Adelle asks,
Hey! I have a question..Im 17,I have my natural hair,I’ve always had it, never relaxed it or straightened it but like 6 years ago I noticed the middle of my hair started getting shorter and shorter. Only the middle is short, when I measured my hair once the rest of my hair is roughly 7.5 inches but the middle is only 2 inches. I don’t know what caused the middle of my hair to get short. I always wear my hair in twists, braids or cornrows.Can you please tell me what might have caused this and how I can repair it. I don’t know what else to do. Thank you.
Adelle, I went through the very same thing in the beginning of my natural hair journey. In fact, I touched upon this experience in a previous reader question post.
When this happened to me the best thing I did for my hair was cutting it. Although my cut was short, it was a fairly decent length because I didn’t have the stylist cut my hair down to the length that my middle section was. She put my hair into a layered cut so that it looked more natural. I thought it looked pretty terrible having long hair pretty much everywhere else and then in the middle of my hair only having 2 to 3 inches of hair. Plus, I knew that when your hair is badly damaged the best thing you can do is give it a fresh start. My recommendation is to go to a professional stylist and let them help you start over.
Going forward to prevent breakage in the middle of your hair you may want to consider the following:
- When you wear braids or twists are you using any hair accessories that could be pulling at your hair like rubberbands or clips? I would suggest avoiding rubberbands at all costs they rip and tear at your hair.
- Are you giving your hair enough balance? Protective styling is great! Just keep in mind that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. If you are wearing braided styles that pull too tightly at your hair this could potentially be causing breakage. If this is the case balance your regimen with low manipulation styles.
- Do you keep your hair protected at night? Always wrap your hair with a silk scarf and try pineappling to avoid your hair getting too matted while you sleep. I know this was a big cause of hair breaking off in the middle. My hair was packed down and smushed at night. Pineappling is a good solution for preventing this. You can of course sleep in twists or braids, but I find pineappling to be an easier and more effective method.
good morning to everyone…i have a question, i have locs i created and maintain myself, how can i keep my locs well conditioned and well formed? i dont want them to unravel….can you help a sista out? thanks for your time and consideration
I dealt with a similar situation with the crown (middle of my head). I had issues with that part of my hair when I was relaxed since I wore a shorter style and used the curling iron mostly. At that time that part of my hair would be thin but with the shorter style it wasn’t usually noticeable (except to me). Then, after going natural and later moving to a colder climate I experienced thinning to the point of having a small bald spot in the area. I kept trying different ways of keeping my hair moisturized (4c, low porosity girl…) then I started to braid my hair at night which helped or leave it braided on weekends when I wasn’t working and this helped strengthen that part of my hair since it wasn’t being messed with so much. I also found that doing smaller braids or twists in that area helped it grow back and become stronger. My crown has definitely caught up to the rest of my hair now. I still have shorter hair but I am well into my journey to longer hair.
I wear puffs often and my crown becomes more tangled and receives more abuse from the sun/environment. When it’s time to detangle, I, now, start with my difficult crown first. While I have the patience and energy to baby that section and give it the extra moisture/product and attention that it needs…then proceed to detangle the other sections.
When we wash or style our hair, I think we’re naturally inclined to detangle the easy sections first. The problem with that is by the time we get to the more difficult sections, we’re exhausted! We tend to rip through the difficult sections because we’re ready to go to bed or work or just watch tv or whatever.
Maybe try changing the order you handle each section of your hair and hopefully you’ll have less breakage in the future.
I had breakage and a bald spot in the middle of my head due to braids and bad hair care practices. The braids came out from the root. However, the middle part of my hair is growing back stronger . But my hairline is taking much longer I guess that has to do with the hairline being the most fragile part of your hair. I have been wearing wigs for the last five months for my protective style and my hair has come on so much. However, that’s because I’ve been taken care of it. Protective styles are great for giving your hair a rest and promoting length retention but ladies don’t forget to take care o your own hair.
This is a really good post. very informative.
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