As a black woman, your hair is likely to go through a lot of stress as you change from one hairstyle to another several times in one year. These hairstyles can be anything from braids, to cornrows, to weaves and relaxing your hair. All of these hairstyles can be strenuous on the fragile hair around the edges of your head.

If you have not been taking extra care of the hair around your hairline, you are likely to notice bald patches in this area. Wearing very tight braids or tightly woven weaves for long periods of time can lead to this hair being pulled out when you remove the extensions. It can be a frightening to see the edges of your head become bald. It is also very unsightly.
A lot of women end up trying to get a weave with bangs that covers the front of their head, but this makes the situation worse as more hair is being pulled back when the weave is glued on or sewn on.

If you want to sort your hair out, it’s time to make some decisions:

1. Can the hair grow back?
First of all, you will need to assess whether it is possible to grown back the hair that has been lost. Bald and smooth patches are not a good sign, especially if they show no signs of hair growth and have been bald for quite some time. In this case, you may need to seek the advice of a doctor or dermatologist. They may be able to prescribe medication that could be helpful or recommend hair re-growth procedure.

2. Cut your hair and start again?
One of the most common forms of dealing with hairline loss is to opt for a short hairstyle. This is usually either the bald head look or the very short hair look. Either way, it gives your hair the chance to grow back without the stress of combing or brushing it every day. Also, if it is short, you will not be able to braid it or weave it. This could be the perfect way give your hairline some rest and allow it to grow naturally on its own.

3. Suffer the awkwardness of short hair around the edges together with long hair elsewhere?
If cutting your hair and going bald is a total no-no for you, then you may have no other choice but to deal with the awkwardness of having very short and bald patches around your hairline and longer hair elsewhere. Not only this, but you will need to give your hairline some rest from braids and weaves and even relaxer creams. This will give it a chance to grow back a bit before you can start styling it in those ways again.

4. Stop relaxing/braiding/weaving your hair
This is probably the most important decision you will need to make. Chemical processing with the use of relaxers can be very damaging, especially to already fragile hair. Also, pulling caused by braiding, sewing a weave or cornrows can also add to the stress that the weak hairline is under and make the situation worse.
Once you have decided on which route you are going to take with regards to giving your hair a rest, gently massaging your hairline with nourishing hair balms and/or serums will help it grow back and become stronger. Finding a good product for damaged or broken hair would be a good place to start. Also, looking for product specifically made for helping hairlines to grow would also be very beneficial to you.
Of course, you can also invest in a good wig to wear during the day, but make sure you remove it before bed every night. You will get to have lovely hair without stressing out your hairline, but still give your hairline the rest in needs to get repaired.

Article by Sharon Kariwo