Help Me Help My Sister!

[Junebug D]

In the last 2-3 months or so, my sister has started to bald. She is only 27. She had been wearing some kind of weave/wig where the hair was bonded to a cap that was put on her head somehow. (I didn't understand her explanation of this!) She said her hair was in a ponytail underneath that, and she kept it in for 2 months, and had it redone for a third month when she saw her edges were gone! I imagine that had a lot to do with her edges disappearing. Her edges are pretty much gone now, and it looks like bald spots on either side of her head. Weeks later (after she took out the weave) she said that it was spreading to the back of head also, and she loses little plugs of hair daily.

She currently wears a wig, with no protective style underneath. Her hair is extremely short, maybe 2-3 inches, and she relaxes though she has not done it in a few months. She does not know what to do with it other than put on the wig.

She will not consider cutting her remaining hair, or going natural. She does not have internet access either. She also seems reluctant about going to see a doctor and says she can't afford seeing a dermatologist.

What advice can any of you ladies give to help her recover her hair and get into healthy hair habits? She is lazy, cheap, and not very knowledgeable about hair, and won't go through any elaborate routine, even if it means saving her hair! She is the type to look for a "miracle" when it will take time and patience.

Her hair is fine, kind of thin, and completely unhealthy. I am not sure what her hair texture is since I haven't seen her natural texture, but it's more than likely 4a or 4b.

What advice or baby steps do you advise she takes? Does anyone know what is causing her hair to fall out like this? Any specific products I could put in a gift box for her hair?

 

[soulie]

I wonder if she developed some sort of fungus under the cap. It seems like she had it bonded for a long time. When you say she is lazy and won't go through any elaborate routine to save her hair, does that mean co-washing a few times a week would be excessive to her?

You could start her off with some Walgreen's basics. NTM has an active scalp shampoo (green cap) and she could follow it up with the NTM Daily Deep Conditioner and the NTM Silk Touch. Maybe as part of your gift, you could mix up something healthy for her to apply to her scalp? A big bottle - so she doesn't have to be bothered to make more anytime soon. (Check the hair recipes forum for ideas.) It sounds like she might need to wear the wig for now, but she needs to determine and deal with the basis of the problem - not just cover it up indefinitely.

 

[ariestwo]

I am truly sorry to hear about your sister,but it hit home. I am a 47 year old lady who have been through the same thing. I am still going through it now. For the last 5 or 6 years I have been wearing weaves(glued in).I did not realize just how bad the damage was until a year ago. I have lost all my hairline and I have a bald spot on the top the size of a 50 cent piece. I was so ashamed at how bad it had gotten.I stared wearing wigs last year to try and correct the problem. When I found LHCF it was a blessing. I cut off all the bad/relaxed hair .I only had a inch 8 months ago.But now it is almost 5 inches everywhere except the top where it was completely bald. I now have fuzz and I am all natural.When you see all these beautiful ladies here with Beautiful hair "I know you say ;I wish that was mine. I say it all the time,but I also say"One Day It Will Be'. It took a while to get all that damage and it will take even longer to repair it but she can. Just read what these ladies have written on this site and I promise you it will get better.I am ashamed to post my picture but I take a picture at least every 3 months and within 6 months hopefully when the bald spot has completely filled in I will post all the before and after pics. I know this is long but I had to let you know it's a lot of ladies going through what your sister is,including me but just read as much info as possible on this site and she will be fine.These ladies are great. God Bless You.

 

[Noir]

Wow I am sorry to hear that. I dunno how you can help her if she isn't even willing to help herself. If she won't even go see a dr. and she is not willing to put in the time or work with a new regimen, then I don't know what to suggest.

Even if you buy her some products for the holidays will she even use them?

If she has developed a fungus then she really needs to go see a derm or dr.

 

[gissellr78]

In the last 2-3 months or so, my sister has started to bald. She is only 27. She had been wearing some kind of weave/wig where the hair was bonded to a cap that was put on her head somehow. (I didn't understand her explanation of this!) She said her hair was in a ponytail underneath that, and she kept it in for 2 months, and had it redone for a third month when she saw her edges were gone! I imagine that had a lot to do with her edges disappearing. Her edges are pretty much gone now, and it looks like bald spots on either side of her head. Weeks later (after she took out the weave) she said that it was spreading to the back of head also, and she loses little plugs of hair daily.

She currently wears a wig, with no protective style underneath. Her hair is extremely short, maybe 2-3 inches, and she relaxes though she has not done it in a few months. She does not know what to do with it other than put on the wig.

She will not consider cutting her remaining hair, or going natural. She does not have internet access either. She also seems reluctant about going to see a doctor and says she can't afford seeing a dermatologist.

What advice can any of you ladies give to help her recover her hair and get into healthy hair habits? She is lazy, cheap, and not very knowledgeable about hair, and won't go through any elaborate routine, even if it means saving her hair! She is the type to look for a "miracle" when it will take time and patience.

Her hair is fine, kind of thin, and completely unhealthy. I am not sure what her hair texture is since I haven't seen her natural texture, but it's more than likely 4a or 4b.

What advice or baby steps do you advise she takes? Does anyone know what is causing her hair to fall out like this? Any specific products I could put in a gift box for her hair?

I am sorry to hear that....I have never worn a weave or braids so i cannot speak from experience but IMO she needs to take that weave off and start some kind of regimen with lots of moisturizers and things that will feed her scalp.

My friend put extensions and she lost a lot of hair when they took it off.