Could This Hair Tool Be The Secret To Hair Growth & Restoring Hair Loss?
One of my most nagging, irrational fears is waking up one day to realize the decline of my hairline has begun.
While I’ve always had healthy tresses, strong, full edges just weren’t in the genetic cards for me. Since I was a young girl, I’ve kept my hair in some sort of protective style. From box braids to kinky twists and intricately designed cornrows — I couldn't get away from high-tension styles if I tried.
After growing out my perm and starting my loc journey in high school, I soon realized that frequent retwist and tightly wound styles would be the demise of my loc journey if I didn’t make an adjustment. I began to see my edges thinning between each retwist and knew something had to change, so by year five, I decided to limit my retwists from every 3 weeks to every 2 months and only wear hairstyles that required little to no manipulation.
The pivot paid off as I began to see my edges slowly but surely recover from irreversible damage.
But as most Black women would understand, when it comes to our hair, we’re going to change our minds as many times as our hearts desire. And after nine years, I chopped off my locs and restarted my loose natural journey once again.
It wasn’t long before I realized that me and the awkward TWA phase weren’t going to mesh, and as soon as my hair was long enough to grip, I got my first set of box braids in over a decade and never looked back.
Since then, my knotless braids and I have been locked in, and it’s become a signature style that I’ve grown to love for its look, low tension, and convenience. Still, I’ve had my fair share of concerns about what that could mean for the longevity of my edges, hairline, and maturing baby hairs.
Fortunately, there’s a hair tool that could be the solution to soothing my fears of hair loss and stimulating the growth I (desperately) desire.
“Scalp dermarollers are clinically proven to accelerate hair growth,” Helen Reavey, founder of Act+Acre, tells xoNecole. “They typically utilize needles to create micro-channels on the scalp that stimulate blood flow and collagen production to the affected area and hair follicle to stimulate hair growth while increasing topical product absorption.”
Dermarolling is a practice/tool best for larger areas of hair loss, typically around the hairline, due to traction alopecia, postnatal hair loss, alopecia areata, and androgenic alopecia.
The trichologist shares that the science behind the accelerated hair growth is based on the dermaroller’s ability to help stimulate hair growth on its own. That, coupled with applying Act+Acre’s Stem Cell Serum — which promotes and extends the growth phase of those hairs that just won’t grow — “allows for the best possible absorption of the product.”
According to Helen, the process of seeing results from dermarolling takes consistency and patience, as results won’t come overnight. “When used 1-2 times a week, you will typically see a shift in growth within 6-8 weeks, including less visible thinning and hair shedding,” she says. “After 12 weeks, you should expect to see stronger, fuller, and visibility thicker-looking hair growth at the roots.”
But to help us truly get to the root of hair loss and prevention, Helen Reavey is shedding light on the types of hair loss that commonly affect Black women, ways to reserve shedding, tips to maintain healthy regrowth, and more.
Q: What types of hair loss are reversible, and what are the most effective treatments for them?
A: Some of the most common types of reversible hair loss include:
Alopecia Areata: A form of patchy hair loss due to an autoimmune disease. Outbreaks can occur when the immune system is lowered by illness, poor nutrition, anxiety, and stress.
Solutions include:
- Finding balance through breathwork, meditation, exercise, or anything to keep stress levels down.
- Incorporating regular scalp massages into your haircare routine to increase blood flow to the scalp.
- Maintain a healthy gut to keep the microbiome balanced.
- Regularly use scalp treatments, such as our Scalp Detox, to stimulate blood flow to the scalp and promote hair growth.
Traction Alopecia: A type of hair loss caused by repeated trauma to the hair follicle or by pulling your hair back into tight hairstyles such as ponytails, braids, hair extensions, and even chemical relaxers.
Solutions include:
- Use a weekly scalp treatment, such as our Scalp Renew, to stimulate the hair follicle and promote growth.
- Use our Scalp Dermaroller combined with our Stem Cell Serum to stimulate product absorption and help increase the growth hormones.
- Ensure you’re receiving your necessary dose of nutrients, such as biotin, zinc, selenium, and iron, that are needed for your hair to grow back.
- Avoiding tight hairstyles.
Diffuse Hair Loss: A form of hair loss in which the hair falls out, causing the hair to take on a thin, low-density appearance. This is caused by factors such as nutrient deficiency, illness, hormonal changes, stress, and lifestyle and environmental changes.
Solutions include:
- Make sure to cleanse the hair regularly and wash correctly.
- Aim to improve nutrient intake, as most diets lack essentials such as biotin and selenium.
Q: Can dermarolling be used on other areas of the body, such as the eyebrows or beard, for hair regrowth?
A: Absolutely! The dermaroller can be used anywhere you’d like to encourage more hair growth – eyebrows, beard, mustache, etc. With that said, it’s important to note that dermarolling should be used with extreme caution on areas with thinner skin, such as the neck.
Q: How can I maintain my hair regrowth results in the long-term?
A: Consistency is truly key for hair growth treatments to work effectively, especially since there is no one-and-done solution when it comes to hair growth. In addition to dermarolling and adding a restorative hair growth serum to your hair care routine, you can achieve long-term results by:
- Maintaining a well-balanced diet + staying hydrated.
- Taking care of your scalp by incorporating weekly exfoliating treatments to remove buildup and stimulate blood circulation.
- Taking supplements that are rich in Vitamin C, Biotin, and Amino Acids to promote hair follicle health.
- Lessening the use of heat/hot tools on the hair to avoid damage + breakage.
- Avoiding products with silicones and sulfates since these tend to build up on the scalp + weigh the hair down.
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Featured image by LaylaBird/Getty Images
Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Blac Chyna Opens Up About Her Initial Fear To Share Her Spiritual Journey With Others
Watching Angela “Blac Chyna” White’s transformation in real-time has truly been a sight to see. It wasn’t that long ago that she announced that she was reversing her cosmetic surgeries in an effort to go back to who she was before the world came to know her as Blac Chyna. In previous interviews, she stated that she was dissolving her facial and lip fillers, removing her breast implants, and getting a butt reduction, as well as removing the dimple piercings that enhanced her fame and controversial tattoos.
In a recent Tamron Hall interview, the mother of two said that she has “fully recovered” from the procedures. She is also celebrating one year of sobriety and opened up about being worried about how her new journey would be received by others.
“I’ve been in the entertainment industry for so long, right, and of course, like, you know, coming out, I’m like young, I’m gonna do wild things as we all have,” she said.
“...I feel like by me being vocal and showing everybody you can change your life and things can get better, like through myself, that right there is an accomplishment, and that’s a part of freedom, too.”
But as she started on her journey, many people have shown her grace, which is something she’s grateful for. “And then the fact that people have been showing me grace, it’s like amazing,” she said. “And I feel like when I did it, I just did it. It was more so like spiritual thing and I feel like people see that, and I’ve always been like my authentic self, so what you see is kinda what you get with me, and that’s just kinda what it is.”
Chyna, who recently received an honorary doctorate from Sacramento Theology Seminary and Bible College, has also repaired her relationship with her mom, Tokyo Toni. The social media celebrity surprised her daughter on the Tamron Hall Show. Prior to the sentimental surprise, Chyna dished on the reconciliation and having a better understanding of her mom.
“I must say, some of the things I have to take accountability for because, like my actions. As a mother, you don’t want to see your daughter doing certain things ‘cause it’s like it doesn’t matter what my past was or what we’re going through, I didn’t raise you that way,” she admitted. “So, it’s like, okay, maybe I was a little bit wrong. Maybe I was acting out a little bit. But I feel like as we grow older, I kinda see more, and I understand more.”
Chyna will be starring in season two of Fox's reality competition show Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.
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