Lessons To Be Learned From Naomi Campbell’s Hairline

Oh Naomi Naomi. It’s hard to believe that you are 42 with that fabulous figure and lovely face. The hair on the other hand is another matter.

I don’t do celebrity ‘look-at-how-terrible-she-looks’ type articles as a matter of principle but I’m compelled to say something about the recent pictures of Naomi’s hairline.

This picture was taken last week sometime while she was on holiday. For a 40-something woman, she doesn’t look half bad in a bikini but most of us are left too dumbfounded by the state of her hair to notice. That there is textbook traction alopecia.

For those who don’t know what traction alopecia is, it’s a thinning or balding of edges caused by the tension applied when braiding hair. This may happen with weaves, wigs* or braids.

Now it’s not the first time that Naomi Campbell has had been in the news about the baldness. And should we be surprised? After years of relying on weave extensions* during her modelling career, this was bound to happen eventually right?

It wasn’t always so bad for Ms Campbell, earlier on in her career, she rocked those partial weaves something fierce!

But it all went downhill pretty sharpish after that. I’m sure you all remember seeing the bald shots from a couple of years back?

It’s good to see that Naomi bounced back straight after her unfortunate headlines; here she was a few hours after the bikini shots at an charity Olympic dinner. She is all glammed and lace wigged up, clearly having shrugged off the earlier drama.

When it comes to hair extensions* in general, I certainly don’t think it’s all doom and gloom. When used sensibly, they can be a part of any good regimen and I have used them myself with great success. There are a few things I have learned though.

1. Any kind of braiding should be done with a light hand. If you usually have someone else braid your hair, it shoud never, ever feel tight. If it does, take it out immediately. I’m sure most of us would be happier dealing with the added expense of redoing a weave every month than dealing with bald patches.

2. Weaves should not be worn for extended periods of time. I’m a great believer in this, although its probably more to do with my itchy fingers wanting to play in my own hair, but it’s also a great tip for avoiding stress to your folicles and matting. 6-8 weeks is the maximum period for wearing a weave* before you have to take it down.

3. Don’t use the same braiding pattern over and over again. Again this is to avoid stress to the same follicles continuously. Some women have had brilliant length retention with wearing weaves* back to back but I would strongly suggest switching things up with every install. Leave your perimetre out sometimes for a partial weave, and sometimes braid all your hair up for a full weave.

4. Don’t weigh your hair down by installing to much hair. I have already included this tip in my weave tips article but it’s worth a mention here as well. If you are micro braiding adding too much extension hair to a tiny section of your own hair will cause breakage and thinning.

5. Don’t braid at all if you already have thinning edges. If your edges have already been affected, don’t assume that covering up with weave* will encourage them to grow back in. Kiss goodbye to braiding of any kind until those babies grow back. Mild to moderate traction alopecia can be treated quite successfully. Essential oils* like Rosemary, Lavender and peppermint are tipped as being pretty good with helping regrowth. Mega tek is also heavily backed in the hair regrowth stakes. If you find that these treatments are not working, it may be time to go in for the hard guns like Rogaine topical solution or as a last resort, hair transplants.

6. Don’t apply relaxers to bald areas. Yes, relaxers aggravate the condition and may even damage the follicles beyond repair. Many a time women have gone natural for personal reasons and seen traction alopecia disappear along with the relaxer. I’m not saying that everyone with traction alopecia should go natural but you should certainly not dismiss the idea without fair consideration.

It’s a shocking statistic but hair transplant procedures have increased sharply among African American women, particularly young women in the last few years. Wearing weaves* full time is a sure sign of self esteem issues. I’m not here to preach but I speak the truth when I say that your own hair was never the problem in the first place.