just this past weekend, I still noticed some strands leaving this area. I am still on the fence about using the onion or garlic on my hair. I think I will wait to see what the progress is. I am praying that I may restore this area and that it may grow back stronger and thrive. My lesson learned from this experience is that I will NOT use any kind of headbands (or accesories) that may pull/put pressure on my hair.
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