Random hair related thoughts...

A few posts ago, I mentioned having some scalp issues. I have recently been plagued by scalp tenderness and hair thinning in the crown and on my edges, as well as more flaking than I have experienced since I started my journey. I've decided to change a few things in hopes of seeing a some marked improvement in these conditions by the end of summer.

The two conditions of regrowing hair in thin areas is to:

1. Reduce or eliminate tension or damage to the area
2. Massaging the affected area to stimulate growth, with or without some manner of oil. Castor oil is particularly useful for thickening and regrowing hair.

Although my scalp is sensitive to a number of things (just like the rest of my skin :p), it has never been tender. This recent tenderness is driving me crazy! I experienced something similar a few months ago, and I figured out it was because I pulling my hair back too often, as well as parting it in the same spot for too long. I can get lazy when it comes to styling so I wasn't shocked lol. After a few months of leaving my hair out or in two strand twists, the tenderness subsided and all was well. It's back and now it's my edges and my crown. I can only assume that my edges hurt for the same reason, tension due to too many up-dos. The crown of my head though, I have a few theories about.... While I think it has to do with the way I style my hair, I think it may also have to do with the pressure from the water head in my shower!! When I go under that thing it actually makes my scalp hurt. Epic fail. 

To solve my issues with thinning and tenderness, I've opted to turn down the water pressure, and leave my hair out in some low manipulation style for 3-4 days per week. To combat this messing with my length retention, I just have to keep abreast of my moisturizing and sealing, as well as deep conditioning. When I do protective style the rest of the days during the week, I am sure to take the hair around my edges out of the bun, and pin then loosely to the side of my head (like in the pic to the left ;). I'd much rather a messy up-do than bald edges. Serious talk. I have also chosen to massage the tender/thinning areas with my mix of castor, sweet almond and peppermint oil to stimulate growth. I also wanted to mention that I equate tenderness to thinning; tenderness does not always cause thinning, but in terms of tension related thinning, tenderness was probably the first symptom.

 With regard to the flaking on my scalp, I plan to do a pre-shampoo (more on these soon!) scalp treatment with coconut, jojoba and eucalyptus oil, I'll probably also be sure to cleanse the scalp more often to keep it clean and I will be sure to do a scalp massage with coconut oil or aloe vera gel a few times a week.

Hopefully, I will see some changes soon. Do you have any hair or scalp concerns right now? Please feel free to leave thoughts and concerns below!

Thanks for reading :),