After removing that beautiful ombre million braid twists you installed a month ago, you discover your edges are gone with the wind. There is nothing more annoying or limiting than thinned out edges. The thought that you have to avoid braids of all sorts, faux locs and other such hairstyles can be painful. It might sound bogus but thinning edges can affect your confidence too. Yes, it is that serious.
For those that don’t know, edges or baby hairs are those hairs around the hairline.
They are called baby hair because of their fine texture which is unlike that of the rest of the hair. Unfortunately, this fine texture of theirs makes them more vulnerable to breakage and loss especially while styling. Loss of edges is called traction alopecia. Traction alopecia is one of the four types of alopecia and is the only one caused by physical activities like styling and manipulation. It can be very tiring and involving to regrow your edges especially after a particularly damaging hairstyle. However, it is not impossible. Starting from the most obvious to the least known, here are eight simple tips to regrow your damaged hairline
1. No Tight Hairstyles
Box braids, faux locs, Senegalese twists, micro-mini braids, artificial dreadlocks, feed in braids. You have to sit them all out, honey; that’s what caused the trouble in the first place. Your edges need rest to regrow. They cannot regrow with tension. This is where wigs come in. The beautiful thing about wigs is that in addition to giving your hair much needed rest, they bring a certain versatility and comfort. So while your baby hairs regrow, wig it!
2.Go Easy On Slicking the Baby Hairs
This goes hand in hand with avoiding tight hairstyles. After losing your edges, the urge to slick down what is left of them in order to cover the damage can be overwhelming. Unless you want your edges to keep moonwalking further away from your hairline, you have to resist the urge, sis. Just leave them be; that’s the only way they’ll grow.
3. Castor Oil
Castor oil improves hair growth by nourishing the hair follicles and providing them with the necessary nutrients need for hair growth. Castor oil will not only help you regrow the edges but would make them stronger and thicker, prevent hair growth and increase overall hair growth. While all types of castor oil can produce these effects, I personally find the Jamaican black castor oil more effective than the clear variety.
4. Fenugreek (Methi Dana)
In a previous article, I discussed the benefits of Ayurvedic herbs and how they can help foster hair growth. Click here to read. Fenugreek (also called Methi Dana) is one of the many Ayurvedic herbs in existence and can be the salvation your edges need. Most times when we lose hair to traction alopecia, the hair gets pulled off directly from the follicles due to the tension. What makes fenugreek best for regrowing your edges is that it is the only herb that can actually stimulate dormant hair follicles into growing hair again. So if it seems your edges have given up the battle for growth, this super herb would be of great help to them. You can either use it as a refreshing spray, as a hair mask or infuse it into oil and apply every night to your edges. This herb can be bought locally in some markets in the Northern part of Nigeria, beautiphic.com for those in Nigeria or on Aliexpress.
5. Scalp Massages
Scalp massages are a very simple, uninvolving and effective way to regrow your edges. The gentle pressing motions help stimulate blood circulation to the scalp and this helps with the regrowth of hair on the hairline. However, you have to be careful while doing scalp massages on the hairline. As the hairs there are naturally softer and downier than that on the rest of the hair, applying excess pressure there all in the name of doing a scalp massage would be counterproductive. Scalp massages can be done manually with your fingers and a bit of oil or with a manual or electric scalp massager. These massagers are sold on various online retail shops like Jiji, Jumia and Aliexpress.
6. Minixodil
Originally used in the treatment of hypertension, Minoxidil is an over-the-counter drug that can be used topically to treat thinning edges and pattern baldness. Yes, Minoxidil can help those of you with arid heads regrow hair. It comes in many brands like Rogaine and Theroxidil and works by stimulating blood and nutrient flow to the area it is applied. People have reported significant growth after 30 to 60 days of use. However, there is one downside to Minixodil. You have to use it for life as stopping will make the regrown hairs to fall off. Pregnant women and people with heart diseases are advised to keep off Minioxidil.
7. Dermarolling
I discovered this method recently. It is not really so common in the hair community. If you have serious acne, you probably know that derma rollers are originally skincare devices used to fade acne scars by improving the production of the skin protein collagen. Dermarolling or microneedling is the process of using a derma roller to achieve the aforementioned effects. However, dermarolling and derma rollers can be used to regrow thinning edges and hair in bald spots. It is usually used in conjunction with Minoxidil, castor oil or any other effective hair growth serum; the derma roller facilitates absorption of these products by the hair follicles. Derma rollers sizes range from 0.2mm to 3.0mm. You can use a 0.2mm to 0.25mm needle daily to trigger hair growth, a 0.5mm derma roller once every 3 days and a 0.75mm to 1.0mm derma roller weekly or fortnightly for the same purpose. Depending on consistency, significant results are recorded after about a month.
8. Onions
Not only are these bulbs wonderful for your soups and sauces, they also do wonders for your hair. Onions are rich in sulfur which is one of the primary elements that makes up the hair protein keratin. Raw onions or onion essential oil can be used to regrow the edges, prevent premature greying and help with overall hair growth. If you are using raw onions, all you need to do is extract the onion juice, dampen your hair with water and apply generously to the hair, making sure to focus on the hairline. Leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour and wash off with your shampoo. When done consistently, amazing results are observed. Bear in mind that this method is not for the faint of heart as onions can have a very pungent smell
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