Hair

How to grow your edges back?

Naomi Campbell Edges

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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.

No edges

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.

Edges growth evolution

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:

Edges growth evolution

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.

Edges growth evolution

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.

edges growth evolution
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!