My darling sister recently visited me and I was assessing her hair as you do! To be fair the condition of her hair has improved considerably but we are working on the length and her edges. My sister is in her 50’s so she is my test case to show that it is possible!

There was however one area of concern, her Nape and although I was surprised at the breakage, she hadn’t actually noticed it for the obvious reason that it is behind her head.

So I took videos and pictures to show her. She was not happy, she didn’t know why this had happened until we started talking about her hair care practices.

The band for her wigs was too tight. The pressure and the friction literary took her Nape hair out. We discussed how to mitigate against this; wear a satin wig cap, get the right size wig, and ensure the wig is not too tight.

Breakage in the Nape area is not uncommon or solely caused by wigs.

Here are some other things that could be damaging your Nape!

1. Gels And Brushing:Some gels, actually a lot of gels are just too harsh for a lot of naturals. While I accept that the sleek look is here to stay, if your nape is suffering, do not keep using gels.Go for the good old’ smooth down with water and a little oil followed by a scarf tied for 10–30 minutes. It is much less damaging.

2. Puffs And Ponytails: if you pull your hair into puffs or ponytails and you are not careful about tension, you can easily damage your Nape hair.As a general test, when your hairstyle is Complete you should be able to bend your head downwards at the neck and not feel any tightness at the hairline.

3. Long Term Protective Styling:When you do braids, cornrows, faux locks, etc the hair braided at your Nape can easily attract and accumulate lint from your clothes and pillows, etc.I am sure many of you will have experienced impossible-to-remove lint that forces you to cut your hair or that breaks your hair during the next detangling session.If you intend to keep a protective style for two weeks or more, be aware that there is a possibility that lint can interweave with conditioning agents causing micro build-ups. You may want to take out the front and nape and redo these areas to minimize this happening ( of course weighing it up with over manipulation of the said area).

4. Brushing:Constantly brushing with a bristle brush, bore brush! Vegan brush! Any brush can pose a problem.

5. Not Moisturizing Properly:Sometimes we neglect to condition the Nape and even our edges properly, try to ensure you get your deep conditioner to these spots, and be intentional about getting your leave-in and sealants into these spots.