Category: African American Hair

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Hair Loss InformationTransplants Look Horrible and Rogaine Doesn’t Work for African Hair Types? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve been losing hair for years and heard that nothing really works unless you get a hair transplant or use rogaine.Transplants look horrible and are quite expensive, and they say Rogaine does not work for african american hair.There are a lot of topical solutions out there.I’ve been told that products like carol’s daughter,doo gro, and a product by a company called hairobics do some good. Can you give some advice.

thanks

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Judging by your email, you haven’t looked into hair restoration (medical or surgical) in the past 15 or so years. Hair transplants done with old pluggy technology 20 years ago might look horrible, but transplants done today look very natural. Cost can be up there depending on your hair needs, but it’s a surgical cosmetic procedure that lasts forever.

I don’t know who “they” are that says Rogaine doesn’t work for African American hair, but that’s not true. Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) are the only FDA approved hair loss medications and are proven to work. I’ve seen fantastic results with Propecia, in particular. You can try any product you want (those that you mentioned look to be herbal supplements and shampoos), but I personally like to go with the stuff that is actually proven to do what it says, with actual peer-reviewed medical studies to back it up. I think your first step should be to see a dermatologist to find out more about your options.

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Hair Loss InformationProgesterone Injections and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

3 weeks ago I’ve stopped taking the fertility PROGESTRONE known as PIO injections, Progynova 2mg- Tiny light blue tablets that are taken orally to help build the lining of the womb. and Ultrogestan Progesterone-creamy white pills that can be taken rally or inserted vaginally. I did both.

I’m African American with very thick strong natural hair, and now, my hair is falling out by the handful. my hair egges are going bald. I never went through no crap like this. My hair went from very thick to very thin.

Am I able to get a lawsuit? How long will it take for my hair to grow back? When will all the medications be cleared out my system and for my hormones to go back to normal. I’m way to young for menepose affects and that is what one of the medications does. thanks so much for your help. I am experiencing boldily sharp pains too from that medication after I have stopped taking it.

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One has to be careful when treating medical conditions in a patient that requires hormones and has genetic hair loss. The connection between hormones and hair loss are published all over the web. Progynova (estradiol valerate) is also known as Delestrogen, and the side effects do include hair loss (full list here).

Although I can not give you legal advice, I would suggest that you have a long talk with your doctor and review the “informed consent” sheet he should’ve given you before starting you on hormone treatments. I am hopeful that your doctor at least discussed the side effects of such treatments.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Restoration for Black Men? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What are the hair restoration options for a black male with a receding hairline, and preferred style of a brushcut?

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With respect to hair transplant surgery, there is no difference in black men or white men or Asian men or any other ethnicity or race. For very short haircuts, follicular unit extraction (FUE would likely be the way to go so that there isn’t any chance of a visible linear scar, but even the strip method doesn’t discount a short haircut in all men. Scarring is dependent on multiple factors that I’ve described before here.

Actually, I have seen great results for black men with hair transplants. I wish I had some very current results to show, but I can only use photos of those that allow me permission (privacy issues, of course), and with that being said, below is a patient that was featured in our NHI video from quite a few years back. His photos are also on our site here.

 

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Hair Loss InformationSisterlocks – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

There is a Dr. JoAnne Cornwell who has claimed that she has developed a form of locking hair called brotherlocks and sisterlocks. She claims that they do not put any form of tension on the scalp meaning no traction alopecia. I was hoping you could look into this potential scam before it fools too many.

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This is a styling option, not a medical or surgical option. I looked at the product’s website, but I am not sure what Sisterlocks is (aside from some kind of hair extension for African hair types) or how it attaches to the hair or scalp. It seems like it’s just a technique rather than a product, but I’ve spent 15 minutes going through this site and I’m still coming up empty. Anyone else have an idea?

Sorry, but I can not help you understand it any better.

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Hair Loss InformationI Cut Off My Dreadlocks After Seeing a Bald Spot – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a black female and two years ago I wrote to you guys about dreadlocs and hair loss. I cut them off and kept my hair almost to the bone most of 2007. Last year, after growing my hair back for a few months I cut them off after experiencing very localized alopecia at the back of my head along my ears (about an inch inside my hairline). I thought that maybe it was reaction to the hair dyes I used so I cut it all off and started over and was all growing in nicely. Well now a year later I’m having the alopecia problem again.

I’d been growing my hair since I trimmed it in June. But when it started getting cold here it started to get the itchies behind my ears, something I remembered from the previous time I lost my hair and whenever I’d wash it, it would have lots of hair coming out. I thought maybe it was because I did my hair in styles that I kept for a week (and therefore losing on in day a weeks work of shed hair)but deep down I knew it was much more then that.

So I looked in the mirror yesterday and saw the bald patch, much larger then what I had last year. I just don’t understand what’s going on. If you drew a line from ear to ear, my hair is much denser from the front to that line, I get thick braids when I style that part of my head. At the back it’s much finer. I’m really at a loss as to what could be going on.

I don’t use relaxers, artificial hair dyes (only pure henna), I don’t use heat to straighten my hair and I’m as gentle as possible when combing my hair. Can you shed (no pun) some light?

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What I tell black women is that anything they do to their hair can cause hair loss if it is done often enough. It’s a general statement, but I see it almost every day. Hair straightening with relaxers does it, pigtails do it, dreads do it. Perhaps you are best served with a good afro, but if you’ve already lost a considerable amount of hair, that might not be an answer. Wigs work, but the attachment mechanisms can cause hair loss. It’s a huge catch 22. I really can’t give you any kind of solution without at least seeing what the problem is for myself.

If you’d like to visit my office for a consultation, I may be able to come up with something. I might suggest hair transplants (I’d need to see you first), but then again, that is an expensive solution and it still may not help 100%. Just don’t let any doctor recommend a hair transplant unless he/she is honest and straightforward with you. Good luck.

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Hair Loss InformationEmpress Re-Gro – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

im a 28 year old black male, my temple area is getting real thin, what do you recommend a couple of sites said, “that provillus and empress re-gro hair is good for black males.” What do you think? or any these products any good and/or effective? Do you know a better treatment? Thanks.

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Empress Re-Gro contains 2% minoxidil, and just like so many of these hair loss products you see advertised constantly, if there is a benefit to your hair, it usually comes from the minoxidil (which is FDA approved).

I can not recommend what to do for you, as I do not know what problems you are facing. Many people are driven by what they see on the TV informercials, which are heavily exploited by Provillus and other potions and lotions. Black people have the same characteristics that produce alopecia as white people, so when one product pushes its value for black people, I would generally run away from it.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Loss After Using Lye Hair Relaxer – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,

I am a 26 year old black male and I recently put an s-curl in my hair. I have since cut it out, but now they are patches that aren’t growing as fast as others and some are even bald. Will these go away with time? Or should I see a doctor?

No more LYE for me!

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S-curlI’d never heard of this “S-curl” style, so I had to look it up. Assuming I’m not the only one that didn’t know what it is, here’s a description from Wikipedia —
Depending upon the strength of the application, an “S-curl” hairstyle has hair texture either only slightly less kinky than natural tightly coiled African hair. Similar to a woman’s permanent, an S-curl is applied using relaxers containing lye, and, like a jheri curl, requires continued use of specialized shampoos and conditioners to keep the chemically altered hair from becoming dry, hard, and brittle.

The relaxer contains lye, which is known to kill hair if it gets below the skin edge into the hair follicle. However, even if you use a “no lye” relaxer, you still need to use it with caution (see FDA warning). The products that soften the stiff and kinky nature of African hair often have significant limitations on their applications, so be sure to read the insert and the warnings on the packaging. Patches of balding areas may signify damage caused below the skin edge into the hair follicle itself. This type of damage may not disappear. See a good doctor!

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Short Hair Syndrome? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m writing on behalf of my mother in law, a 59 year old african american woman. Her hair never seems to grow and she hasn’t gotten a haircut in a long, long while. Can I get your thoughts on “Short Hair Syndrome”? This sounds like what my she is dealing with, but I can’t find any further info on it. Is it even real? The site is http://www.lisaakbari.com/SHS.html

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From a medical point of view, or as a physician involved in hair loss for over 15 years, I do not recall ever hearing or reading about “Short Hair Syndrome”… but I can logically give you an explanation for it, assuming the the examination of the hair and scalp is normal and there are no medical problems lingering behind the scene.

First, I will assume that she has no miniaturization going on throughout the scalp. If she does, then short hairs will come about when the hair miniaturizes so that a diagnosis needs to be established. With respect to your mother-in-law whose hair is not growing much, she may have a very short anagen phase (growth phase) of the hair cycle. A short growth phase could produce healthy, but short hairs. Of course, she should see a dermatologist or her primary care physician to see if there are medical issues that are causing such problems.

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Hair Loss InformationFemale Model Having Thinning Hair in Crown – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a 27 year old black female that use to model, I’m thinking about starting it back, but I have a little problem. Around the middle of the month the back crown of my head gets really sore, and I have noticed that my hair is actually thin up there. The rest of my hair is a great length and very thin also, thou I feel that it may not be the chemical of a relaxer because the rest of my hair is great. But the middle and the back seems to not want to grow and is coming out. what should i do.

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You need a doctor to examine you to give you an opinion. Unfortunately, this is not something that I can do over the internet. Hair loss in women is a complex issue. It is possible that there was a chemical burn on one or two areas and not on the entire scalp.