Hair Loss Plague in the African American Community

by Gloria A. Fort

This article is very personal and tragic to me. As as stylist for 16 years, I have never seen as much hair loss and bad scalp conditions in my entire career. Shocked and dismayed it drove me to get more educated in the area of Trichology, which is the study of hair loss and scalp disorders. The worst that I have seen lately is Follicular Degeneration combined with Centrifugal Cicatrical Alopecia. You may ask: "What is all this degeneration and centrifugal?!" It is perhaps the most common as well as the most challenging form of hair loss seen the the United States. It affects black women predominantly, and it can also attack black men.

Let's determine how you can identify and avoid traveling down this road of hair loss.

Follicular Degeneration is associated with the following:

(1) chemcial overprocessing

(2) excessive heat elements

(3) chronic tension or pulling of the hair

(4) genetics

(5) studies show that it comes basically from bad hair practices.

African American women have for so long bent the rules when it comes to chemicals , weaves, ponytails and braids. Black women contantly request bone straight relaxers, they sew in weave and leave it in for months, wear braids are too tight, employ techniques that go beyond the scalp and tensile strength of the hair shaft and scalp, all of these bad habits lead you down the path to Degeneration of the Follicular.

Once you have applied bad hair practices so long, slowly Follicular Degeneration will start to take effect. Normally, hair loss starts around the hairline and also in the back around the nape of your neck, traveling upward in a V formation. What really happens is the hair follicles become damaged or destroyed and then inflammation occurs, then scar tissue is produced.

Next, the hair stops growing, because the scarring completely detroys the folllicule. This is a devastating condition for anyone, it affects your self esteem, social interactions, and other close relationships. I personally see this every day in my salon, Follicular Degeneration attacks in stages, and will cause permanent hair loss if not treated early.

Take inventory of your hair care practices. Is it really worth it? I am not saying you can't ever try a new style, what I am saying is think about the risk associated with abandoning healthy practices for your hair. Stop the overprocessing, the tight braids and the stressful styling techniques. People ask me every day: "Why are so many black women going natural?

The answer is chemicals have destroyed their beautiful manes, and they would like to have the control back, and the fullness is an extra bonus. Please consider the next time you want something different or a style that may require a lot of tension. Ask an expert on Hair Care what can you can do to avoid this dreadful type of hair loss and scalp condition. I plead with you, don't become a victim of Follicular Degeneration, communicate, research and check it out before you try it anything new. It takes only a few minutes to assure you that your next hairstyle will not be one you regret.