I Called It Baby Hairs for a Decade—It Was Actually Hair Loss

Imagine waking up one day and noticing your hairline had receded by an inch. Sounds unbelievable, but that’s what happened to me a few years ago. I was on autopilot with my morning skincare routine when I noticed the scar on my scalp—which has been hidden by my hair since I got it at age five—was suddenly very visible. I was shocked, worried and rather confused. There weren’t hundreds of hairs on my pillow, so obviously, I hadn’t lost all of that hair overnight, but how had I not noticed until that morning that I’d been losing my hair? I rushed to my phone to look back at pictures of myself, and I realised my hairline had been thinning consistently over the course of a decade. And now I had been left with areas completely devoid of hair, and patches with very little hair left at all.

I hotfooted it to see a dermatologist who explained I likely had traction alopecia. “It’s a form of hair loss caused by chronic tension or pulling on the hair follicle, usually caused by tight hairstyles like ponytails, weaves, braids, or even tight head coverings,” explains consultant dermatologist Dr Sharon Belmo. Turns out that the hairline is particularly vulnerable to this traction-related damage, as “the hair follicles are finer, more delicate and exposed to the greatest amount of tension in many hairstyles. These hairs also tend to have a shorter growth cycle than other hairs on the scalp,” adds Belmo.

My biggest question was whether I’d be able to grow my hair back or whether I’d left it too late, but I was reassured that regrowth is often possible, especially in the early stages. However, “prolonged trauma from tension causes inflammation around the hair follicle. So, if styling practices remain the same, this chronic inflammation can lead to the destruction of the hair follicle, also known as scarring. At this point, the hair follicle will no longer be able to produce hair, and the hair loss becomes irreversible,” reveals Belmo.

Armed with lots of advice, I set off on a mission to restore my hairline, and these are the seven hairline-saving hacks that worked for me.

Embrace your natural texture

Entering a new era of styling my hair sounded easy enough, but after years of blow-drying it straight, I found it really hard to embrace my natural texture. So much of our identity gets tied up in our hair that I didn’t feel like me when sporting my curls. I also had no idea how to define them, and hated how short my hair was when it wasn’t straight. I persevered because, according to Belmo, “the more the hair is unnaturally forced into styles that require tension to maintain sleekness or straightness, the higher the risk of stress on follicles.” This leads to breakage and hair loss, while sticking with your natural texture reduces dependence on heat or chemical straightening and requires less manipulation when styling, which should essentially save your strands.

Loose, low-tension styles are best when rehabbing your hair post-traction alopecia, so I mastered my wash-day routine to sport defined curls for at least three days at a time. Currently, I use the Typebea Intense Bond Repair Leave-in Treatment, £43, which strengthens hair by up to 52 per cent and reduces breakage by 80 per cent after just one use. Next, I section my hair and apply Innersense I Create Volume Lotion, £26, to each section, as it helps define my curls and lock them into place for days. I finish by adding a drop of the Cécred Oil Ritual, £44, which is packed with 21 nourishing oils that keep my hair well moisturised and help weigh my curls down so that I don’t lose as much length when they’re dry.

Invest in a water filter

Ever noticed how the look and feel of your hair can totally change when you’re on holiday? Well, it’s the water, or more specifically, it’s what's in the water that can make such a major difference. Just over 60 per cent of UK households have hard water flowing out of their taps and according to Trichologist Ricardo Vila Nova that’s far from ideal when it comes to our hair.

“Hard water is determined by the presence of minerals or metals, as well as limescale or chlorine. Some minerals can build up superficially on the hair, while others can actually reach the cortex—the middle layer of the hair—causing more severe changes to the hair structure,” shares Vila Nova. And if that doesn’t sound scary enough, hard water can also “stop the active ingredients in your products from being properly absorbed by your hair. It also affects the scalp by disrupting its natural pH balance and reducing hydration levels, which may compromise both scalp health and hair fibre elasticity. This imbalance can contribute to scalp dryness, irritation, and increased sensitivity. And for those with traction alopecia, these effects can potentially increase hair fragility, breakage, and add additional stress to existing hair fibres,” he adds.

The fix? A water filter. Which is why I swapped my shower head for the Hello Klean Shower Head+, £120, which features advanced three-stage filtration to reduce heavy metals, minerals, and chlorine buildup on your hair. Not only that, it also tracks how much water you use and alerts you through an app when it’s time to replace your filter—genius!

Add a dandruff shampoo

I don’t have dandruff, but I do use anti-dandruff shampoos (it makes sense I promise). “Repeated pulling causes inflammation around the follicle, often seen on the scalp as tenderness, bumps, redness or irritation along the hairline. This is why anti-inflammatory scalp treatments can be helpful, particularly when the condition is still active and potentially reversible,” explains Consultant Dermatologist and Head of Medical at Hair+Me, Dr Jason Thomson.

Hair experts often recommend once-weekly use of an anti-dandruff shampoo containing selenium sulfide or ketoconazole, even for people like me without obvious dandruff, as these ingredients can help reduce inflammatory activity, excess buildup, and microbial imbalance on the scalp. I switch between the Vichy Dercos Antidandruff Shampoo, £11.62, which contains selenium sulfide, and the Nizoral Dandruff Treatment 2 % w/w Shampoo, £14.99, which is packed with ketoconazole.

Consider a scalp injectable

Patience isn’t one of my strong suits, but when you’re dealing with traction alopecia, it can often take up to a year to see an improvement in hair growth and density. So, in a bid to speed things up, and get the best results, I decided to try some needle based in-clinic treatments. I started with platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections. This is where growth factor-packed plasma is taken from your own blood. "When injected into the scalp these growth factors stimulate the hair follicles to kick start growth and prevent further hair loss," explains Belmo. And after three sessions, spaced four weeks apart I noticed a lot more new hairs sprouting from my hairline.

Next, I tried polynucleotides, the purified fish sperm DNA, a popular facial aesthetic treatment, but it can be injected into the scalp to boost hair growth. It works by stimulating dormant follicles back into the growth phase, calming the inflammation and micro-trauma caused by traction, improving blood flow to the follicles, and boosting collagen and elastin production in the scalp. Like PRP, three to six monthly injections are recommended, and while by this point I was well into my hair growth journey, I am convinced it helped thicken up my strands and boost growth.

Most recently I’ve been testing out MCT exosome therapy. "Exosomes are nanosized extracellular vesicles naturally released by cells to transport biological information between tissues. They contain highly active signalling molecules including growth factors, proteins, lipids, mRNA, and microRNA that regulate inflammation, tissue repair, blood flow, and stem cell communication," explains Viviana Botoaca, Geneviv Clinic founder. For traction alopecia specifically, they "help support recovery by calming the inflammation around the follicle, sending signals that encourage the tissue to repair itself, and keeping hair follicles alive and functioning before permanent damage sets in,” adds Botoaca.

What makes MCT exosomes different is that they're made from your own plasma, rather than from plant, marine or bovine sources. Like with PRP your blood is taken, the plasma is extracted, and then it’s fed through the MCT device, where it is heated to increase the concentration of growth factors and trigger the release of your own exosomes. That supercharged plasma is then reinjected into the scalp. For me, this has been the most exciting treatment because I thought I’d reached the peak amount of regrowth and density possible, and somehow a course of three treatments coaxed more hairs out of my hairline and improved overall density.

Address your diet

When it comes to hair health, what you eat plays a role. “Food is the easiest way to absorb vital nutrients and vitamins of which the body may be deprived, and it is also necessary for hair to grow and remain healthy. Foods high in nutrients like biotin, vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, and protein are all known to promote hair health. This will not only help the hairline but also the overall health of your hair,” shares Trichologist Hannah Gaboardi. I asked my GP for some blood tests to see if I had any deficiencies I needed to address, and it turned out I was vitamin D deficient and had low ferritin levels too.

“Vitamin D influences the hair growth cycle and supports the proper functioning of hair follicles. Ferritin (stored iron) plays a vital role in hair growth as it helps regulate the release of iron, a crucial mineral for optimal hair health,” explains Gaboardi.

Interestingly, when it comes to hair health and deficiencies, you don’t want to just be in the normal range. According to Gaboardi, levels need to be in the mid-high range to help your hair grow, as the body prioritises the function of your vital organs over your hair, skin and nails.

I optimised my diet by upping my protein as it’s the building block for hair, and its deficiency can lead to hair thinning and loss. And I added some supplements to my diet.

“With Traction Alopecia, supplements should focus on reducing inflammation, supporting follicular repair, improving circulation, and strengthening weakened strands while the follicles recover from tension. It’s best to prioritise nutrients involved in tissue repair and hair strength such as protein, iron, zinc, omega-3s, biotin, amino acids, collagen support, and anti-inflammatory support,” shares Gaboardi. I take the Vida Glow Hairology Capsules, £45 at Vida Glow which contain AnaGain, an extract derived from organic pea sprouts that’s proven to boost growth, reduce hair loss and strengthen tresses too. It also contains iodine-rich bladderwrack seaweed, zinc, selenium and biotin to deeply nourish fragile strands from the inside out. I also take the Vida Glow Pro Collagen+, £55, the marine collagen tripeptides are fast acting and are more easily absorbed by the body thanks to how teeny tiny they are in comparison to typical hydrolysed collagen used in other supplements. The Artah Advanced Multi-Nutrient, £60, rounds out my daily dose of oral haircare to target everything your hair (and body) needs for healthy growth.

Try at-home growth support

Every other week, there’s a new ingredient, product or hack that claims to work wonders when it comes to hair growth. Rice water, no shampoo, and every oil imaginable have been touted as a panacea for hair loss. “The most common myth is that rosemary oil can grow your hair, when in fact it can do the opposite by blocking the follicle and delaying hair growth,” warns Gaboardi.

And I’ve discovered through my research that many growth serums don’t actually contain actives that are clinically proven to boost growth directly. But they do contain “ingredients such as niacinamide, panthenol and glycerin that can improve scalp comfort, reduce dryness and support the skin barrier,” says Thomson. And this can create a scalp environment that’s conducive to growth.

I use a mixture of proven hair growth boosters and scalp care to ensure I’m covering all my bases. The Current Body LED Hair Growth Helmet, £649.99, is by no means cheap, but it is clinically proven to extend the growth phase of our hair, increase density and reduce scalp inflammation too. While my current scalp serum of choice is the Rhute Density + Repair Scalp Serum, £55, developed by a dermatologist and powered by caffeine, peptides, stem cell extracts and niacinamide.

Opt for a hair transplant

About two years into my regrowth journey, it became obvious that I had areas of scarring alopecia, which is when, as Belmo explained, the hair follicle has been completely destroyed and can no longer produce hair, aka irreversible hair loss. I couldn’t grow back a single strand around my scar, and my temples were very sparse, too. Luckily, “when it comes to hair transplant surgery, the most compatible forms of hair loss are androgenetic alopecia (a genetic disorder), and irreversible traction alopecia,” explains my hair transplant surgeon, Dr Christopher D’Souza.

Hair transplant surgery involves removing follicles from one part of the scalp and placing them in areas where hair loss has occurred. It’s a commitment in terms of aftercare, and a waiting game when it comes to results. The implanted hairs need to be treated with kid gloves for the first 10 days while the follicles embed in the scalp. The hairs (but not the follicles) typically fall out around day 14 and then, “new hair will start to appear from these follicles at three to four months post op with noticeable results at the six-month mark,” explains D’Souza.

I had two in total and I’m considering a third, as “density with a single hair transplant can never match the existing density of the rest of the hair on the head,” shares D’Souza. And as someone who is very much a more is more kinda gal, I really want to fill out my hairline as much as possible. With that said, hair transplant surgery was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made when it comes to treating my traction alopecia. There was no way I was getting that hair back, and my confidence levels really plummeted having to walk around with bald patches and a higher hairline.