How to grow your edges back?
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Hello, guys! I hope you are well and ready to read this new long post. I know most of you have been waiting for this article for a while. Many of you have asked me how I did to grow my hair edges back after traction alopecia. Therefore, I’ll do my best to answer the question properly.
Even though the title of the article is “how to grow your edges back,” don’t forget that everybody is different and this is my personal experience. As my problem wasn’t just a “regular” hair loss, I had to wait over a year to grow my hair edges back properly. So, you can imagine how desperate I was during this difficult hair time, especially because I’m one of those people who has never had full hair edges.
January 2013
When I removed my sew-in weave off that I had for only two weeks, it was a complete disaster! I wanted to cry like crazy. I had never had my hair in such a bad state in my whole life. NEVER! The worst part was that I didn’t know it wasn’t just a simple hair loss, but it was traction alopecia. I started a castor oil treatment, which consisted of applying the oil on my edges and massaging them every morning and evening for three to five minutes. I did it for a month and a half, but the results didn’t really show. I was shocked and anxious because I always had fast good results with castor oil. So, at that time, I understood that my problem was deeper than what I thought.
March 2013
My big sister lost her edges because of a bad hair relaxer application. She bought a product called Virgin Hair Fertilizer recommended by a beauty shop sales assistant, and her edges grew back in only two weeks. When I tell you “two weeks,” I really mean 14 days. Her hair edges weren’t totally full, but nobody could guess what happened two weeks ago.
Obviously, when I saw my sister’s results, I immediately bought the product for myself. I replaced my castor oil with this new product. I was a bit sceptical at first (no more than 10 seconds though) because the Virgin Hair’s composition is quite chemical, but I was way too desperate not to try it.
After three weeks of using the product, I could already see some results. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was a good start for someone who had traction alopecia. I was happy and sad at the same time because I could finally see a little change, but I also realised I had a long way to go.
April 2013
I could see a little improvement, but I was too focused on the empty areas. I slightly became desperate by asking myself if I’d end up with no edges for the rest of my life. After two months, I decided to relax my hair in order to hide my empty hair edges.
When you look at the picture, you could think that my hair edges grew back a lot, but it wasn’t the case. I knew if I relaxed my hair, I could cover my bald edges easier. I wasn’t really satisfied because I knew it was just an illusion and I wanted more than that. I continued to use Virgin Hair Fertilizer until the end of July 2013. I stopped after that because I had the impression that the signs of progress were stuck at some point. However, don’t forget I had alopecia, and I was really impatient and desperate!
August 2013
For some reasons, I thought my alopecia was over, and I could now get back to my natural products. So, I decided to use castor oil again, but I couldn’t see concrete results. In fact, I was too obsessed with my empty areas. I could only see that, and I thought people could only see that too. Here are two pictures of my edges between August and December 2013:
I still used castor oil and relaxed my hair to cover my empty hair edges. However, I relaxed my hair with a heavy heart because I thought that was the only way to hide my bald areas. I already wanted to transition to natural hair at that time, but I didn’t want to do it with no edges. Therefore, I waited for my hair edges to be long enough to be braided.
After an umpteenth desperate crisis, my mom made me understand that I had to stop focusing on my edges and I had to be more focus on my hair in general. So, I looked at all the pictures I took during my hair journey, and that helped me to calm down. I only paid attention to the positive side of all my efforts. However, I did take a break with the pictures because I was tired of not seeing great results.
November 2013
My hair edges were finally long enough to be braided. Many people told me to wait, but I felt like I’ve waited long enough. Honestly, I trusted the strength of my hair because it was already a few months that I started my hair journey. I made sure to carefully choose the person who did my hair, who was one of my nieces. Always be careful when you select your hairdresser!
February 2014
I took a picture of my wet hair, and for the first time, I was truly happy. My hair became healthy, and my hair edges nicely grew back.
I’ve never had my edges that full my whole life. Now I laugh when I see all my pictures, but it wasn’t the case back then. What you need to remember through this experience is that there is no miracle. You have to be patient and assiduous. If you’re in this situation, don’t be impatient and obsessed. Otherwise, it will just push you to do and try everything and anything. You need to learn to love your hair, and you’ll see the difference. The more you’re stressed, the more it’ll take time to grow back.
Now that I shared my little experience with you, I’ll try to answer the question of “how to grow your edges back” as best as I can.
Identify the reason why you lost your hair edges
It’s really important to be able to identify how you ended up in this situation. Unless medical reasons, you don’t lose your hair randomly for no reason. You can lose your edges for several reasons: braids too tight, sew-in weave poorly done, wearing wigs all the time, neglected hair, traction alopecia, hair glue, applying hair gel all the time, stress, relaxing your hair too many times, braids too thin, keeping weave/braids for too long, heavy braids, and the list goes on. You need to identify what was the cause to minimise the risk of happening again in the future.
Products to use
Castor oil
I know I always mention castor oil in all of my articles about hair, but it’s because it’s very effective. Castor oil stimulates hair growth, favours hair’s volume and makes your hair thick and strong. It’s my favourite oil, and for a lot of people too, because of the great results. Make sure to massage your edges every morning and evening for three to five minutes, and you’ll see some good results at some point. You can buy it in your local beauty store, in a pharmacy or online.
Con: some people have a hard time with the smell
Garlic oil
Yes, garlic oil does exist! This oil is often recommended for people suffering from alopecia. Garlic is known for its stimulating, nourishing, cleansing, and antibacterial properties. You couldn’t find the oil in store back then, but now you can buy it in store or online. You can also do it yourself and you can look for the recipe on my article about garlic oil. Personally, I made it myself and tried it, but I gave up after three weeks because the smell was too strong for me. It wasn’t enough time to see any difference on my edges, but I know some people who love this oil. So, I recommend you to try this oil as well. If you don’t find it in any store, you can order it online by clicking here.
Con: the smell can sometimes be too strong; however, if you can barely smell garlic, results will take too long before showing.
Virgin Hair Fertilizer
I know it’s not a natural product. I always try to avoid products that are quite chemical, but it really helped me, and if Virgin Hair Fertilizer can help other people, why not? However, be careful because a product that works on someone else’s hair does not necessarily mean it will work on yours! So, it’s at your own risk. You can also watch a few reviews on YouTube if you are not sure about the product, but I personally didn’t find anyone who had a bad experience with the product. You can easily order it online if you need it.
Source: www.amazon.co.uk
Con: maybe the smell can annoy some of you, but it’s not that bad.
Few pieces of advices
- Avoid covering your edges too much. They need to breathe every once in a while. Always let your hair breathe between two hairstyles. Personally, during this time, I wore hair pieces, or I did sew-in weave half of my head.
- Drink a lot of water and eat healthily. You have no idea how these two things do help your hair to grow.
- Don’t forget to wash your hair one to two times per week.
- Try to massage your scalp and edges at least three times per week.
- Avoid being in stressful situations. It’s really not good for your health and your hair.
- Avoid tight hairstyles because this is usually the main reason why people ended up with no hair edges.
- Don’t give up! Be patient and don’t compare yourself to others. Everybody is different.
This is the end of the article, ladies. I hope you liked it. Don’t hesitate to comment and share the article.
See you soon!
So how would you suggest we use these products together or seperately? Do I apply them to my scalp one after the other, mix them all together and apply them all in one go once a week or just make sure to apply each one every week. Thanks
Hello! That’s a good question. Honestly it’s up to you but I would suggest you to try one at a time for a whole month. It will help you see if the product works for you or not.
With castor oil, apply one/two drops in your fingertips and massage your edges in the morning and in the evening. You can also use the oil in your scalp (2,3 times per week maximum) or in your hair care.
With garlic oil, you can do the same as castor oil but if you apply it in your scalp, do that before washing your hair because of the smell.
With virgin hair fertilizer, the texture of this product is thick and its smell is strong so apply it 3-4 times per week maximum. Apply a little bit on your fingertips and massage your edges in the evening (the massages can be done every evening). You can also apply it in your scalp (not in your hair) even though I never did it. But I saw/met a few girls who applied hair virgin fertilizer twice a week in their scalps and they had a good hair growth.
Then when you know which products you prefer the most, you can apply one in the morning and another one in the evening if you want.
I hope this helps xoxo!
I was born with a bald spot on both sides of my hair. I always keep it covered and I use to be so embarrassed my mom tried everything even taking me to a dermatologist but nothing seemed to work. I will check this product out.
Aaaww I’m sorry about that. I know it’s not easy to have bald spots. I “recently” lost my edges again because of hair gel and they are only growing back now. I’ve never had full edges in my whole life and my edges are really fragile. Sometimes I even find myself looking at other girls’ edges, hoping I can have full edges one day in my life. 😫
However, I truly hope that this product will help you. Make sure to massage your bald spots everyday or every other day and try to let them breathe from time to time even though it’s not easy. Let me know what you think about the product 😊
I was thinning in the crown of my head.. thinning a lot where you could see my scalp and I did the big chop and my hair wasn’t thinning it was just damaged from the relaxer.. 6 years later my hair is full and healthy and I would never get another relaxer
Oh I’m happy to know that. I’m with you for the relaxers. I’ve been natural since 2014 and I will never relax my hair again. Relaxers are so toxic and damaging, I wish companies would stop selling them.
I can vouch for castor oil! I need to go buy some tomorrow. I like pure castor oil because a lot of beauty supplies sell stuff that has other oils mixed into it
I feel you! Castor oil is my go-to oil! You can use it for almost everything! The results always follow!
If this product works, it can change lives. I know so many women who could benefit. My edges are thinning a bit, not sure why there is no tension on it. I will look into these options.
Honestly, I won’t tell you that it’s a miracle product because there is no such thing as miracle product. But it worked for me, my sister and few people I know. There are also good reviews about it. The key is to be consistent, massaging the edges and let them breathe. So I hope this article can help a lot of people because I know how hard it is to be with no edges.
I was actually losing my edges earlier in Jan from stress. It was how I was eating and I was stressing internally so I actually started to juice organic fruit, take a multivitamin and drink more water because growing your hair is from within too!
Yes! Stress has a bad imapct in hair growth and diet plays a big role as well. So it’s important to reduce stress and eat as healthy as possible.
I need to share these tips with my sister. Ever since she was a teenager she had no edges. I just taught her how to cover them up by swooping her hair. I need to share some of these tips with her and hopefully, they work.
Yes I think it’s a good idea. Please keep me updated about her progress.
Wow wow if it’s as good as it seems a lot of people will benefit from it. We’ve really got to be careful of all the pulling and tugging we put our hair through.
We definitely need to be careful of all the pulling and tugging. I learned it my own way. Now I try to not manipulate my hair so much.
I love how in detail you were in this article! I learned so much, especially about garlic oil and hair fertilizer.
Aaw thank you! It’s really nice to read that, especially because I try to be the most helpful possible in my articles. Let me know what you think if you ever try garlic oil or virgin hair fertilizer.
Your website has superb web content. I bookmarked the
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When you say don’t cover it up but allow to breath what do you mean? I haven’t made my hair in a year apart from put in twists after wash days so I can grow back my edges . I use satin scarf or bonnet most times because I work from home. Do I need to remove the scarf or bonnet and leave my hair opened or it is OK to keep doing what I do. I do the scalp massage daily and moisturize daily,I can see a difference but its really slow growth on the edges . What do you suggest?
Hey Shammah,
What I mean is to not cover your edges except during your night sleeps. If you always cover your edges with headbands, hats, caps or even satin scarves/bonnets it will slow down the growth progress or can even cause your edges to break off. I learnt it the hard way 2 months ago 😩. I am working from home too and I didn’t realise that I was always wearing my satin scarf (the whole day) and my edges broke off because they basically couldn’t breathe. Now I make sure to always remove my scarf every morning and only wear it during night sleeps. Regarding the rest, you are doing good. 🙂
The first time I made my hair I lost my edges so badly and since then I have been trying everything possible to get back my edges…..I have tried almost everything but it doesn’t seem to be working…..I have even tried this Virgin hair fertilizer but I threw it away after several days of using it thinking it was not working…….and because of a video I saw online that it’s not a good product…..I feel ashamed of my hair😭😭……please what do you suggest I do 🙏🙏🙏🙏…….I want my edges back
Hi Louisa, thanks for your comment. I’m so sorry this happened to you, I know how awful it is to go through that.
I will give you a few tips that you can follow in order to reach your goal regarding your edges:
1. Get rid of the stress! Stress can cause hair loss and can slow your progress. Even though you are trying to grow your edges back, you need to not be obsessed with it. Just keep doing what you should do every day, don’t be too focus on your edges and it will start growing back. Slowly but surely!
2. Even though it’s difficult, you need to let your edges breath as much as you can, especially when you are at home. I know we tend to cover our head when we lose our edges, but they need to breath. So let them out as much as you can.
3. Regarding the product to use, it is up to you. Personally, my go to is castor oil. That’s the oil that works the best with me and the one I recommend the most. Make sure the oil is 100% pure and it should be ok. Some prefer black castor oil, but I feel like castor oil works better with my hair. So, choose the one your hair prefers and make sure to apply it on your edges. I would recommend applying it a little bit on your edges every evening before sleeping and make sure to massage your edges for a good 3 minutes each time. Make also sure to (co)wash your edges every week. If you have a sew in, braids or another protective style, clean your edges with a conditioner once a week.
4. Take hair vitamins. I’d suggest the ones you can buy in pharmacy. Take also vitamin D if you don’t live in a place where there is a lot of sun. It will help you a lot. The hair vitamins should boost your hair growth. Check also your iron level by doing a blood test. If you are iron deficient, you must increase your iron level as soon as possible.
5. You need to be patient. Patience is key! It will take time to grow back but it will grow back eventually.
If you follow these steps, you should have results. Don’t be too focus on that, just be consistent. I am, myself, currently making my edges grow back again because I was overusing edges control 🙄. I am doing all these things and I can see some results.
The last thing I would say is, if you didn’t notice ANY growth with all you’ve done before, not even one tiny hair, I would urge you to see a dermatologist.
Sorry for the long reply. In fact, I could have make it an article 😂 but I hope it will be helpful for you 🙂
Thank you so much ma…..I will do all these you mentioned……I can’t stop thanking you🙏🙏🙏
You are very welcome! Please keep me posted with your progress and don’t forget to sleep with a silk/satin scarf/bonnet at night 😉