Good day, I’ve realized that I have immense breakage in my crown area as it is about 1/4 of an inch long in most areas (the rest of my hair is about 4-5″) and also the thinnest part of my hair even though the rest of my hair is very thick. I give it extra TLC everyday since my big chop in January to go back natural. I massage with castor and peppermint oil and do the LOC method along with taking vitamins and wearing my hair in protective twists (no hair added) which I take down weekly to shampoo and deep condition with natural products. I have ruled out it being genetic because no one else in my family has this problem and I have no fungal infection. I have no idea as to what else to do as I am at a loss and I am really hoping you can help.
Dear Crown Problem,
It is quite possible that you may be suffering from an early presentation of a hair disease called Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia. It is quite common in women who relax their hair or used to relax their hair, and it is suspected to be due to the relaxer setting up an inflammatory process resulting in that type of hair loss. Most times persons present with a shiny scalp in the area that you described, but there have been case series (1) on patients presenting with an early form where the centre of the scalp has markedly shorter hair and that portion of the scalp is extremely itchy.
It is best that you go to a dermatologist to get a proper examination. It would also be good to get a scalp biopsy, (where they take a piece of the skin under local anaesthetic), in order to definitively arrive at a diagnosis.You may be placed on injected and topical anti-inflammatory agents (such as a cortisone) and oral antibiotics which help to reduce the inflammation. The sooner you get this sorted, the better it will be for you. This is because the condition has a tendency to continue despite stopping relaxers.
1. Callendar V. et al. Hair Breakage as a presenting of Early or Occult Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia. Arch Dermatol 2012;148(9):1047-1052.
