11 ways to regrow your edges the healthy way
LICHELLE PALMER
IF your edges have been stepping back from your forehead like they don’t want to be in a relationship with you anymore, it’s time to think seriously about taking the steps needed to regrow them. Edges get thin or fall out for various reasons, including too much tension caused by certain hairstyles, and in medical cases, from conditions like alopecia.
And when ‘laid edges’ are still the rage and exaggerated baby hair the big trend in haircare, those without edges have to find ways to join in on the trend. Temporary side bang fringe stickers are available on Amazon to instantly give you baby hair edges, but do you really always want to do the stick and peel method, when you could regrow your edges healthily yourself?
Hairstylist Sonya Cohen gives these tips that have been used successfully by her clients.
1) Use castor oil – the pure, organic hand-pressed version. Massage the oil onto your balding spots every night.
2) For your edges to grow back you absolutely cannot do any of the styles that are ripping them out in the first place. If you must wear wigs, choose the ones without any glue or pins on your edges, and stay away from lace fronts.
3) No matter what the texture of your hair is, stay away from slicked back hairstyles like ponytails.
4) Stay away from super long or heavy braids.
5) Use a silk scarf every single night. Also, make sure to take your vitamins, especially those specially formulated for hair growth, and drink lots of water. A nutritious/balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables also helps.
6) Use peppermint oil. You can mix a teaspoon of pure peppermint oil with a carrier oil like coconut or argan oil and massage your scalp with it for a few minutes daily. There’s actual scientific evidence that peppermint oil stimulates hair growth — a 2014 study, Peppermint Oil Promotes Hair Growth without Toxic Signs by Young et al and available on the National Library of Medicine website, found that using peppermint oil induces the rapid anagen growth stage and could be used as a practical agent for hair growth, resulting in significant increase in dermal thickness, follicle number and follicle depth.
7) Know the difference between loss of edges caused by tension, and traction alopecia. This is hair loss that’s caused by repeatedly pulling on your hair, and you will need professional help to treat it.
8) Don’t use edge control or gel on your edges if they’re breaking. The alcohol in these products will dry your hair and break it off.
9) Discontinue, even briefly, the use of protective styles that induce tension or added hair near to the hairline.
10) Wear hairstyles that help hide your edges while they recover – like those incorporating scarves or headbands, or cut your hair in a style that allows it to come forward, like a pixie cut that will make it less noticeable while growing out.
11) If all else fails, shave it all off and start from scratch.
