After being natural for a year I relapsed and now my hair is seriously falling out. Can you please help me save my hair?
Dear Jamilah,
After being natural over a year, I got a relaxer. I did the big chop to transition and everything was fine but I wanted a straight look that I thought would make me look great. Well my hair looked good for a couple of months but now it’s coming out literally. It started at the edges now my crown is shedding pretty badly. It’s really scary. Every time I scratch my head hair is coming out. I even felt a bald spot on the back of my head.
What can I do? I am afraid that cutting my hair is no option because the bald spots will show and of course braids will be a problem also. Please, please help. Martha B.
Answer:
Martha, losing your hair is a very scary experience. Anytime you experience hair loss, it represents stress and too much acid in your system. In this case, the stress can be an external cause but it also is an internal cause. The relaxer may have caused the fall out and imbalanced the alkaline level of your hair and scalp, but it must be addressed internally and externally. Chemical relaxers not only affect the physical composition of our hair strands by straightening them, but those chemicals also change the alkaline and acidic level in our blood. The result of too much acid in your system is that your hair follicle is directly affected, the oxygen in your hair follicle is depleted, the follicle to becomes too weak to hold the strand of hair, thus, alopecia will occur. In addition, the stress of those first and subsequent strand can cause more stress and make your system too acidic as well, thus alopecia and weak strands occur.
The first thing you must do is stop worrying about your hair. One of the best ways to stop worrying is to get it braided. Get a braider who really knows how to care for your hair and not cause too much physical stress by making the braids too tight. By braiding your hair, you don’t have to deal with it everyday or even see the strands on the pillow, on the countertop, or in your hand for that matter.
Whether you braid your hair, wear a wig, or cut it all off, I advise you to use the Saniyyah Naturally Herbal Leave in Conditioner and Strengthener. This product goes into your hair follicle to improve the condition of your hair follicle. It stimulates hair growth and reduces the acidic level to produce an environment safe for your hair to grow and be healthy.
Next, whenever our bodies are going through stress, it is more important at that time to put the right foods in our bodies and be very strict about it. From experience with myself and my clients, I recommend the following: For now, eliminate red meat, beans, pasta, rice, oatmeal, and dairy products from your diet. These foods produce a lot of acid or yeasts that causes higher acidic levels in our system and more stress on the weakest areas of our bodies. Visit a doctor who can help you address this issue more aggressively.
Finally, consider what caused you to relax your hair this time. Was it to make things easier? You like straight hair? A relaxer is less maintenance? Now consider if there were other options to help you achieve your goal without causing such damage. What was the reason you went natural in the first place? These are the questions we should ask to help us in making decisions about our hair. I know many and have been in those situations myself where “I need to do something and I need to do it now!” We do something really off the beaten path to u our hair and as soon at it is done, we ask, why did I do that? The damage is done and we are sitting around trying to figure it out.
The next time you consider doing anything to your hair; call a friend, your hairstylist, or someone in your natural support system. If you don’t have a support system, this is a great time to start one.
Peace, love, and great hair!
Jamilah – President & CEO Saniyyah…Naturally®, LLC
Website: http://saniyyahnaturally.com
Contact email: sales@saniyyahnaturally.com
Going Natural Hair Care for Black Women, African American Men and Children
