The most beautiful hairstyles often come with a painful truth your hair will get thinner, or worse, the edges will slowly disappear. You do it anyway, because sometimes a slicked-back bun is the best way to make your hair look. As someone who changes her hair every week—from wigs to silk presses to ponytails to braids—I have learned this many times. My edges aren’t as full as they used to be, so I have to use black-tinted pomades and hair-thickening products to cover up the damage that tight hairstyles have done. Traction alopecia is the name for this kind of hair loss that happens to a lot of women.
“Edges tend to thin for a number of reasons, but the most common is traction alopecia which happens when tight braids, ponytails, extensions, weaves, or even hats put stress on the hair follicle. Dr. Dendy Engleman, M.D., FACMS, FASDS, FAAD, a board-certified and nationally-acclaimed dermatologic surgeon, says that if this isn’t treated right away, it can cause inflammation and follicle miniaturisation over time. Of course, high ponytails and braids aren’t the only things that make hair fall out. A lot of the time, it’s what’s going on inside.
Best for Edges That Are Weak
Hormonal changes not getting enough nutrients, stress, and even genetic thinning patterns that may first show up along the hairline are some of the other things that can cause hair loss. She says, “Follicle health can also suffer if the scalp isn’t cleaned properly or the hair care routine is too harsh. This can make edge thinning worse.”
You probably want to find quick-fix products that will fix your edges before your next appointment. It’s important to remember that there is no magic potion that will make your hair grow back. Every scalp has its own growth cycle, and it takes time to see results. But after asking Dr. Engleman and trying out a few different formulas, I found five of the best edge regrowth products that are almost magical.
The packaging for a hair regrowth treatment
Kirkland Minoxidil 5% Hair Regrowth Treatment for Men is now $31, down from $45.
Hair Serum is the best for thinning hair all over.
Pros
- Pro
- Makes strands stronger so they don’t break
Cons
- Con
- Some people say that the bottle can leak.
When people talk about hair growth, Nutrafol is one of the first brands that comes to mind. The brand’s vitamins are very popular and help hair grow from the inside out. This serum gives hair an extra boost of strength from the outside.
Lactic acid, ashwagandha exosomes, Irish moss peptides, and sea buckthorn are some of the main ingredients.
Our expert says, “This serum can help get botanicals and other helpful ingredients directly to the scalp when used with oral supplements or other treatments.”—Dr. Dendy Engleman
180 Tablets of PRO Hair Growth Supplement
The Best Supplements
$160 for Viviscal PRO Hair Growth Supplement, which comes with 180 tablets.
Pros Pros
Cons of thickening
- Con
- Some people don’t like the taste.
There isn’t a single way to regrow hair that works for everyone. To get results that last, you need to try a few different things. Topicals are helpful, but taking supplements regularly can speed up the results. Dr. Engelman loves the Viviscal Hair Growth Supplement because it has biotin, apple extract, and vitamin C, which are all good for hair growth. These ingredients strengthen weak strands and follicles.
Biotin, vitamin C, apple extract, and glycerin are some of the most important ingredients.
Our expert says, “Viviscal’s AminoMar complex which comes from the sea, and its essential vitamins have been shown in clinical studies to make hair thicker and help it grow in people who are losing hair or thinning it.”—Dr. Dendy Engelman
Pros
- Pro
- Pros and cons
Con
- It takes time to get results.
The popularity of the Cécred Edge Drops shows how powerful social media can be. After a few reviews of how the serum worked on bald spots and edges, it was impossible to find a bottle. The formula inside its metal case is full of ingredients that make hair thicker, such as peptides, biotin, ginger extract, and rice powder. Each time you use it, it makes your scalp feel better.
Important parts: ginger extract, rice powder, biotin, peptides, and Cécred Bioactive Keratin Ferment
An editor at ELLE says, “I fell for the hype after watching a man talk about how this serum brought back his hair after a few months.” I put the serum on my scalp and hair a few times a week (it’s important to be consistent!). My baby hair swirls were longer than I remembered after two months, and they didn’t break off as easily anymore.—Nerisha Penrose, editor of beauty commerce
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Minoxidil is perhaps one of the most common treatments for restoring hair, and it can be found right in the aisles of your local drugstore. This isn’t a typical hair serum you can use intermittently; minoxidil requires consistency and long-term use to maintain growth, but the results are well worth the wait.
Key ingredient: Minoxidil
Our expert says: “This remains an important first-line option for many forms of pattern thinning and edge density loss because it directly stimulates follicles to stay in the growth phase longer.”—Dr. Dendy Engelman
Serum with multiple peptides for hair density
Great for Newbies
The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density $$24 Nordstrom $24 Amazon $15 Sephora
If you want to start regrowing your hair but don’t want to spend a lot of money on expensive formulas, The Ordinary’s version is perfect for beginners. Peptides are often praised for their ability to slow down the ageing process in skin care. The Ordinary uses a formula high in peptides to make hair feel and look thicker from root to ends.
Peptides and caffeine are the main ingredients.
“This is the first scalp serum I tried on the advice of a coworker,” says an ELLE editor. I bought it because I saw a bald spot at the top of my head from pulling my hair back in a ponytail, and I used it several times a day for weeks. The bald spot was gone in just two months, thanks to tiny hairs that grew back. When I wear protective styles, this is what I use to take care of my scalp.—Nerisha Penrose
What are the different kinds of hair loss, and how do you treat each one?
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First, you need to figure out what kind of hair loss you’re having. Dr. Dendy Engelman says that “the most common type we see in women is androgenetic alopecia (female pattern hair loss), which shows up as diffuse thinning over the crown and frontal scalp and is affected by genetics and hormone sensitivity.” Telogen effluvium is the other type. It is a short-term shedding phase caused by stress, illness, surgery, or changes in hormones that pushes a lot of hairs into the resting phase of the hair cycle. “Less common autoimmune diseases, like alopecia areata, cause patchy hair loss. Traction alopecia happens when the follicles are under constant stress from styling,” she says.
Of course, treating hair loss means taking care of it on purpose, both inside and out. Dr. Engelman says, “It’s important to talk to a professional, like a board-certified dermatologist, to make a personalised plan and look into in-office options like PRP, microneedling, or prescription therapies.”
What ingredients work best to regrow hair along the edges?
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“When I want to regrow my hair on the edges, I look for multi-mechanistic support.” Dr. Engelman says that minoxidil is the most studied topical growth stimulant because it increases blood flow and lengthens the hair growth phase. Other skin care products have recently made their way into hair care, promising amazing results for growth and strength when used on the hair.
Peptides, antioxidants, and growth factor complexes help strengthen hair follicles and make the scalp a better place to be. Saw palmetto and phyto-actives can help control hormones that cause hair follicles to shrink. Peptides and collagen from the sea can help support the structure. She says that the best results often come from combining topical support with oral nutraceuticals and a clean, low-tension styling routine.
