Updos give me bald spots!

**thirstylocks** · February 5th, 2015, 10:37 AM

Anyone else get this problem? Any updo I do, even a pony tail or half up style, gives me really noticeable bald spots. I have fairly full hair but it is a bit sparse at the hair line (I think?) and it doesn't help that I've always naturally had an uneven hairline riddled with baby hairs. My hair is also dark brown and the contrast to my white scalp is so strong. I feel a bit embarassed to put my hair up and as a result, I go months with letting my hair down and I know its killing the health of my ends.

Does anybody have any tips or tricks for this? I can post a picture if it would help to visualize it. My hair has no bald spots when its down and I'm really not concerned about the fullness of my hair - I am pretty happy with it. It just doesnt translate into updos.

So here is the bald spot and you can see a picture of the medium-fullness of my hair in my signature.

**meteor** · February 5th, 2015, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by thirstylocks

Does anybody have any tips or tricks for this? I can post a picture if it would help to visualize it. My hair has no bald spots when its down and I'm really not concerned about the fullness of my hair - I am pretty happy with it. It just doesnt translate into updos.

That sleeked down look is pretty common for buns and ponies.

It's all about placing hair: maybe experiment with updos from half-ups (sectioned buns), because they can give poof/lift at the front or can cover up some areas that you'd sleek down normally. O you could do accent twists/braids along the head or position and pin that front hair strategically?

**Ambrielle** · February 5th, 2015, 10:45 AM

Do you wear your updos in the same spot/place all the time? It's good to change them so as to avoid putting pressure on the same spots and i'd avoid any hairstyles that feel "tight" against the scalp if you don't already. How long ago did you start noticing those spots? Have the baby hairs always been there or are they new growth?
A photo may help us if you are comfortable sharing

**thirstylocks** · February 5th, 2015, 10:49 AM

Ooh I like that side braid idea.

The pony tail I posted is actually a hybrid! It started as a half-up-do to give the middle part of my head more volume and then I just added another elastic and took all the hair in a pony.
I should also say that I didn't intend for it to look so sleek but my hair is a little oily since I havent washed it in a few days lol. There is not gel in it or anything.

**thirstylocks** · February 5th, 2015, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Ambrielle

Do you wear your updos in the same spot/place all the time? It's good to change them so as to avoid putting pressure on the same spots and i'd avoid any hairstyles that feel "tight" against the scalp if you don't already. How long ago did you start noticing those spots? Have the baby hairs always been there or are they new growth?
A photo may help us if you are comfortable sharing

No I don't wear it in the same spot - I barely wear it up at all unless I'm at home sleeping lol. My baby hairs have always been there - is that normal?? Some are new growth, but the ones on my hair line have looked like that since my 1st grade school photos!!! As for the bald spots, I always had some of my scalp peek through but the past year or so, it has been a LOT of scalp peeking through.

It is only on the sides of my head around my hairline so I'm wondering if this is some hormonal thing?

I added a photo in the first post

**yogagirl** · February 5th, 2015, 11:32 AM

Before I saw the picture I thought your meant bald spots as in hair loss or rather hair pulled out in certain spots due to tension from updos. But you just mean that the hair separates in an unfortunate way, so a lot of scalp is visible. Am I understanding this correctly?

If yes, I also get that, especially when my hair is a bit oily. The only remedy I know is using my fingers or ideally a BBB to smooth the hair out better and break up the "stringy-ness", arranging it just so over the scalp.

Oh and by the way, my hair is also like that. Close to the hairline in the front I have tons of baby hair, and basically if you draw a line over my head between the ears, I don't have a lot of hair density in front of that line. So not only is the hair finer, there is also less per square inch. Doesn't help the visible scalp situation

**bonbon58** · February 5th, 2015, 11:46 AM

My hair is like this too! The oils from my scalp makes hair stringy starting day 2 after wash. Brushing my hairy before making an up-do helps a bit

**sophiamermaid** · February 5th, 2015, 11:53 AM

I sometimes get that and have to just brush that part back into it -- well, I gave to release it all and brush it in the direction the base of the updo is going to be (especially pronounced when I'm doing 2 high buns). That always fixes it for me!

**Ambrielle** · February 5th, 2015, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by thirstylocks

No I don't wear it in the same spot - I barely wear it up at all unless I'm at home sleeping lol. My baby hairs have always been there - is that normal?? Some are new growth, but the ones on my hair line have looked like that since my 1st grade school photos!!! As for the bald spots, I always had some of my scalp peek through but the past year or so, it has been a LOT of scalp peeking through.

It is only on the sides of my head around my hairline so I'm wondering if this is some hormonal thing?

I added a photo in the first post

i see, i was thinking in the same line as yogagirl, i thought you meant actual bald spots from hair loss or alopecia. I think it is normal for some to have those baby hairs there all the time, i can think of someone in my family at least who has many baby hairs in their front hairline, they never seem to grow any longer but they have had them since they were kids, i wouldn't worry about that.
And yes, i was thinking it could be hormonal if you have noticed a definite increase of those spots. Do you take an oral contraceptive? I used to go on and off the pill randomly (crazy and stupid i know), i did notice it messed up big time with my skin and hair. When i went on/off the first three months i'd experience very oily skin and hair loss but the truth is certain contraceptives actually seem to improve my hair (this could be because of a slight hormonal imbalance than the pill adjusted). Another thing to consider is oily scalps. An acquaintance of mine started to get those but hers were far more noticeable than yours and spread out all over her scalp. She thought she had alopecia and went to see a specialist. It turned out sebum was the culprit, there was so much of it on her scalp that it was clogging the new hair from coming through, i guess it was obstructing the follicles or something like that.

**Ambrielle** · February 5th, 2015, 11:58 AM

i forgot to mention i have a spot like that (or did! just checked and it's filled in with hair now wow, very strange). It was on the right side (temple) , i now have short hairs (about 6 inches long) where that spot was. I am not sure what caused it to be honest, i thought it was a mix of stress, mechanical damage (tight updos) but who knows