Natural Hair Problems you might encounter

Hair problems series 2

We have discussed hair issues like shrinkage, dandruff, hair breakage and their solutions. If you missed that you can view it here. In this article, we will discuss more hair problems like hair shedding and the likes that you might face in your natural hair journey and how to tackle them.

Hair shedding

It is natural for hair to shed sometimes but when it happens naturally it is hardly noticeable. So, if you are losing clumps of hair, it is no longer normal and something needs to be done about it immediately. Also, bald patches or thinning hair is not normal unless having a bald head is genetic.

Causes of hair shedding

Stress: An increased level of stress can lead to an increase in hair shedding.
Hormonal Changes: Women undergo hormonal changes during pregnancy, menopause when they are on birth control pill, childbirth. Hormonal changes can influence the growing process of the hair cycle negatively leading to an increase in the amount of hair that sheds.
Genetics: This means the extra bit of shedding is a genetic trait that runs in your family, which means you might be losing more hair as you age. This might also mean experiencing bald spots in males.
Iron and Vitamin B 12 Deficiency.
Dramatic weight loss.
Illness such as Anemia, Hyperthyroidism and more.

Solutions to Hair Shedding

Reduce your stress levels.
Get a good night’s sleep.
Check your hair routine especially if you lose more hair when you are washing. Examine your hair products and confirm that they do not contain harmful chemicals, notice the hairstyles that cause you to shed the most and switch up your hairstyle.
Eat a balanced diet.
If you are certain your hair loss isn’t due to genetics, hormonal changes, unbalanced diet please visit a doctor.

Thinning Edges or No Edges

This simply refers to a situation where a person’s hair edges/front hair seems to be non-existent or to be drastically reducing. This may occur as a result of an underlying illness such as alopecia but 99% of the time no edges or thinning edges are as a result of hair mismanagement by the person.

Causes of Thinning Edges or No edges

Tight hairstyles: Constant plating of hairstyles that pull on your edges can lead to your edges being non-existent or make it thin. It doesn’t matter if that hairstyle is termed a ‘protective hairstyle’ if it pulls hard on your edges stop styling your hair in that style.
Wig and weaves: Wigs and weaves are the go-to alternatives when you don’t want to deal with your natural hair but tight plating, glue and the wig caps can result in thinning edges. Reason being tight plating pulls on your hair making it fragile which means it can easily break off, in the glueing process the glue can latch onto your front hair and would come off with some hair when it is being removed.
Heat or application of harsh chemicals to the edges can also lead to the edges thinning.
Too much of edge control: Most of our edge control products contain drying agents and frequent use of them will make our hair dry and dry hair can cause hair breakage (refer to part 1 of this topic to understand in depth what hair breakage is). Laying your edges and manipulating it frequently to look slay and sleek can contribute to your edges thinning out.
Illness.

Solutions to Thinning Edges or No edges

Avoid hairstyles that are too tight and pull on your edges.
Massage your edges with a natural oil every night (Castor oil is good for this).
Choose styles that leave out your edges. (French braids are an example)
When trying to regrow your edges, keep facial cleansers, makeup and the likes away from your edges.
Avoid edge controls and brushing your edges till your hair grows back.

Hair not growing

Somebody just screamed “Finally!”. 😁 Before we go into why your hair does not grow let me demystify something for you. Your hair actually grows the problem you have is with retaining your hair. Hold on let me explain further, the oldest part of you is your hair ends, the youngest part of your hair is located at the roots. So, your problem is with retaining the older part of your hair. So now let’s go into why you can’t retain much hair.

Why you can’t seem to retain hair

You have no hair routine/hair care regimen; no prepoo, no deep condition, no hair mask, no protein treatments nothing.
Hair breakage.
Hair shedding.
Making styles that pull on your hair or cause your hair to tangle.
Detangling your hair with tools every time.
Using hair products that do not work for your hair.
Not drinking enough water.

The list is endless but you get the gist, everyone can grow long hair, retaining the hair is the problem.

How to retain hair

Learn about your hair, figure out what works on your hair and what doesn’t work on your hair. Knowing your hair type, porosity will go a long way in helping you to understand what work for your hair and what doesn’t.
Maintain a constant hair routine.
Deep condition.
Incorporate finger combing and finger detangling into your hair routine.
Eat healthily.
Go for low manipulation styles.

I hope this topic has been informative to you and helped you find solutions to common hair issues. If you know someone who needs the information on this topic share this blog post to them. Till next time.