Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD Edges are a big topic among African American women. Unfortunately, many of us suffer from thin edges. While it’s important to get to the root (no pun intended) cause of your thin edges, you’ll also want to camouflage them until your hair grows back. If you have thin edges, don’t worry: There is no shame in faking it till you make it. Here are some popular techniques used to hide thin edges.
What Causes Thin Edges?
- Heredity and conditions like androgenetic alopecia
- Medical conditions
- Medications
- Telogen Effluvium (commonly after childbirth)
- Traction alopecia
Traction Alopecia and Thin Edges
Traction alopecia is one of the most common causes of thin edges among African American women. It’s usually caused by tight braids or weaves, or prolonged friction from a wig or wig cap. Traction alopecia can also occur from ponytails that are too tight, trauma—like your braids being pulled out, and from relaxer application that is too frequent or aggressive. Luckily, traction alopecia is treatable when caught early. You can read more about how to treat traction alopecia here.
Hide Your Thin Edges
There are thousands of YouTube videos on how to camouflage and hide thin edges, and there are many methods that you can try. The most popular methods to hide thin edges are:
- Hair Building Fibers
- Colored Edge Gels
- Colored Powders/Makeup
Each of these methods has pros and cons, but each can be very realistic in the right situation and when applied correctly.
1. Hair Building Fibers
Hair building fibers are one of the newest methods for camouflaging thinning hair and are very useful if you need to hide thin edges. They are typically made of natural, colored keratin protein that has static charge that allows it to bind to and intertwine with your existing hairs. Toppik fibers are a popular brand of hair building fibers, and are advertised to resist wind, rain and sweat. They can be removed by shampoo.
Toppik fibers can give a natural looking thickening to your thin areas and help to hide thin edges. Because if their static charge, Toppik fibers intertwine with your existing hair for a natural look. The fibers are usually shaken or sprayed onto your thin areas with an applicator, and then you can use an edge brush or your fingers to style and blend them. Toppik fibers are said to be able to resist wind, rain, and perspiration, and they can be removed with shampoo.
Here’s a video from Ms MuffinIsMyLovers showing how she uses Toppik fibers kit on her edges:
Hair building fibers are pricier than colored gels and powders, but they look very realistic, and their hair like appearance makes them perfect to hide thin edges, especially if you have extensive thinning.
2. Colored Edge Control Gel
There are many colored edge control gels that can be used to make your edges sleek and shiny and to hide thin edges. Creme of Nature Perfect Edges is a popular colored edge gel that you might consider. It is alcohol free, which is important to avoid drying and damaging your edges. It also contains keratin amino acids, which are added to help strengthen your hair and make it less prone to breakage. Colored edge control gel can also be used to cover any gray roots around your edges.
3. Colored Powder/Makeup
A tinted powder can also be used to hide thin edges. It’s important to make sure that you get the right color, but tinted powders can be an affordable and an easy alternative if you need to hide thin edges. Sevich Hairline powder is sweat proof, and it is also sulfate and paraben free. It comes in a wide range of colors to help with blending and has an included puff that can be used to apply the powder to your thin areas.
An even cheaper alternative for camouflaging thin edges is to let your brow powder do double duty as an edge cover-up! Brow powders come at several price points and colors. They are great if you need a quick cover up on your thin edges, or if you only have a few areas that are sparse.
Here’s a video from DaBoss Ella showing how she uses brow powder to hide thin edges:
Conclusion
If you’re suffering from bald spots and thin edges, it’s always best to start with a dermatologist to find out what’s causing your thin edges and to make sure that there is nothing serious going on. While it’s important to treat your thin edges, there is nothing wrong with camouflaging them during the process. Hair building fibers, colored gels and powders can all be great alternatives to help hide your thin edges. Make sure to read the ingredients and verify that they don’t contain drying alcohols or other potentially damaging ingredients. Remember: there is no shame in faking it till you make it!
Featured Image: Samroa A et al. Derm Online J 2011 Nov 15;17(11):1.
