Thinning hair after weave

[sugawooga76]

I've been wearing weaves for about a year. I have decided to give my hair a break but when I removed my weave and relaxed my hair I noticed that my hair is way thinner than before the weave. Has anyone else ever experienced this before? If so, is this temporary... will my hair thicken up again in time?

 

[determined_to_grow]

Is it only your ends or is it root to tip?

I've been wearing weaves for about a year. I have decided to give my hair a break but when I removed my weave and relaxed my hair I noticed that my hair is way thinner than before the weave. Has anyone else ever experienced this before? If so, is this temporary... will my hair thicken up again in time?

 

[sugawooga76]

I would say it's thinner all over.

 

[Je Ne Sais Quoi]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. I've only had a weave once or twice in my life and I can't recall having any problems. Do you give your hair breaks inbetween or do you get them back to back? I would have to assume the hair will thicken up again with gentle tlc unless there was permanent damage of some sort. Do you have any other styling options that you can go to so you don't need to weave for about 6 mos or so?

 

[neena]

i had this happen to me when i first started getting them years ago. my hair grew out nicely with the weave, but it did get a little thinner. i think the problem was that i was getting the weave after a fresh relaxer and it was putting too much stress on my hair. i've heard that its not good to get braids or a weave on freshly relaxed hair because the hair is still fragile from the relaxing process. i dont know how true that is but i took heed to it. i waited a few weeks after the relaxer to get the weave an i also gave my hair time to rest between weaves. this helped my hair to thicken up a bit. hope this helps.

 

[sugawooga76]

Thanks so much for the response. I was having my relaxers put in right before a weave with no break inbetween. I think you are right about the stress on my hair. I guess I'm still considered lucky considering the fact that it's not extremely thin but I do notice a significant change. I think it will retain it's thickness again after sometime. I will be staying away from weaves until then though.

 

[zzirvingj]

I had weave (a sew-in) once and my hair was ALOT thinner than before...people were saying I didn't look like myself cuz I have really thick hair

That was the reason I never got weave again. I believe the sew-in was too tight and caused too much stress on my hair. I also was to blame because I wasn't doing a good job of moisturizing it while under all that weave (it can be hard to get to your hair under a weave).

But over time my hair came back to it's normal, thick self. I personally prefer individuals to a sew-in now. I feel like, with individuals it's easier for me to keep my hair moisturized.

 

[Radianthealth]

I would start with a protien treatment. I would avoid weaves or braids for the next six months. My main focus would be trying to maintain a proper protien moisture balance. I would also try to avoid direct heat as much as possible (blow dryers, hot curlers, etc)

There are tons of tips on this site, but these are the basics that turned my hair around. Good Luck!

 

[p31woman]

i had this happen to me when i first started getting them years ago. my hair grew out nicely with the weave, but it did get a little thinner. i think the problem was that i was getting the weave after a fresh relaxer and it was putting too much stress on my hair. i've heard that its not good to get braids or a weave on freshly relaxed hair because the hair is still fragile from the relaxing process.

You took the words right out of my mouth. I would get a relaxer and a sew-in all in the same day at the salon and while my hair did grow, it thinned out a lot. It's just too much stress on the hair.

 

[glamazon386]

I've been told that the hair thins out because it's not being exposed to as much air while it's braided up under the weave or in braids. Me personally, I've never had any problems with breakage or hair thinning from weaves, but I did have that problem with braids. I also never got a weave right after my hair was freshly relaxed either. My hairdresser was against it because she said my hair was too fragile after a fresh relaxer and to wait so there would be some new growth for the braider to grip. I guess it really just depends on your hair. What works for one persons hair may not work for the next and maybe weaving back to back was just too much stress for your hair like the other ladies have stated. After you wash your hair for the first time since you got it relaxed, it should thicken up some. My hair always looked thinner for a week or two after a fresh relaxer but once I washed it was fine. I'd say take a break from the weaves and give your hair a rest.

 

[Jas123]

This was always my biggest fear for getting a weave...ZZ, howlong did it take for your hair to get back to it's original thickness?

 

[simpleDIVA]

you know honestly, I get great lenght with the weave, but I always have to cut if when I take it out because I HATE thin hair. I think my problem is not moisturizing my hair when I have the weave in. I get really lazy and I begin to slack off. Sometimes when I take out my weave, I wouldn't even do a treatment, just wash, braid and sew back in. But I promise to take better care of my hair. Did you moisturize in between, or did you get a treatment? ALso how long did you have the weave in?????

 

[sugawooga76]

I had 4 weaves put in back to back and during each weave I had my hair relaxed on the same day. I also see length in my hair but it's so thin right now I can't stand it! I took my weave out 2days ago and put a relaxer in the following day. When I first took the weave out I had significant new growth and I couldn't even tell it was thin until I relaxed my hair and ewwwwwwwwwww!!!! That's when I saw how fine and thin my hair had become. I will definitely take all the advice I can get. I'm thinking about cutting my hair in a short style until I regain my thickness again and to lay off the relaxers for at least 3-4months. My dilema is that I really don't want to cut my hair. I don't want to regret cutting it if my hair will thicken up after the newness of the relaxer fades away. For the ladies who did experience this problem of thinning after the sewn in weave how long did it take for you hair to thicken back up? Can you all suggest anything (like vitamins) that will help me out?

 

[amorette]

I had 4 weaves put in back to back and during each weave I had my hair relaxed on the same day. I also see length in my hair but it's so thin right now I can't stand it! I took my weave out 2days ago and put a relaxer in the following day. When I first took the weave out I had significant new growth and I couldn't even tell it was thin until I relaxed my hair and ewwwwwwwwwww!!!! That's when I saw how fine and thin my hair had become. I will definitely take all the advice I can get. I'm thinking about cutting my hair in a short style until I regain my thickness again and to lay off the relaxers for at least 3-4months. My dilema is that I really don't want to cut my hair. I don't want to regret cutting it if my hair will thicken up after the newness of the relaxer fades away. For the ladies who did experience this problem of thinning after the sewn in weave how long did it take for you hair to thicken back up? Can you all suggest anything (like vitamins) that will help me out?

It took a year and about 8 major cuts (1-3 inches each time) for my hair to restore itself to about 80% of where it used to be in thickness...the sew in weaves look beautiful, but if you have fragile. processed or fine hair to begin with, they can cause major damage, and it is not worth it - i would rather have my own long luxurious hair...i just got my hair trimmed one final time, and now it is hair growth mania...my hair grows pretty long, so I am excited to see it sprout down my back in it's full thickness....

 

[Ladyhenri]

I've always been a weave girl, but after the damage to my hair...I've sworn off it for at least a year (preferably forever). My hair is very thin, and yes, i used to relax and fix in the weave straight away.
I took off my last weave in september the day i joined LHCF, and have started treating my hair weekly, alternating between protein and moisture. The weaves made my hair break a lot, and whole head of hairs arent the same length, thus my hair appeared to be thin.

Do you have split ends?

If you haven't, i'd suggest you kiss good bye to the weaves. Start treating your hair weekly (deep co or protein), use a tropical grwoth ointment like MTG and start taking supplements, especially Biotin, MSM and Horsetail. Only cut your hair if you have split ends. If not, start protective styling (I use Phony ponys or buns), When you hair grows, you could dust a litle bit regularly so that you get some evenness.
i use profectiv break-free and Healthy-ends mixed together to moiturise my hair and it has managed to regain its elasticity. With time, your hair will fill out.
I feel your pain girl, i felt the same way a month ago cos i kept looking at the lovely full heads of hair here and thinking, how on earth am i gonna get that fullness??
Good luck

 

[Blackbird77]

The same thing happened to me but I was relaxed at the time and the glued track near my right ear caused major thinning there. I stopped wearing bonded weaves after that.