What can I do to help my mom with her hair?

[haayitssara]

About five years ago, my mom wanted to get a perm for the first time in a few years. My sister-in-law, who is Haitian with beautiful thick hair, offered to do it for her, even offered to use one of her own perms. Halfway through the process, my mothers hair began to melt off of her head, running down the drain in chunks. It was then my sister-in-law realized that her relaxer was for coarse hair, while my mother's hair is very very fine

My mom hasn't gotten a perm since, and she has been trying to grow back her hair. Unfortunately, the hair the fell out never really grew back, leaving her with a two large patches of hair (one on her left side, and one in the back) and the rest of her head being covered in 1inch or less of hair, with her scalp visible in many areas

After five years, she has given up on trying to grow it back. She has been cornrowing and wigging it thus far, but her hair hasn't grown at all. She has been talking about perming what she has and figuring something out, but I don't think that will help

LHCF, how can I help my mom fix her hair? She has some obvious poor haircare techniques (dyes her hair about once every two months, detangles with a small tooth comb from root to tip), but I'm more concerned about the bald patches.

 

[Platinum]

I'm sorry to hear about your mother's hair. The same thing happened to one of my aunts back in the 90's. Please tell you mother that she should not relax her hair. Has she seen a doctor about this? She may need to see a dermatologist or a trichologist.

 

[Platinum]

for more replies. Hopefully some of the hair gurus can chime in.

 

[Aireen]

Aside from the wonderful advice Platinum gave, I would say have your mum eliminate some of her poor habits; combing with fine tooth combs will break her hair, making it thinner; the colour has also got to go since it breaks down the bonds in hair making it more susceptible to damage. What your mum can add is castor oil or sulfur massages to her scalp every night, this will promote and encourage growth and overall cause her hair to grow back thicker. All is not lost but your mum really needs to tackle and stop the poor hair practices for her hair to reach it's full potential.

 

[chayilproverbs31]

Bump


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[crlsweetie912]

I second seeing a doctor. The damage may be more severe than you think if the hair has NEVER grown back. I also agree about the massages, but definitely see a doctor as soon as possible.

 

[Tiye]

She can't relax her hair for now, she should also stop using dyes and as others have said - see a dermatologist. I don't think she should be cornrowing either - it's too much tension for damaged hair and scalp and she can probably get a wig on without the cornrows. Not every dermatologist is a good dermatologist - e.g. I know someone who was prescribed a mineral oil based cream for hair loss - she didn't use the prescription cream and mixed up her own oil instead. So basically your first step is to figure out exactly what happened to your mother's hair and scalp. What happened with her follicles in the bald patches. The damage may or may not be permanent but a dermatologist can tell her that. When you have a diagnosis then you can come back here and research natural remedies that she can use to help her hair grow back. The only dyes she should be using for now are the natural ones - search this board for info about henna and indigo but that's for after she has a diagnosis.

 

[mzteaze]

So sorry to hear about your mom. Hopefully, if you are in or near a large city you can find a dermatologist that specializes in scalp/hair issues.

If that isn't an option, I always suggest this option as a fact finding mission rather than a suggestion for their services - take her to a Hair Club for a FREE consultation. During the consultation, there should be an examination of the damaged areas of the scalp with a scope so that you can see (via a screen) the viability of the follicles. They can present one prospective about whether "growth" products will be an option so that you can make an informed decision. Keep in mind that I am not suggesting use of their products,however, I found the FREE consultation helpful in the decisions I made about the products I used on my scalp.

I wish the best to both of you.

 

[Papoose]

I'm sorry to hear about your mother's hair. The same thing happened to one of my aunts back in the 90's. Please tell you mother that she should not relax her hair. Has she seen a doctor about this? She may need to see a dermatologist or a trichologist.

ITA with all of this. It sounds like your mom has some serious damage. The only thing that I would add is prayer.

 

[~Vintage Queen~]

I'm also sorry to hear about this. Like has been suggested, take your mum to see a dermatologist/trichologist and indeed put it in prayer.

Please, also consider the Egg Shake or at least Germinating Foods (Dale Alexander's How I Stopped Growing Bald and Started Growing Hair. (Credit Bronzeb)) to help the folicles.

Continue being great support to your mum and advise as kindly as you have.