Ways to Prevent Traction Alopecia
5 Ways to Avoid Traction Alopecia
Every individual hair type has its own set of concerns, but there are some that can strike whether you have fine, thick, curly, straight, or kinky hair. One such problem is traction alopecia, which is a form of gradual hair loss that affects many women. Unlike other forms of hair loss, traction alopecia isn't genetic or age related, but is actually caused by poor hair practices. You can prevent your lovely locks from falling victim to this by adopting the following five tricks that'll protect your hairline from harm.
Don't Rub Your Temples
If you tend to rub you temples when you're stressed out, you might just be stressing your hairline too. Rubbing and excessively touching your hairline and surrounding areas can cause breakage, pull delicate hairs our of their follicles and stunt growth.
Banish Combs and Brushes
Most of us can agree that wash-days are the worst, with detangling being a particularly painstaking process. If traction alopecia is a concern for you, get ready for wash days to get a little more tiresome. There's an unseen amount of damage happening to our hair every time we run combs and brushes through it, so doing away with them when detangling is a great way of preventing unnecessary hair loss in delicate areas like the hairline.
Pull Back on the Ponytails
Styles like ponytails that require you to pull your hair back or up tightly, are a common cause of traction alopecia. The hair on the perimeters is most exposed to the elements and suffers the most from the tension of a tight or heavy ponytail. Instead of a sleek, pulled-back ponytail or bun, opt for looser styles that don't put stress on your hairline.
Switch It Up
Your scalp gets the most scraping, friction, and exposure wherever you part your hair the most. Switching up your partings — and foregoing combs when doing so — allows your scalp to recover from any unseen damage caused by a previous styling session.
Let Loose
As someone who prefers to spend the least amount of time styling my hair daily, I tend to keep my hair in extraneat braids. One thing I learnt the hard way about my favourite hair style is that compromising on "neatness" by keeping my hairline out of braids was in itself a protective measure. The "baby hair" on the perimeter of your scalp is naturally fine and can't withstand the weight of individual braids or extensions pulling on them. Leave a little hair loose around your hairline the next time you've got your hair in a braided 'do and save your hairline the stress.
