Black women’s hair loss tied to braiding, weaving

	Tweet

Very tight braiding or weaving is linked to a permanent type of hair loss that affects many African American women, new research suggests.

While the findings can’t prove hair grooming is at the root of the problem, women might still want to take them into consideration, said Dr. Angela Kyei, who worked on the study.

“I won’t tell you not to braid your hair, but I don’t want you to braid it so tightly that you need to take pain medication,” said Kyei, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Prolonged pulling at the hair strands may cause inflammation of the hair follicle, which has been shown to lead to scarring. In principle, that could lead to a type of balding that dermatologists call central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, or scarring hair loss.

This type of balding starts at the top of the scalp and then spreads slowly to the rest. It occurs only in black women. Because there is no treatment for it, Kyei decided to try to find out what is causing it instead.

Observations from the 1960s had hinted it was related to hot-comb straightening, but little research has looked at other explanations.

The new study, published in the Archives of Dermatology, is based on health questionnaires and scalp examinations of 326 African American women.

Nearly all of them straightened their curls chemically and about one in six had scarring hair loss. More than half the women with this condition said they had braids, weaves or hair extensions, as compared to only a third of those with less severe hair loss.

“This is just telling us there is a trend and we need to study it further,” said Kyei, adding that it doesn’t mean these hair styles are necessarily tied to balding, which could have other causes.

In fact, the researchers also found women with type 2 diabetes were more likely to have scarring hair loss, as were those with bacterial scalp infections.

“If there is any take-home message from this study, it is that hair grooming is not the only thing you should look at in these patients,” Kyei noted. “If you have hair loss—specifically if you have the central type of hair loss, which is permanent—you need to seek medical attention.”

Procter and Gamble donated shampoo samples for the study, which were given to the women as a reward for participating.

SOURCE: Archives of Dermatology, April 11, 2011.

RELATED STORIES:
Beach umbrellas do not block out all solar radiation   New gene in hair loss identified by Columbia-led research team   Psoriasis linked to diabetes, hypertension   Researchers discover underlying mechanisms of skin hardening syndromes   Dog ownership is associated with reduced eczema in children with dog allergies   Sunscreen Safety and Effectiveness   Lasers Lighting the Way for Enhanced Treatment of Melasma and Tattoo Removal   Note to dermatologists: the necktie is out   Eye color may indicate risk for serious skin conditions   Many ignore indoor tanning risks   Baldness drug works, but some have sexual problems   Gene Involved In Common Birth Defect Also Regulates Skin Biology

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]