Alopecia has been the bane of the existence of my hair journey right from when I could remember. Ever since I could remember, I have always battled front hair loss. My friends would make fun of my hair while in secondary school. As a result, I would either thread my hair or plait hairstyles that would cover my front hairlines. People would recommend so many things and I would try them out- Indian hemp, fulani hair concoction, coconut oil-name them. In SS 3, I had to cut my hair because of it but it still came back the same.
There were so many hair styles I couldn’t attempt doing due to the fear of further loss of my front hair. I did not braid or make the Ghana weaving, in as much as I would have loved to rock them. I proceeded to just retouching my hair thrice a year. I would use honey and egg to condition or strengthen my hair and I did a lot of weaves. People say alopecia can be stress related or as a result of pressure on the front hair line but mine is hereditary. My mother’s family members especially the females do not have front hair, hence I can’t do much about it but I am determined to try to make sure my front hairline gets some strands of hair at least. Recently, I retouched my hair and as I was about to plait it a few days later, I noticed that the longer hairs at the middle of had fallen off totally with just few longer strands sticking out. I was dejected and devastated, but I think this resulted as a result of my negligence.These were some of the things I was sub-consciously doing that negatively affected my hair.
1. I neglected my natural hair-My hair has this annoying rubbery texture that would never straighten out even if I apply relaxers 10 times a year. It is very prone to breakage and usually gets so dried very fast. I would only matte my hair and wear the wig every day- no oiling, protecting or conditioning, which I ought to have done consistently considering the fact that I currently reside in the northern part of Nigeria where the weather is so dry. I think this affected my hair as well. I should have used hair protecting products such as oils or butters but I didn’t do any of that.
2. I didn’t use good products on my hair- Like I said earlier; I neglected caring for my hair. I didn’t use good products- I would use an inexpensive shampoo and just apply eggs/honey as the only natural ingredient. I usually do this once in three months when I retouched my hair. I was pretty lazy and couldn’t care less when it came to my hair-the wig was my savior or so I thought. Trust me, I am reaped the effects of my actions. My friends were always asking if rat ate my hair, anytime I took my wigs off-lol. I would always wear scarf and wigs, I couldn’t go out with my natural hair AND would spit fire anytime any of my friends threatened to take off my wig.
Having cut my hair, I am making necessary changes to ensure that this time; I do right by my hair. I am really hoping that this time, my hair would turn out better. I have made an hair butter with ingredients such as shea butter, coconut oil, aloe vera gel, castor oil, tea tree oil and curry leaves. I might be rocking the short hair trend for a while- at least I would get to try to rock some short I have always admired. I am currently stalking Instagram for some natural hair brands that would also assist my new hair journey. I am determined to do things the right way this time and I pray I would be able to rock my improved hair line in the nearest future. Have you battled with alopecia? Which products did you use? Did it work out for you? I would love to read everything you did. I am at my wits end over here.
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