I Chemically Treat My Hair, Wear a Ponytail, and I Saw Female Hair Loss

I am a 40 year old african american woman and I process my own hair. I also typically wear my hair in a ponytail. Couple of months ago I notice that I had experienced some hair loss at temple and back of head. It has slightly grown back. Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again and can I continue to chemically process my hair…

What you are describing may be traction alopecia caused by pulling from a tight ponytail or possibly triangular alopecia, which can be genetic. The loss could even be from the chemicals if the process you used caused damage. I won’t know what type of hair loss you have without a physical exam.

If you feel your hair loss is from chemical damage (which may be the case, but again, I don’t know) then stop the chemical treatments. If you are wearing your ponytail too tight, then stop wearing a ponytail. If the loss is due to genetics, hormonal imbalance, or a vitamin deficiency, your doctor should be able to give you a better idea of what you can do.

I apologize for such a basic answer, but there isn’t much I can say without an exam and further history.