How to Grow Back Edges From Tension Alopecia
For men or women, hair loss is a fairly common, but highly frustrating occurrence. One form of it is known as tension alopecia, which is the hair loss that comes from excessive tension at the scalp. This typically comes from tight hairstyles like ponytails, braids, and buns that slowly pull the hair from the follicles.
Once you pick up on the signs of tension alopecia, you might be pretty shocked at the realization and concerned that your hairline may not bounce back to what it once was. We are sure you will be greatly relieved to hear that hope is not lost. You can indeed grow your edges back after experiencing tension alopecia. It just takes the right routine and a little bit of patience to see all that hair come back.
Since we understand that this is such a common concern, we want to offer some advice on how to grow back your edges. Follow these tips and help your hair recover from tension alopecia in good time.
Identify the “Root” Cause
The first step in getting your hair back is to really settle on the source of your frustrations. You need to know what is causing the problem so create the solution. As we know, tension alopecia is caused by the physical action of pulling the hair at the roots to slowly remove the strands from the follicles. You want to single out which styles had caused this tension and how far back they go.
Tension alopecia is typically caused by stress over an extended period of time, so it is likely that multiple tight styles played a part in this rather than just one. Think things over and try to estimate how far back this excessive tension goes and what styles were involved.
Tightly installed braids and daily updos are common offenders in causing tension alopecia. That sleek high ponytail might not be your best friend after all. Now that you know where this extra tension at your hairline came from, you can change up your habits to fix the issue as soon as possible. In fact, the sooner the better. Catching alopecia early on can give you a better chance of reducing the symptoms or even reversing them.
Give Your Hair a Break
So now you know what the issue is and where it came from. You want to use this information to benefit you the most going forward. With all of the stress your hair has been under recently, you want to immediately give your hair and scalp a break. Relieve your hair of any tight styles you might be tempted to do. Instead, go for styles that are more loosely tied up and leave the hair down whenever you can.
Keep this up for months and see how your hair responds. The last thing you would want to do while recovering your hair is put any amount of stress on the scalp, particularly around the temples. Trust us, your edges will appreciate this time off.
Apply Scalp Serum to the Area
As your edges breathe a sigh of relief, you want to support the health of your scalp and promote regrowth with high-quality, healthy hair products. To better support your hair regrowth, you should provide your scalp with the best possible hair products that promote growth right at the root.
Our Make It Grow Hair Growth Serum is a great example of this. We formulated it using nutrient-dense plant based ingredients that provide your scalp with what it needs in order to create new strands at the root. This includes vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, along with essential oils to stimulate circulation in the scalp.
This serum, along with gentle massages can help speed up the process to make it easier for your body to produce hair at a steady rate. You can also try the Extra Strength version for faster results. Both applied to the edges can also serve as a protective barrier that reduces friction to the hair and prevents breakage.
Switch Up Your Hairstyles
Most of us have a few key hairstyles that we depend on almost every single day. This is by far the easiest approach to styling your hair. You cycle through a few different styles and keep it simple for yourself, which usually works well. However, if you realize that one or more of your typical styles is harming your hair, you need to take a break right away.
If your tight braids are the problem, you will need to start loosening up your protective styles so that they do not pull at the scalp too much. You can also pass this message along to your braider or hairstylist so that they will know that your hairline needs more care. You need to be honest with your stylist and maintain clear communication with them as it relates to your hair.
As for tight buns and high ponytails, it is best to switch into lower styles that do not put tension on your edges anymore. Leave your hair down more often or switch into lower-positioned styles. It is a fairly easy change to make and it starts to feel pretty natural the more you do them.
Learn From Past Mistakes
As frustrating as they might be in the moment, mistakes happen and the results catch up to us at some point. The best thing we can do for ourselves after we discover these slip-ups is to identify and learn from them. You do not want to catch yourself making the same mistakes repeatedly after you went through so much to get your hairline back to where it was. At this point, you should be careful to take everything you’ve learned about your hair and keep it going.
Remind yourself of all the things you’ve learned in the process and keep up the best practices for keeping your edges full and healthy. Pay attention to your hair and occasionally check in on your edges to make sure that they are still in good condition.
The easiest way to go about this is to build it all into your hair care routine. Incorporate all of this knowledge into your hair care routine to avoid future instances of stress and breakage at your hairline. Be kind to your edges and watch them grow beautifully.
Take care of your hair and scalp with healthy, organic hair care products, formulated to promote the growth of strong, beautiful hair. N.O Naturally Organics offers a complete line of natural hair products that can help you make your hair look and feel incredible. You can trust that your edges will be stronger than ever. And be sure to check out our hair treatments to give your hair all the love it needs and look to our blogs for extra tips we might send your way.