The texture was different. In fact, my remaining hair seemed to look like the hair of our Muslim sisters. It was soft and light, something that was quite different from my natural hair, she said.

But she said even with the texture change, her hair began falling off and only a little was left at the back of her head.

There were patches on my head which turned into wounds. When I slept at night, I could wake up and find my hair on the pillow. This left me worried. When I combed my hair, the hair fell off, she said.

Onyinge then decided to braid her hair to see if the falling off would be tamed.

This did not work. I then decided to do weaves or wear wigs as I sought for a solution, she said.

An adults head has 100,000150,000 hair follicles, and each follicle can grow about 20 individual hairs. On average, every normal individual loses 75 to 100 hairs a day.

In 2016, Onyinge could not walk with her hair, whether it was braided or not.

Painful wounds began forming in the patches that were now scars. The hair was now not growing anymore. This is the time I decided to go and see a specialist, who recommended some lotions that I was to apply on my head, she said.

The pain on the wounds reduced but the hair continued to fall off.

LOST HOPE

The specialist told Onyinge that whatever condition it was, it must have been inherited.

I went to the specialist to repair my hair but then he asked me if anybody in my family had the same problem. This is the time I had to tell him about my father and my sister, she said.

It was at this point that she was given a lotion to apply on her hair, which did not guarantee that her hair would grow.

The doctor first drew blood from my system and extracted plasma, which was used to inject my scalp. I had 15 injections on my scalp just as a way to treat my hair loss, she said.

Trichologist Hillary Onyango says that the plasma used for the injection should be able to stimulate the growth of the hair follicles.

Though she had to part with around Sh15,000 per session, Onyinge said the hair continued to fall off.

Then a few days ago, a friend told me he knew a good doctor who could help me with the condition. I decided to give it a shot. When I arrived, I realised the clinic was being run by a man and his wife, all from Indian origin, she said.

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When your hair falls off and leaves scars - The Star, Kenya