GLEN BURNIE, Md. — According to experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine, almost half of black women experience some form of hair loss.
However, few doctors are familiar with black hair styling practices, leaving many women to sort through unhelpful, or even harmful, advice on their own.
Yalmikia Edmonds started out as a licensed cosmetologist, but when her grandmother developed breast cancer and started to lose her hair, it sparked a change in Edmonds.
“When that happened, I had to like camouflage areas where she was dealing with alopecia," says Edmonds.
After that, she quickly realized there was a need for similar treatment for many women, so she became a certified hair loss practitioner and opened a business called Levonye Professionals for people who experience alopecia and other types of hair loss.
She says she was surprised to see just how many people needed help, but she was also surprised to learn how the hair loss was happening.
“She came in completely no hair, and when she told me what happened, I did not know that a person could lose all of their hair instantly if you know something traumatic happens in their journey," says Edmonds.
Not only can people experience alopecia because of genetics or autoimmune diseases, but many experience it because of stress.
Edmonds said learning this was the most shocking.
“Being in this space I’m in, I would not have even ever thought that Alopecia could manifest in the way that it did," says Yalmikia Edmonds.
Edmonds does more than just treat and cover hair loss.
She takes time to support and counsel her clients who experience trauma as a result of losing their hair.
She says it's equally important people treat their mental health as well.
“First thing I recommend is doing some type of therapy talk therapy with someone," says Edmonds.
She also recommends taking a deeper look into your scalp, which is exactly what we did using the process called trichoscopy.
Edmonds says taking a look at the scalp is something women who don’t experience hair loss can do as well.
“So when you are able to do something about it early by doing a trichoscopy, then you won’t actually have to go through that process of hair fall," she says.
Edmonds says the most important lesson she tries to make sure her clients know is that life still goes on after hair loss and there are many ways to feel like yourself again.
“Don’t allow Alopecia to be your end all because it is unpredictable.”
Although Edmonds specializes in hair loss, if you are experiencing hair loss yourself, she does recommend that you go to a dermatologist first to be properly diagnosed since there are different types of alopecia.
Edmonds says some insurance companies will cover her treatment plans, or you can work out a payment plan.
