It seems that certainly some hairstyles, and in particular tight braids, corn rolls and weaves contribute to permanent hair loss, mostly in women who sport these hairstyles more often than men. The condition called central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) was recognized primarily in African American women.
CCCA was first noticed in African-Americans in the 1950s and reported by LoPresti in 1968 to result from application of petrolatum followed by a stove-heated iron comb. The original theory was that the hot petrolatum would travel down to the hair root, burn the follicle and after repetitive injury, scarring would result.
Angela Kyei, MD, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio explains:
“Any style that causes too much tension and traction on the hair, such as braiding with artificial hair weaved in, can possibly lead to scarring hair loss. You can’t bring the hair back, so you should see a dermatologist who specializes in hair loss and let them evaluate your scalp.”
Later CCCA was realized to affect men and women without a history significant for use of such aforementioned styling techniques, thus evolved the terms Follicular Degeneration Syndrome. Plausible contributing factors may include other African-American styling techniques such as relaxers, tight braids, heavy extensions, certain oils, gels or pomades.
In the recent study, 326 African-American women answered questionnaires about their hair-grooming methods, health status, and other demographic information. Dermatologists then performed a scalp examination to grade hair loss. Nearly 60% of the women showed signs of advanced central hair loss with scarring. The women were also more likely to have type 2 diabetes and bacterial scalp infections, and sport hair styles associated with traction, including braids and weaves, the study showed.
Kyei continues:
“It is harder to manage tightly curled hair and is often not socially acceptable to wear hair in its natural form for these women. But hair loss is permanent, meaning that we can inject steroids or creams but it won’t bring your hair back, so it’s very important to seek help with dermatologists early on.”
Neil Sadick, MD, a New York City-based dermatologist and clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College adds:
“These hair-grooming practices can lead to excessive trauma to the hair shaft of predisposed individuals [and] interfere with hair integrity and are major culprits in causing this cosmetically debilitating scarring hair loss. It can be best tempered by dermatologists by educating the patient to the deleterious effects of their current hair-styling practices and discontinuing excessive heat and chemical treatments to their hair.”
Often the only treatment option is a hair transplant. This can be problematic if the hair loss is extensive and has jeopardized donor sites.
Still, not every woman of the millions who suffer from hair loss is a candidate. Underlying conditions, including anemia and thyroid problems, that are temporary, treatable or affect the scalp rather than the hair, must be dealt with before a transplant can be considered. If a transplant is ruled out, sufferers must rely on wigs, hairpieces or styling tricks.
Yael Halaas, MD, a facial plastic surgeon in New York City who specializes in hair restoration validates:
“The study is 100% true. This type of hair loss starts from the center and spreads out. It is an epidemic among African-American women with a history of tight braids and weaves. Avoid tight braids and weaves at all cost. They will do damage.”
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Written by Sy Kraft