Category: African American Hair

Approaching high school my hair started to thin in the temple area. I am female, African American and No one in my family has genetic hair disorders or anything but, I believe very strongly that ever since I started to relax/perm my hair, is when my temples started to fade.

With relaxers, you have to keep putting them in every couple of months otherwise your hair will fall out. I do put my hair in a pony tail a lot, but instead of brushing and pulling backwards, I brush down to cover my temples and then put it in a ponytail.

Without the option of Hair transplant surgery or wigs for right now, how can I get my temples to grow back? Will they always be this way or get worse?

Sometimes people describe the corners of the forehead as their temples (which is incorrect). If you are losing hair from the corners of your forehead, you may have male pattern balding. If you are losing hair above your ears, up to the corner of your frontal hair line (your temples), you may have hair loss from the use of topical chemicals to ‘relax’ your hair. You may also have a condition known as diffuse alopecia areata or a known genetic condition where the temples themselves will fall out (Triangular Alopecia) without other areas of the scalp being impacted, but we need to review your pictures to help make this diagnosis as it has a characteristic appearance. You should be evaluated by a qualified doctor for a definitive diagnosis if this problem continues to be an issue for you. If you send us pictures, we may be able to help further.

Hi,
I’m a 30 year old African-American female with hair loss on the entire top of my head. I was diagnosed 9 years ago with scarring hair folliclelitis and since that time my hair loss has escalated. I’ve worn weaves, wigs and the hair piece that you have to use a special tape to wear it. I feel that by using these methods to cover up my hair loss, i’ve made it worse. I was interested in hair transplant but do not know if I would be a candidate. Can you please tell me?

Weaves, wigs and the hair pieces cause hair loss. This is common in the African-American female community where balding (hidden by wigs) may be the norm in some communities. As you have already seen a dermatologist, I would suggest that you go back to that doctor. Scarring alopecias are a special case diagnosis which your doctor can put into perspective for you. Hair transplantation in a patient with active scarring alopecia do not go together. An alternative to a biopsy may be a test transplant of 10 grafts into the bald area. If they grow in 6-8 months, then the disease may be inactive and you may be a candidate for a hair transplant. Hair transplants for African hair tend to do very well provided that the skin in healthy.

african american 40 yr old female. I have thin hair with approx 1 inch of traction alopecia around my hairline. Tiny visible thin hairs are present on the hairline, had little growth over five year period but they don’t seem to grow long or thicker. please help. I can’t afford a transplant. will it ever grow back since hair is present? a dermatologist told me it may grow.

Other than hair transplants or possibly a hairline lowering procedure, there is not much that can be offered to you. These types of surgeries will cost possibly around $10,000. I can’t be more specific on pricing averages without seeing you first. Wigs of varying types are often the solution used for many women in your situation.

I am a 21 year old African American Female. I started to relax my hair for the first time at about fourteen years old and after a couple months (maybe 6) the hair at the back of my head began to fall out. I then proceded to braid my hair for the next two years and relaxed it again at 16. Again, following a couple of months my hair began to fall out at the same place – the left corner of my head. I put it in braids again. I permed my hair for the last time when I was 18 and then decided that I was going to go natural. I braided my hair for the next two years to gradually grow out my natural hair. I now do not process my hair chemically (or hotcomb it) at all. However, last year after wearing my natural hair out for about 8-9mths my hair fell out in the same place again. Basically – My hair falls out repeatedly in the same place – the left corner in the back of my head. All the rest of my hair seems relatively fine. I usually put my hair in braids when this happens and the vast majority of the hair grows back (pretty quickly too). But after taking the braids out and leaving my hair out for a while, natural (no chemicals, or straightening products – just in a straight afro) it repeatedly breaks in that spot. HELP!! Do you have any hints into what is going on ?

Braiding will cause hair loss from constant pulling pressure, meaning Traction Alopecia. This is a known permanent cause of hair loss in the African American community. All of the things you discussed can cause permanent hair loss if you persist in doing them. I can not tell you if you are past the point of no return, but would strongly advise that to prevent further hair loss, you should avoid braiding and everything else you are doing to your hair. After a year or so, you will know what your new baseline is.

Many women in your situation find that if they put a stop to the things that they are doing to get the style they need to function on a daily basis, then I understand that the problem and the solution clash. Even the wigs used by some women can produce traction alopecia if they pull on the hair, so you have to find a balance between your social needs and the costs (in hair loss terms) between the things you do.

Is there a way to find a national listing of African-American dermatologists? I am especially interested in those that deal with hair loss in the african-american female.

Thank you.

I don’t believe that you need to have an ‘ethnic’ doctor to understand the nuances of African-American hair loss. It will be far more valuable for you to indentify a good dermatologist or hair doctor who has a specific interest in hair loss. Some of these can be found on the physician search at ISHRS.org, or American Academy of Dermatology. There are many causes for female hair loss, such as braiding (dreadlocks), hypothyroidism, iron deficiency, malnutrition, stress, hormone imbalance, contraception, high blood pressure medication, warfarin, eczema, psoriasis and other inflammatory disease. These diagnoses and other causes for hair loss are general people/female problems, not specifically African-American ones.