So many women today are wearing weaves. You can’t go a day, without running into a woman with a weave! I will say this: BE CAREFUL!!! For years I wore twists and grew my hair longer and thicker than I ever had in my entire life (shout out to Sonya McIntyre on Facebook for being my “twist lady” for YEARS. My twists were hot!)! My hair was natural; no chemicals. Then my twist lady moved away and I started going to…others. They didn’t do twists like I like, so I let them do various forms of braiding before I opted for a weave for the first time for my wedding.
That was the beginning of the end of my hair.
Less than a year later, my hair had thinned out, broken off, and come out at the root! I had bald spots larger than 50 cent pieces and they were “skint” like a baby’s behind! Talk about being traumatized! I went from beautiful, natural hair to looking like a cancer patient (seriously, no offense to cancer patients, but you don’t want to look like you’re getting chemo if you’re not, right?) I went to Sheer Illusions in South Charlotte (shout out to Anthony!) to create a style that would minimize my baldness while bringing my hair back in. It SLOWLY started to grow, but wasn’t filling in like I wanted. I went to a dermatologist, and by the time I went to him, I had already done the research and found out that I had what he diagnosed: traction alopecia.
Traction alopecia is where you lose your hair, from the scalp, because your weave is entirely too tight. The tension on my scalp was too much and my hair follicles were moderate-to-severely damaged. He (my dermatologist) said, “You’d better be glad you came in here when you did. Another month or two and your hair would have been gone permanently.” He prescribed a steroid foam, which I took, but I never went back for the injections in my scalp that he recommended. (I may go back one day.)
So, my hair is in. Thin, but in. I wear it relaxed and short right now. I’m finally over the trauma. So, what I say to you ladies is this: please be careful! Go to someone who specializes in natural hair CARE with emphasis on the CARE. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful weaves, but you DO want the option of wearing your own hair one day, and even if you don’t, you still want a healthy scalp, right? Go to someone who will take care of your hair and your scalp professionally and with care. Now I go to Prim Salon & Boutique in Concord, NC (because it’s closer to my home–shout out to Shauntise!) for my hot cuts AND hair CARE. My twist lady is back in town, so I may go back natural again. Twists or short cut? What’s a girl to do? Well, at least I have hair now, so I’ve got a little something for both of them to work with!
Thanks for letting me share…. ;o)
