5 Early Signs of Hair Loss

Your hair is your crown, and you deserve to wear it full, healthy, and in whatever style you choose! The problem is, sometimes your hair and scalp can start showing signs of damage, thinning, or you might notice a change in the way your hair behaves. Traction alopecia is a very common cause of hair loss in women, and it’s caused by repeated or harsh styling that involves high-tension, pulling, or tugging on the hair, leading to breakage and sometimes removing the hair from the root. In order to combat this and other types of hair loss, it’s important to know the warning signs. Here are 5 early signs of hair loss to look out for, and what to do about it!

1. Excess shedding in brushes or combs Your hair naturally sheds between 50-100 hairs per day. This is a part of the normal hair growth cycle. If you wear your hair in a protective or long-wear style, it’s normal to end up with a little extra hair on your brush on wash day. However, if you’re noticing an excess amount of shedding, you might be experiencing the early signs of hair loss. *Note: if your hair suddenly starts falling in clumps or large amounts, see a doctor, as this could be a sign of a more serious health issue.

2. Thinning patches on the scalp When you wear your hair in the same way, or repeat a style for long periods of time, sometimes repeated tension can weaken the hair follicles. Chemical products like perms and relaxers can also compromise the hair cuticles, and that damage can also lead to hair thinning and loss. If you notice patches of thinning hair or baldness on your scalp in areas of tension from hair elastics, clips, or chemical irritation, you may be experiencing traction alopecia.

3. Widening parts Sometimes hair loss isn’t just in one area like a patch or a spot. Sometimes, especially with people who repeatedly style their hair in braids, locs, or cornrows, hair thinning can look like wide parts and sparse edges. Repeatedly parting the hair in the same areas and tightly braiding or twisting the hair can cause damage to the follicles along the part lines. Noticing wide parts can be an early sign of traction alopecia.

4. Scaliness or flakiness on the scalp Before hair is completely pulled out, sometimes irritation can form on the scalp in areas of snagging, pulling, or too-tight styling. Small red bumps, scaliness, and flakiness are signs of stress on the follicles from high tension. While this may not necessarily be an example of hair loss, it is a sign of stress and damage to the hair follicles which leads to hair loss unless the scalp is given the care it needs.

5. Scalp sensitivity Let’s face it, that freshly-styled braids or locs look makes you feel fresh, revived, and gives you a little face-lift, too! But, that much tension on the hair is a sign of damage to come. You might be used to a little discomfort or sensitivity the first day of a new style, but if that sensitivity on your scalp persists, it might be an early sign of hair loss to come. All of your hairs are connected to a tiny muscle, the arrector pili muscle. It’s the muscle that causes goosebumps, and contracts and stretches to move the hair from the root. If your hair style is so tight as to inhibit the hair from being able to move, hair is likely to be pulled from the root. This sensitivity you feel is the feeling of stress on the nerves in the skin of the scalp and is likely a sign of hair damage.

If you are experiencing any of these signs of traction alopecia, there are a few things you can start doing right away to prevent your hair loss from worsening and help grow back some of the hair you’ve lost.

Protect your hair!

1. Take down or loosen your tight style
2. Treat your hair to a nourishing deep conditioner and scalp oil treatment
3. Start a daily regimen of using a follicle enhancing cream on areas of thinning or loss to help boost natural hair growth
4. Take a daily dietary supplement with ingredients like Biotin, Zinc, Vitamins A, C, and E, and complex B vitamins to help promote your hair’s ability to grow back full and strong.