Hello All,
Longtime admirer and lurker, first time subscriber & poster!
I wanted to share my experiences and see if there were any insights on there from other readers.
(Note that I get relaxers every 8 weeks). My hair always grew as long as I regularly saw a stylist. In my college years, I would get some healthy growth, go broke and the hair would break off when I could not afford a stylist. For years my hair meddled in neck-length/bob/ stages, barely ever grazing shoulders. My sisters have always had longer hair, with my younger sister having gorgeous BSL hair her whole life. So, i always felt that it had to be possible for me to get to some growth!
In 2006 I began experience crown breakage. It was also around this time that I began my HIH syndrome (bad, I know, but i can't stand shedding). I was seeing a stylist regularly by then (woo hoo a real job). She just made it work/blend. I then moved and began seeing the stylist I saw in college. After a few weeks she said she could not blend and chopped my hair into a cute short look (spring 2007). So since then I've been growing it back. The crown area began to grow.
I'd say in the last of couple of years the crown area would grow, then break, then grow. Eventually there was a perpetual short-spot - a few cms in length, maybe an inch in width. My stylist said it did not look like chemical breakage. Luckily never to the point that I needed another big cut (my hair has stayed neck-length). I began noticing over the last few years that sometimes (maybe every 6-8 weeks) the crown would get sore and itchy. Sometimes I'd scratch & pull the hair at the root, sometimes not. And again, my hair sits b/w NL and SL.
Then in Sept my soreness/itchiness returned. The breakage area grew... still, from what I'm told, it blends. I finally decided to see a (black female) dermatologist. I had a scalp biopsy. I was just told the results - 2 conditions are affecting the area. the primary condition is follicular degeneration (basically female pattern baldness, caused in part by genetics). No females in my family have hair loss though. The second condition is scarring alopecia. Luckily I have no bald spots currently - just a big area of really short hair. Probably going to get injections in the area and also treat with antibiotics. I'll learn more at my next appt.
I've tried googling a bit, and results seem mixed. What does stand out is that the CCCA condition sounds like a mix of my 2 conditions. Unfortunately most of the CCCA sites I find just seem like re-gurgitated information.
Anywho, that's my story. Fingers crossed I can get this growth back!
Longtime admirer and lurker, first time subscriber & poster!
I wanted to share my experiences and see if there were any insights on there from other readers.
(Note that I get relaxers every 8 weeks). My hair always grew as long as I regularly saw a stylist. In my college years, I would get some healthy growth, go broke and the hair would break off when I could not afford a stylist. For years my hair meddled in neck-length/bob/ stages, barely ever grazing shoulders. My sisters have always had longer hair, with my younger sister having gorgeous BSL hair her whole life. So, i always felt that it had to be possible for me to get to some growth!
In 2006 I began experience crown breakage. It was also around this time that I began my HIH syndrome (bad, I know, but i can't stand shedding). I was seeing a stylist regularly by then (woo hoo a real job). She just made it work/blend. I then moved and began seeing the stylist I saw in college. After a few weeks she said she could not blend and chopped my hair into a cute short look (spring 2007). So since then I've been growing it back. The crown area began to grow.
I'd say in the last of couple of years the crown area would grow, then break, then grow. Eventually there was a perpetual short-spot - a few cms in length, maybe an inch in width. My stylist said it did not look like chemical breakage. Luckily never to the point that I needed another big cut (my hair has stayed neck-length). I began noticing over the last few years that sometimes (maybe every 6-8 weeks) the crown would get sore and itchy. Sometimes I'd scratch & pull the hair at the root, sometimes not. And again, my hair sits b/w NL and SL.
Then in Sept my soreness/itchiness returned. The breakage area grew... still, from what I'm told, it blends. I finally decided to see a (black female) dermatologist. I had a scalp biopsy. I was just told the results - 2 conditions are affecting the area. the primary condition is follicular degeneration (basically female pattern baldness, caused in part by genetics). No females in my family have hair loss though. The second condition is scarring alopecia. Luckily I have no bald spots currently - just a big area of really short hair. Probably going to get injections in the area and also treat with antibiotics. I'll learn more at my next appt.
I've tried googling a bit, and results seem mixed. What does stand out is that the CCCA condition sounds like a mix of my 2 conditions. Unfortunately most of the CCCA sites I find just seem like re-gurgitated information.
Anywho, that's my story. Fingers crossed I can get this growth back!
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