QuoteReplyTopic: Common hair myths Posted: May 20 2008 at 7:09pm
Hi beautiful ladies!
I wanted to share this site with you. Heard about it from another forum and I see some myths that MAY pertain to ladies here. Some of those include: scalp fungus, shampoo/wash frequency, braiding and hair loss. One thing that I have always believed: tight ponytails, braids and buns can cause hair loss and scalp damage. It has never felt right to me to wear these kinds of hairstyles for long periods of time.
However, the key operating word in this myth is TIGHT.. I think oftentimes this particular hair truth is repeated without the telling the WHOLE story..
Wearing tight braids, ponytails or buns causes baldness
TRUE: Traction alopecia is a very real hair loss condition that is quite common amongst older African American women. It results from wearing tight ponytails, cornrows or buns over an extended period of time. Over time, hair breakage or loss as the result of tight, stressed styles, can become permanent. Avoid this potential problem by opting for looser styles that minimize scalp tension.
This is most definitely a true statement.. HOWEVER, folks often take it to mean that you cannot wear buns, ponytails or braids ever.. The reason that traction alopecia is common in older African American women is that until recently black stylists were all taught/believed that braids had to be SUPER tight in order to make the style last.
So for MANY years, MANY black stylists/braiders subscribed to that school of thought, and many black women believed this too.. So yes I have seen women my age and older who are suffering from the effects of this "tighter is better" school of thought.. The effects of traction alopecia are immediate and obvious.. It does not take long for the result of overly tight braiding to show.. Unfortunately to add insult to injury, many women who began experiencing hair loss continued to wear these styles and allowed stylists who did not know better to continue to damage their hair.. Unfortunately there are still A TON of stylists and clients who continue to subscribe to the "tighter is better" mentality..
However, buns, ponytails, & braids are not the culprit alone.. IMPROPER styling techinques when wearing these styles is the REAL issue.. There are many women who are successfully cultivating healthy hair who know that pulling your hair so tight that you are TEARING it from the scalp is not the right way to wear ANY of these styles..
I have been wearing braids and weaves off and on for years, and I DO
NOT deal with stylists who feel they have to braid your hair so tight
that you have "China Doll" eyes when they are done.. My
braiders/weavers/stylists have always ALL been professionals who are interested in
the health and growth of their client's hair.. They know how to braid
their client's without PULLING and TEARING the hair.. When I wear buns and ponytails, I also know not to pull my hair so tight that I am PULLING and TEARING my hair or hairline..
In my latest weave wearing period, I have been wearing a weave (and lately wigs with cornrows) for the last three consecutive years.. My hair has grown from a SHORT Halle/Fantasia cut to falling just at my shoulder blades.. There are no thinning or bald patches, and none will be forthcoming. My hair is VERY strong and healthy.. I attribute this to allowing my hair to REST while I wait out my hair growth journey, and to having stylists who know better than to style my hair in a way that will damage it.. (Their clientelle all have EQUALLY healthy hair! -- You can't really argue with success..)
This is good information, but I think it's lacks the proper foundation and it does not tell the full story IMO..
Edited by Divavocals - May 25 2008 at 12:54pm
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Diva: fantastic reply/post! Thanks for weigh in and giving your experiences. I completely agree.
I also wanted to add that this is not just aimed at one group of women; a lot of caucasian, asian women also wear tight ponytails can can suffer from doing so.
I guess it stands out to me because a lot of the women on the longhaircareforum.com are wearing protective styles to grow their hair. Many of those protective styles include tight buns, ponies or braids. I believe it is a myth that scooping your hair back everyday into a bun or ponytail is good for your hair! I sometimes wonder if just leaving it down and flowing might be better for hair --- and I mean ALL types of hair.
Diva: fantastic reply/post! Thanks for weigh in and giving your experiences. I completely agree.
I also wanted to add that this is not just aimed at one group of women; a lot of caucasian, asian women also wear tight ponytails can can suffer from doing so.
Thanks girl.. and I knew you weren't directing your post at any one group.. I just wanted to address what the site stated. (since THEY specifically called out African American women with regards to traction alopecia) It really is a true statement that traction alopecia is an issue in which many of the sufferers are African American women, but yes indeed it also could affect ANYONE.. No worries girl..
fakeizme wrote:
I guess it stands out to me because a lot of the women on the longhaircareforum.com are wearing protective styles to grow their hair. Many of those protective styles include tight buns, ponies or braids. I believe it is a myth that scooping your hair back everyday into a bun or ponytail is good for your hair! I sometimes wonder if just leaving it down and flowing might be better for hair --- and I mean ALL types of hair.
I agree.. I often find SOME of the haircare routines touted on LHCF as a bit borderline paranoia.. I understand wearing buns and ponies as a protective style.. (so long as you are NOT tugging and pulling the hair and wearing it super tight) When I'm not wearing weaves, I'm kind of a ponytail/bun girl.. Mostly out of sheer laziness, but the side effect of that laziness is that I am using far less heat to style my hair.. So in the end I get a good outcome, and my hair thrives.. Now based on that do I believe that ponytails and buns lead to hair growth?? Hell no.. that's a silly notion.. For me at least the only thing wearing a ponytail or bun does in terms of contributing to my growth is that it means I am not using heated appliances on my hair as often.. Many of the ladies on LHCF seem to buy into the idea that wearing your hair down ALL BY ITSELF will most assuredly lead to breakage.. It always cracks me up..
Edited by Divavocals - May 22 2008 at 8:16am
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^^^ Love that: 'borderline paranoia!' I so agree and have thought that myself. There's just so much conflicting theories/opinions out there on how to take care of hair. 'Leave it down as much as possible,' 'pull it back and away from clothes,' 'weigh it down with conditioners,' 'don't put a lot of product on the hair,' 'don't use heat,' 'some heat is good.' Aaaaahhhhh!
I agree that you should do what works for you to a point.. some of that "stuff" is just nonsense.. (especially that hair touching your clothes thing.. That ALWAYS cracks me up!!!) But some of it has some "elements" of truth.. Excessive heat is bad for hair, which is a far cry from saying that ALL heat is damaging.. So my thing is that at the end of the day, it's really just common sense!!!
Check out the 5th So Cal offline luncheon?? For more info: divahairtalk.overthehillweb.com/lunch.html
Links to my fav vendors & hair albums + Weave 101 information: divahairtalk.overthehillweb.com
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Wearing tight braids, ponytails or buns causes baldness
)
I just wanted to address what the site stated. (since THEY specifically called out African American women with regards to traction alopecia) It really is a true statement that traction alopecia is an issue in which many of the sufferers are African American women, but yes indeed it also could affect ANYONE.. No worries girl.. 
Love that: 'borderline paranoia!' I so agree and have thought that myself. There's just so much conflicting theories/opinions out there on how to take care of hair. 'Leave it down as much as possible,' 'pull it back and away from clothes,' 'weigh it down with conditioners,' 'don't put a lot of product on the hair,' 'don't use heat,' 'some heat is good.' Aaaaahhhhh! 
