Black Women’s Hair Loss: The Impact of Hairstyles and the Quest for Scalp Health

How does hair loss harm Black women, and what can be done to learn to accept the changes to their scalp health?According to Dermatology Advisor, Black women are most likely to experience traction alopecia due to high tension hairstyles like tight braids, slick back buns, tight ponytails, etc. In these styles, hair is repeatedly pulled at.This loss of hair, stylist and founder of non-profit Bold, Bald and Beautiful Jimmie Lavon Sanders says, can be particularly detrimental for Black women who hold our hair with spiritual and cultural significance.“‘We have clung to that “your crown is your glory,” thinking as just your hair right? But just having that as a source and then no longer having that as a source, there can be a spiritual disconnection. For us, hair is everything. You know what we look like, our appearance, that is the first thing we see. So for that to be gone, we feel that we are robbed of something but worse is that we’re worried about how outside people see us as a culture.”Sanders states that while protective styles CAN be protective, you have to consider the goal of the style itself. The tension can also stem from too much...