All too often, women are sacrificing the health of their hair for certain styles and their edges are paying the price. Here are some practical ways to help regrow thinning edges and maintain them!

1. Say “NO” to Tight Braids

Tight braids (and twists) are often the culprits for hair loss around the edges and temple area. In listening to a number of conversations among gal pals, it seems to be common knowledge that getting braided up at your local ‘braid shop’ means that you will have to endure a headache for a day or two afterwards. That’s a real shame and it shouldn’t be this way! The hair around your edges are super fragile and should be treated as such. Speak up when you’re in that chair and let your braider know if they’re braiding too tight to avoid damage. If you continue not to speak up over time, a headache will be the least of your worries.

If you’re already suffering from thin edges, it would be best to stay away from these types of styles altogether for a while. No sense taking a chance and making a bad situation worse.

SEE ALSO: Are Your Braids Too Tight?

2. Adjust Your Styling Habits

Aside from braids, you want to make sure that you aren’t putting unnecessary tension on your edges with other styles that are intended to protect your hair or give it a break. When wearing weaves and wigs, be sure not to braid your hair underneath too tight. Once you sew in your weave, you’ll be placing more tension on your scalp. The same is the case when placing wig combs in your hair. If you’re using these to hide thinning edges, please be gentle and take good care of the hair underneath.

Also beware when styling your puffs, buns and ponytails. Too much manipulation by brushing those edges into place can cause a problem if done too often. With these styles, it’s a good idea to let your hair breathe for a day or two, switching it up every few days or on the weekends so that your edges aren’t stressed so much that they begin to thin out. When trying to regrow thinning edges, you may want to leave styling tools out of the mix and smooth the hair around the edges with just your hands. Keep your styles as loose as you can to give the scalp a rest and nurse itself back to health.

3. Reevaluate Your Diet

Now that you’ve taken steps on the outside, let’s talk about the inside. Take a look at your diet and make sure you’re eating lots of fruits and veggies (especially the dark leafy kind) to help promote healthy growth. Drinking lots of water will also help feed those follicles from within! Exercising will help to build your metabolism and get that blood flowing to help your hair thrive.

4. Take Vitamins

Including vitamins in your diet may also assist in helping you regrow thinning edges. Biotin is widely used for hair growth as it’s known to encourage the production of keratin, the protein that hair is primarily made of. Other multivitamins specifically for hair, skin and nails usually contain biotin along with other vitamins and may be another option you can discuss with your doctor.

5. Try Scalp Massages

Scalp massages in the affected areas help stimulate blood flow to the follicles which can encourage hair to return to those edges. Nightly massages with your favorite carrier oils (like coconut, sweet almond or jojoba) will improve blood circulation and carry nutrients to those areas to promote growth.

6. Use Growth Stimulating Oils

Using oils that are known to stimulate the scalp can also be a big help! Incorporating essential oils like rosemary, tea tree and others in your carrier oils can improve the effectiveness of your massages. Many (me included) have also found Jamaican Black Castor Oil to improve hair growth by increasing blood flow.

See Also: 4 Essential Oils for Hair Health

Have you dealt with this issue in the past? What have YOU done to regrow thinning edges?