• When I was young, traction alopecia from tight hairstyles caused me to experience some hair loss.
• I started treatment for it, but it took awhile for me to change my mindset about my hair.
• Finally, I unlearned some of what society says about Black hair and started my natural-hair journey.

“Hit the back of her head with this hammer three times a day,” a local acupuncturist said.

I had made an appointment seeking help for the alopecia that started developing in my early teens. His remedy sounded terrifying. My mother intervened and refused his treatment suggestion for me.

Hair is a major part of many women’s identity; it affects how we feel, how we look, and how we show up. If something as simple as a bad hair day can easily ruin your mood, something as drastic as losing hair feels like losing yourself.

Finding answers — and a solution

There are several reasons someone can lose their hair, and a visit to a healthcare professional soon revealed that I had traction alopecia. Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss. There are many kinds of alopecia, including alopecia areata, which causes a person to lose hair in patches on the scalp or other places on the body, alopecia totalis, which leads to hair loss across the entire scalp, and even alopecia universalis, which causes hair loss across the entire body. Thankfully, my alopecia…