What to Do When Your Edges Start to Thin

One of the most scary things many women face, natural or not, is thinning edges. The reality is that even women with the healthy hair have experienced hair loss specifically around the hairline. There are various reasons why this occurs including: brushing their edges harshly, applying gel excessively and putting too much tension on the hairline with braids or weaves . Our edges shouldn’t suffer this much but in may cases they do.

I’m not judging you… I get it. You want to look fly and rock the latest and greatest styles. BUT…we want you to have edges when you take those styles down! Styles that apply extra tension to the edges should be avoided at all costs if we are truly going to save our edges.

Often times, we get gorgeous protective styles done and when it is time to get our hair redone, we do not give our hair a long enough break to recoup. Going from box braids to a sew in and then to another protective style can cause something called “weathering”, which is a term used to describe the progressive deterioration of the hair. Firstly the cuticle layer, then eventually the cortex. This is caused from exposure to continual daily wear and tear.

So what exactly can do you to protect your edges from even getting to this point:

Sleep on silk pillowcases & use silk scarves
Use natural oils that are proven to restore hair and stimulate folicles
Give your hair sufficient time in between protective styling (2 weeks or more)
Avoid wearing styles that require adhesives (bonding glue, lace adhesives)
Use a Natural bristle brush
Regular protein treatments (as needed)

Here are a few other thing you can do to protect your edges:

Don’t stress your hair out

Avoid tight hairstyles and wear low manipulation styles

Constant Moisture

Moisturize your edges whenever you get the chance. Your edges should get the much needed hydration.

3. Try to embrace these styles more.

Braid outs, unraveled bantu knots, curl sets, loosely braided or combed up-dos do not require a lot of tense on your edges thus not adding damage to your edges.

4. Be more mindful of your health

Keep a balanced diet and keep your health in check. Also try to eat foods that promote hair growth.

If you keep yourself healthy, you will be rewarded with healthy locks.

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Brandelyn Green

Brandelyn Green is the Founder of VoiceOfHair, a platform to help women of color find the best hair care products, regimens and hairstyles! Since starting VoiceOfHair in 2014 she has grown the social media platform to over 1MM+ on Instagram and Facebook. As a natural who is also a salon goer, she wanted to create a platform where people could find the best products, hairstylists, advice and trends.