by
Black Girl With Long Hair
In 2010, pictures of supermodel Naomi Campbell’s heavily receded hairline emerged online. The general reaction was shock, as people wondered how such a beautiful woman could allow excessive weaving to have such an ugly effect on her hair and scalp.
Well, it’s two years later and it seems not much has changed. Recent pictures of the model enjoying time on the beach show her hairline still heavily receded. Every hair style choice has its cost. Natural hair requires a good moisture and detangling regimen, relaxed hair requires regular touch ups, and weaves tend to take a toll on edges and, in some cases, scalp health. Perhaps Naomi Campbell knows the risk of her decision and is simply willing to pay the cost. Ladies, what are your thoughts? Click for one more photo below.
150 Responses
I’m not sure if that really is two years later, she’s wearing the same swimsuit. Not that she can’t wear it multiple times but it seems like a supermodel would have thousands of suits to choose from…
The alopecia is usually cause by tension ( tight braids, locs, weaves) or chemicals ( perms color), or excessive heat, you combine all these ( which black women do) , then BOOM u have follicles that give up on us, then we keep covering it with weaves and the cycle is hopeless. Naomi got these bald sides from wearing weaves all these years. Let this be a cautionary tale to young girls diving into the weave culture. Best believe i school my niece who is 18 with a full head of hair, yet she wants to “supplement’ it with weaves. i say go ahead but THIS ( above) is how the story usually ends.
IMHO, I think that she has done irreversable damage to her hair trying to have the white look. Now, it looks a hot mess, because she is still trying to look white. Her best bet would be to have her entire hair shaved, to preserve the rest of her scalp. That way she could wear a wig at least. I cannot understand why a perfessional model would want to look like this, and be ok with it.
*Clicks on link for closer look* Ooo sweet baby Jesus 0_o
I’m sorry, the topic isn’t funny, but you made me die laughing.
First we must remember that all women experience receding hairline’s especially those who are perimenopausal or menopausal no matter their ethnic background. Wearing weaves wigs braids only accelerates the damage done to hair during this hormonal changing period in our lives. I wear my hair naturally and I advocate for the change in our society’s view of beauty. We have been trained away from our natural hair and we must endeavor to fight back the oppression of ourselves and continue to tell everyone that natural hair is and always will be beautiful and desirable.
Not only is natural hair beautiful, it is the healthier.
We should use this as an opportunity to discuss ways in which we can take care of our hairline and give hair an opportunity to grow back. I see this in my community (weave or no weave), and I wonder if there is some remedy out there for balding around the hairline. Many of us are neglecting our hairline unintentionally, and we must become aware of it.
She could have alopecia and hasn’t come out about it. Stay out of other peoples business. I swear people are so judgemental.
Lets not assume people! Naomi deals with Alapecia and prob prefers to wear a wig or weave to cover the bald, that unknown to us may be in more areas than just the front. And if she truly doesn’t care for her hair, what can any of us do to change that, it’s not like she openly volunteered for this picture either. I’m pretty sure if she was going into public she would be snatched to the heavens hair, make-up etc.
okay….so she’s not taking care of her hair or her hair has permanent damage. Would we criticize a man the same way we do here?
First we fault black women for having natural hair
then we fault black women for NOT having natural hair
and we fault women for going bald. Let Naomi be, and if there isn’t any constructive criticisms or lessons to be given out of this, then there is no place for this kind of gossip negativity on this site and women CERTAINLY don’t need any more of it in general.
The crazy side to this, is that she looks BETTER bald. She is still beautiful!
How can you tell if the follicles are permanently damaged? I do see hair though it may be quite faint. Her scalp might respond to massages. Well she could wear wigs or hats. It could grow back who knows? The body including human hair is resilient. I hope its not permanently damaged. But yes, it seems she doesn’t care since she’s a millionaire and could’ve definitely addressed the problem. Naomi is a case of being addicted to a hair weave.
well for those whose men only like weaves…
Obviously Naomi is a veteran model so she could demand things that say a rookie model could not. If I were Naomi I would do strictly wigs for photo shoots. As a model your hair is constantly manupilated into a certain look a specific designer or photographer wants. So it’s understandable that decades of harsh hair treatment led to this. BUT Naomi should have attacked her damaged hair line when she FIRST saw the signs of thinning and breaking. Seeing these pictures just make me feel so sad and sorry for her. Hopefully she can hire a stylist to combat this problem and get her hair back to a healthy state and prevent this from ever happening to her again.
It’s not like she doesn’t or didn’t have someone doing her hair. She probably was very aware long time ago,of her hair’s condition, even before we saw the damage. This was her choice. She is in a business where in order to succeed, you have to adhere to the so-called beauty standards in order to be accepted. IMO she wanted her profession more than she wanted hair. She is now wearing a natural throwback wig from the times when big naturals were in. If she can retrieve her hair, I am certain that she will. She has the money and help to do so.
This is clearly permanent. How was she gonna fix permanent damage?
You have no way of knowing if the follicles are permanently damaged.
You can look at how clean her hair is around her face, and how far back the damage is. It is not rocket science. It is obvious that she has permanent damage. That is what weaves do.
No EXCUSES! The best Dermatologist or a nice expensive waterproof lace front wig. What’s with the ear toes?
This was a very negative and judgemental assumption by blackgirl. I hopes that the tone of your site doesn’t switch to this type of negative talk.
How is this a judgmental assumption. It’s obvious by the state of her hair that she no longer cares about it. Your treatment of your hair is reflected in its health.
The picture tells a thousand words that equate to one truth which means gluing weaves onto the scalp is a bad practice. Its obvious Campbell doesn’t care. However, she is a public person and part of the beauty & fashion industry a fashion icon no less, so I find nothing disrespectful about the observation at all.
Thankfulness to my father who shared with me concerning this blog, this weblog is genuinely awesome.
So for the past 2 years my hair has been slowly falling out especially on the top of my head(Im young,very healthy,in my mid 20’s, male), with my hairline receding Ive tried various brands including nioxin, which actually made my hair fall out more. I gave the “Shielo volume shampoo” a try cause my doctor recommended it. My hair line slowly started coming back with itty bitty hairs at first but on top of my head I still saw a lack of hair. now my hair line is 80% back with more itty bitty hairs growing in the remaining area and the previous small hair now thick and long. The top of my head has finally also started showing signs of growing back.
CHEERS!
it’s apparent that she doesn’t care about her real hair. she’s had more than enough time to take note of the damage done to her hairline and scalp and if she’s continued opting for her preferred hair styles, then she’s accepting of the outcome. it’s scary, but she must have a strong partiality for weave over that which grows from her scalp, so shrugs. i’m not judging, because part of me wishes i had enough money to be able to choose to wear someone else’s hair over my own (not that i would, but that she even has a choice in the matter speaks volumes in itself). there are many days that go by that i only wish that i could wear weave into infinity, though curiously, i’ve never worn a weave before. But even if i could, i have enough love for my real hair that i would never allow it to look like hers. i can understand, though, why she might not care for her own hair under the weave. she must feel like “hey, it has to stay looking ‘glam’ and ‘fab’ and ‘clearly of some ethnicity other than black’ so eff it. why not just stay under the weaves all the time?”
i can see how that apathy can definitely set in in the industry she’s in. sad but, that’s the european standard for you.
Naomi , you rock, You entered the modelling days when no one knew much about black hair. Your hair was treated harshly during that time, embrace your boldness now and come out make a role model for black women, to be comfortable in your own skin. ( hair). I started a no weave day on face book, no one even responded, goes to show.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/DSC009041600x1200.jpg[/img]
She has more money then all of us put together! How in the hell did she let her hair get to this point!!
It’s really not that complex. If you repeatedly glue, tightly-braid, or sew heavy stuff on your scalp, it will cause alopecia. Occupational hazard. It’s like people who work hunched over a computer all day, and in 20 years have horrible posture.
She is still gorgeous, seems otherwise healthy, and rich.
Her hairline looks more like a hormonal problem. I’ve even seen naturals with receding hairlines like this through no fault of their own. Ripping her apart doesn’t really help anyone, especially those who suffer with alopecia and the misguided scorn they have to deal with over it. That hair is her job and I’m sure the stylist who put it there is a high paid professional who knows what s/he’s doing. We should all be so lucky to travel the runways of the world making thousands of dollars a day.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/bald.jpg[/img]
Well if that’s what a “high paid professional” does 2 someones hair..id rather have keke at my local salon do my hair. Highly paid doesn’t automatically mean most knowledgable or that he has his clients best interest at heart.If keke at the around the way salon watched my hair erode and continued 2 sew in weaves,I would wop my own as- for allowing her 2 do it! High paid doesn’t always equal qualified. Some pros will do anything u ask them to do as long as u pay them well…ask michael jacksons doctor! Hello! Traveling the world may have been great but does she wish shed made better choices protecting her hair..money&fame diesnt trump everything! She’s still just a girl who like any of us wants 2 look in the mirror and like what she sees…
With hair or not, she’s still gorgeous and making money out of her beauty and that’s the important thing.
That doesn’t look like her at all! I don’t believe it. Looks like some random skinny woman with eastern/northern African features and no hair.
that’s what my hair line look like in the front and the middle it Won’t grow back just gotta wear wigs to cover it up
Wow!!!! Reminds me of some of the women here in Barbados who aren’t supermodels but would sacrifice their scalp health for temporary beauty. Other than that all I can say is ‘Wow!!!!!’ 🙁
I dont understand how with all the resources and money she has at her fingertips why she wouldnt opt for full length lace front wig…like beyonce…her wigs are TIGHT! and not tight on her scalp, just in how well she maintains them! NC must either be resigned and given up or she thinks she is so fabulous that a little thing like a receding hairlines is no biggie! My edges tingle and itch just LOOKING at her! How can she look a that every morning and not eventually come to the conclusion that “enough is enough already!”. Im also just a little pissed bc shes already missing so much hair and she has the nerve to have a long wet weave pulling at her already stressed scalp! How dumb can she be? I know its her career has made mnay blk women feel that silky hair is most desirable and looks best…yet here she is after 20+yrs in the industry and she doesnt think shes sacrificed enough? or maybe the hair means THAT much to HER?How sad!
Recently, I had my hair braided in a cornrolls mohawk style and to my dismay my stylist braided my hair extremely tight around the edges which made my head hurt and caused my hair to come out around the edges. When I removed the extra hair that I had braided into the style that’s when I noticed how much hair was missing around edges and that’s when I decided that I would no longer have my hair braided. I am not willing to sacrifice my edges for the sake of style and fashion. Naomi is a beautiful lady with lots of money therefore she can afford a remedy to the hairline dilemma.
Unbelievable – Even in a blog intended to unify and educate black women about their hair, there’s still the “crabs in the bucket” mentality. IF this picture should have been highlighted on this page or not, we should have been enlightened on the VARIOUS causes of edge damage. Unfortunately, I know quite a few women who’ve NEVER worn a protective style and their edges are similiar to NC’s. YET have we taken into consideration that Tyra Banks, Beyonce and other BLACK women in the biz have been known to shave their edges so the lace wig could lay flatter and look more believable? Obviously NC nor her Billion dollar boyfriend cares about her edges. I pray she’s HEALTHY and the buzzed hairline is a choice and not due to negligence.
I have aloepicia due to an autoimmune disorder and too tight weaves and braids. There is no cure for this– either your hair can grow back or it doesn’t. No one knows what the case is with Naomi, but the fact that she’s been photographed on more than one occasion with her bald spots exposed, proves that she’s not exactly trying to hide her problem. I’ve been in treatment for years only to be told that my hair may neve grow back– it is gradually,and I’m proud to finally have healthy hair, but for some people, re-growth will never happen. The Trichologist can tell if the bulb or shaft of the hair It’s sad how ignorant and uninformed some of us are about hair care. It’s also sad how some of us ridicule each other as if we are perfect when we are not. Naomi has done a lot of bad things to people, so her bald hairline makes her a target for some people. Anyone who lives with this kind of hair loss whether it’s due to illness and/ or negligence knows how bad it looks and the ridicule from people that goes with it. Some of these comments don’t seem to be very “helpful”, but more like ways for some people to be “Mean Girls”. Well, I hope it makes you feel better about yourselves. I’m sure those of you ridiculing her have perfect hair and lives. **SMH**
Naomi has the perfect bone structure to rock the baldness. Me personally, I do everything I can to protect my hair but if I were in shoes and had to practically live in front of the camera, I would big chop, seek a dermatologist, take the best care of my big chop and sport some fly wigs. But that’s just me.
Naomi is pretty enough to rock short hair. Can’t you just see her pulling off a cute pixie cut like Halle Berry. Naomi should give herself a break and get her scalp back to normal. We already know she is a queen.
Bonjour,
Quel dommage pour Naomi.
Je suis sous chimiothérapie depuis un an et j’ai les cheveux qui se cassent et qui sautent par endroit. Quel traitement utiliser pour réduire la chute de mes cheveux ?
Merci pour vos réponses.
This is a rough translation.
Hello,
It’s sad what happened to Naomi.
I went through chemotherapy in the past year, and my hair breaks and snaps in places. What treatment do you use to reduce hair breakage?
Hortense, si j’ai fait une erreur, corrigez-moi, s’il vous plaît!
Oops and,
Thanks for your replies.
Doctors usually recommend that the patient take nioxin hair pills to help grow back hair. This can be found at salons, health stores,or online.
Many of y’all have already said what I was already thinking. I don’t if any else mention how good she looks in that bikini. I don’t know exactly know how old she is, but she still looks in great.
Well, I only read a few responses but enough to make this comment. Ladies, usually, no one wants their hairline and edges to get to that point. I’m sure that it is very painful for her to see those pictures of herself too. Let’s have a little compassion. I would be devastated. I’m guessing she is. I hope that she can regain her hair and scalp health.
Yeh… this has been going on 2 years now. So these are recent pics – this week!!
What people dont know is – and the papers have got it wrong! its not the weaving that has done this – its the LACE WIG GLUE!!! yes!
she wants a natural look so the lace wig offers that and also the front is nice and flat!
I would never have know that the glue could do so much damage – but it has and can! This is used every day as a model that have to look good all the time!
The only way out now is if she took off the wig/extensions and went natural… but i dont think she will – she will hate that look – its just not her!
Most times this problem is permanent. If she saw the problem two years ago and did nothing even till now, then could we not assume that such conditions are permanant (which it is). She’s rich and she has two options: leave it as is or get hair implants.
All I can say is Damn…. Damn…. Damn!!!!
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All Afrikan women should use it including Naiomi Campbell if they want their hair to grow again or continuing growing in a really healthy manner. After all it was created by a sistah who is in the hair business..
Just check out the link…
Peace
Really bothers me how much people are judging Naomi when the fact is we can all speculate but none of us know what is going on with her hair. It may already be too late for her to rectify, she may have other underlying issues. Either way I wish people would extend more compassion to her and less judging. The fact is the vast majority of women on this site have had their own hair issues and undertook practices which damaged their hair before they ‘saw the light’ or rather took comfort in the increasing numbers of other women of colour wearing their hair natural. When Naomi began her career being a natural haired model was not an option and maybe the cost of her hairline is the price Naomi paid for her career. But the fact remains she is not her hair! She is still a beautiful woman. Maybe given time she’ll ditch the wigs and weaves but if she has an irreparable case of traction alopecia maybe she won’t regardless of whether we approve that’s her choice. Personally, I give thanks that I don’t walk in her shoes and didn’t feel the pressure to wear my hair in a particular way in order to build a career to the extent that it caused me that level of damage, scrutiny, judgement and scorn.
^this.
I think she was also one of the first major black models, so there would be a lot of pressure to conform to what other models looked like. She made a (huge) sacrifice for her career, but I think she has problems with accepting/styling/managing her natural hair (she’s weaved it for almost 24 years). Maybe she has a medical problem. That could also be responsible.
It could also be a vicious cycle: the more weaves she has, the less hair, and the less hair, the more she will weave it to make up for it. Whatever she does, she should change her routine if she wants to keep her natural hair. If she doesn’t, she should keep weaving!
I can sympathize though; I didn’t lose my hairline that badly, but I lost inches of length because I straightened/keratin treated my hair and didn’t know how to care for it. Now I’m a month into having locs. C:
Occupational hazard. I’d rather have a million dollars than a hairline, but that’s just me. Leave this woman alone – you know how “fly” she looks on the catwalk and in her photos? Well, this was the price.
Her hair looks awful! She should consider shaving it all off and rocking a bald head! It may look okay on her! She is a beautiful women, with a beautiful body! It’s a shame that her receding hairline is making her look like a crackhead with a bad weave. I’m sorry, but rocking a weave is not worth hair loss in my opinion. But, if she is okay with looking busted, then more power to her. After all, it is HER hair! :
If I wore weaves constantly for many years and ended up with a hairline like that I wonder if I would get as many hits on a “natural blog” as she has gotten????
COME ON PEOPLE!!! She was THE BLACK SUPER MODEL of the 90’s!!!! I am surprise that she has any hair left at all!! If she had that same career today, her hair line would be way closer to her forehead.
Its so easy to judge someone base on a picture, but everybody seems to forget that she has a 25 year career in an industry that had ZERO knowledge once or ever on how to deal with black hair.
Its easy to judge people base on image, isn’t it…
you act like that is an excuse? I’m pretty damn sure this was a gradual process. She made a choice to stick with weaves when she could have just gone with a wig. I am probably one of the few who do not feel sorry for her. Its not like she has cancer. Other AA women have been in the business JUST as long and stil managed to keep edges. She just didn’t care and that is OKAY but its good to let other people see the consequences of her decision so they will have proof to the pros and this bald con!
well it’s good to now see some models of color be they African or African-American are rocking shorter dos! And getting modeling work. Lots of it.
We have to value who are are and what we look like and be proud! And as was mentioned earlier I’m sure there is a “right” and “wrong” way to take care of hair – no matter what style one wears. Remember hair is apart of the skin and the skin is an important body organ, not just a fashion statement.
This is so sad. I feel really bad for her. It is bad enough that she has this damage to her hair, I’m sure it must bother her. But now to have her her picture posted online by malicious media (I
don’t mean this site.) Who only want to humiliate her. No one deserves that! I hope she has friends and family who will rally around her and keep her spirits up! I hope she does the best she can with the situation.
She is beautiful… she can cut it off and start over. It would fit her
If her edges will even grow back –sometimes they might not, or it will take a very long time
I totally agree. I just recently started my transition and it makes me smile when I see so many commercials using natural models. It becoming mainstream and giving us and our children positive images of women with natural hair styles being successful and accepted. When we start to see more positive images that look like us with natural healthy hair the Naomi situations will decrease and become a thing of the past.
Naomi situation is concerning and I feel for anyone that has a similar problem with their hair. We have to remember they made the choice to wear weave. I wore it myself for several months. But I knew I had to take care of my hair and not be cheap when taking care of it. I choose a professional the could maintain the weave and my hair. I had basically no damage and my hair grew about 4 inches with the weave. I never lost sight that this was not my real hair and understood that pulling or stretching the weave into certain hair styles would damage my hair.
My question is what stylist would continue to put it in seeing that each time they would that she was losing hair permanently. I know money talks but at some point I would think that the persons conscious would not allow them to continue to put it in.
Ladies do you think your current or recent beautician would continue to put weave in your hair if they recognized that it was causing permanent damage?
So glad that you asked this question! I can’t speak about the weave, but I can attest to a relaxer. Once when I was at the salon and I was still relaxed, I observed my last beautician touching up a client’s hair. Her hair was past shoulder length, but she had no edges. In that instance money definitely did the talking.
And I did the walking. Lol!
Sigh. Maybe she just doesn’t care. She’s probably living her life way more than she was able to in the past, and her edges are the last thing on her mind. She doesn’t have to be the poster child for healthy hair.
Love that I found this site. I also want to stop wearing weaves. What are some shampoos, home remedies, Aloe Vera?….please suggest. Thank you Beautiful Ladies!!!
Check the “HAIRCARE” link on this site, there’s info on washing, conditioning and all other aspects of haircare. Check the gallery for style inspiration so you don’t have to depend on weaves only. Maybe even create your own gallery that you can refer to from time to time. You can also search for tips on proper weave installation and maintenance, they are okay in moderation.
The main thing to remember is not to pull your hair too tight in ANY style, that’s what causes hair loss eventually.
Hi, im not suggesting a home remedy but this process really works. My edges were basically bald since 4th grade. Im in my 30s now. I started getting treatments at HRS in Atlanta and one side has grown in completely and the other side has made significant improvement. I get laser and Tesla treatments. You sit under a hooded laser for 30mins and then the Tesla is a direct low frequency current for about 7 minutes. It really works ladies. Hope this helps someone 🙂
With all the money she makes one would assume she would just buy some hair implants or something. She can take a break from the weave wear a wig and still model just as good. I don’t think she really cares as long as her face and body still look nice. Women can be fickle that way I suppose.
There’s probably nothing she can do about her hair line at this point. If there were, I’m sure she would have done it by now… My hairline isn’t as bad as her’s, but I’be been attempting to grow it back for over 20 years. I didn’t wear weave or braids. My enemy, rolling my hair with foam rollers (back in the day) and pulling the edges too tight. Heredity plays a part also because the older females in my family have the same problem.. I’ve tried the Jamaican Black Oil, Rogain, but so far, nothing has worked. Maybe I didn’t use it long enough, who knows!! I’ve been natural for three years and I’m able to hide most of my hair line. If any of you have any other suggestions as to how I possibly grow it back, or how long I should use a particular product, plase let me know.
After a year of wearing extension kinky twists multiple times, I got some hair loss on the edges, not too adverse, but enough that I noticed. I tried multivitamins, just regular Centrum, later on I also took some Biotin-Nature’s Made brand. You can try these options but Biotin can cause you to break out, so I personally took it only once every day, instead of everyday. Try the vitamins for a month or two.
It could also be a hormonal issue, sometimes changes happen as we get older. The hair on the edges is just more fragile.
DAMN.
When I was 17, I dyed & relaxed my hair a few times in 1 weekend (The color came out wrong. twice. I know…)and lost HUGE chunks of hair in my hairline at the temples and had no choice but to shave my head. Those areas in front have never been the same since
🙁
I’ve done some damage by not managing my natural hair properly, but this is…..I’m speechless.
I must admit these pics are sad to see. For the first time we now have natural hair product commercials that are geared toward women with textured hair. Long time to get them but a great accomplishment. If we can get more celebrities with natural texture hair to promote natural hair products and healthy hair care, they could change many more lives. The forums, vlogs, and blogs have helped so many people including myself but there has to be another way to do a massive reach out to get this message out.
Totally agree,this is shocking but we have a choice to make now we know the truth about haircare.This shows that all the money don’t buy common sense.
Why does Naomi get such a hard time? We know about her hairline yet the racist DM drag pictures of her up regularly showing that hairline so the readers can gasp all over again and moan about her attitude. No one reading that article should see it as one of concern or care, the DM showbiz section is designed for mocking be it over gender, race or sexuality. Please don’t hold them up as an unbiased news source. To me, Campbell is an extreme case of what can happen when one head suffers years of abuse and it is her career that was the reward for the sacrifice of her hair. She was expected to be what designers, photographers, agencies and brands expected her to be at any given moment, on any given day or shoot. Since she has been around since the early days when black models were few and far between, her hair has undergone lengthy abuse, she was probably in a sea of straight haired white girls expected to fit the runway look that easily applied to them. Stylists will rip through a girls hair, iron it and blow dry it dry and dirty to get the look the creatives want, they are not interested in the hair’s health just the job in hand. I have seen white models who have had to pull out of the circuit for a while because the agency explained that all the peroxide that has been put into their hair has ruined it and they need some months for it to grow back. A lot of models have terrible feet full of corns and bunions due to often finding that although they are a size 10 shoe, the samples are 7s, years of this ruins your feet. It’s sad to see someone who has achieved so much become reduced to a cautionary tale about weaves.
Your post is also somewhat of a social commentary about the impossible and unrealistic beauty and fashion choices that women are measured against or try to conform to.
Whether it’s hair, weight or even shoe choices(high heels), it’s unnecessary and unhealthy.
Well it is about beauty and it isn’t. It’s more about capturing someone’s vision which could be a 6’1 bleach blonde alien with brows to match. It isn’t about what the lay person considers beautiful. Also I realise she chose this profession but I am not into the mass media’s attempts to bring people of colour down over hair so we all forget their achievements and focus on the superficial. I hope weave wearers take this picture as a warning about looking after your real hair beneath extensions but I don’t feel we have learned anything more from this than the first picture they published that shocked everyone. It’s better when the source of discussion is a place like this where the writers and commenters actually care about giving tips, support and advice to each other. The DM invited in bashers and all the ‘experts’ on us and our hair came out in force with their Ill informed statements of fact and truisms about black hair and the black women who cannot handle it. Had Naomi have not been a model, her hair may not have looked like this. Maybe she could have been a not-so-bald-not-so-super-model. We all make our choices.
And one more thing- I, nor Ms. Campbell, do not need any pity. Pity is neither redeeming nor helpful.
AMEN!!!!!
You know, ladies and gentlemen, I suffer from a similar ailment. As a young black teen (yes, TEENAGER) with “tractional alopecia,” I find it hard to read about this, and even harder to read some of your comments. Being in her shoes, it wasn’t easy to cope with, and still isn’t. But I implore you, try and be a little more sensitive- yes, it’s sad, and yes, I get the urge to “cut it all off” occasionally, but, horrendous as it is, it makes me unique.
I think she could’ve gone without the weave and rocked a short do especially since she’s a supermodel and their hair is hardly ever in the same style for long or maybe just doesn’t care and figures she has the money to throw a wig on. Either way, it’s awful.
Saddest image I have seen today! I really do feel sorry for her. It’s even crazier that she continues to wear these weaves! Maybe she needs them for her career but at what is the cost to her self esteem? No one can convince me that it doesn’t hurt to look in the mirror and see the traction alopecia and not feel some pain.
Ms. Sue, in all honesty, yes, it did hurt to look in the mirror sometimes. (Emphasis on “did,” however.) If I spent the rest of my life lamenting about a receding hairline, where would that get me?
@Nyasha, nowhere does my comment suggest spending the “rest of” anyone’s “life” “lamenting about a receding hairline”. I don’t know where you got that idea from.
My comments here only apply to pictures of Naomi Campbell above.
My last statement about it “hurting to look in the mirror” was in regard to the damage on her self confidence and self-esteem. We all put some value on our appearance, everyone does. And yes, I do feel sorry for Naomi: despite the damage, wearing extensions may have been a necessity to keep working in an industry where only a certain kind of beauty is valued.
I see many women who suffer from this. Inproper weaves and braids over the years without proper hair care is not worth it.
Same here! there’s a postal lady around here and about a month ago she was outside delivering mail and it was pretty windy outside. Just imagine my shock when the wind was really blowing and she basically had no hair right across her head, starting from behind her ears, I’m still trying to figure out how she got the hair attached to conceal the missing section of hair – but, back to the pic above can you imagine that water weighing down the wig even more that is attached to her already fragile (hairline)? I guess it just goes to show the level some women would go for that hair, even at the expense of their own god given tresses.
Enough with the Naomi Campbell posts and her hairline! What do you want from her? She is entitled to live her life as she pleases. How does it help black women on the whole, to continue to showcase a woman who is known all over the world as one of the top models, who looks just as youthful as her 20-something counterparts in the industry, who continues to advocate for the careers of other black woman models on the catwalk despite racism in the industry, and mock her for the way her hairline looks? This is the same obsession with Gabby Douglas and her hair during the Olympics. Highlight black women who are natural and showcase the beauty of them on the regular. That is all we need to do. By focusing on the positive, you’ve done your job. If you want to have other black women be aware of how delicate the hair line is, do a post on the number of styles that do not stress the hairline. A post showcasing black women with a damaged hairline only spreads the negative.
co-sign
Sometimes we do need to see effects of damage whether it’s a weave or relaxer. Many black women do not know that improper hair care practices are the reason that traction alopecia is higher in our population than amongs’t white women. This includes black women outside the U.S. One of the reasons I don’t use chemicals is because I once attended a medical conference where a doctor showed pictures of women with chemical burns on their scalp. I knew relaxers could cause damage but I never imagined it could be so bad that someone lost all their hair.
It’s one thing to see a list of statistics, it’s another to see an image. As they say a picture speaks a thousand words! I’m not suggesting we gloat or laugh at her predicament but just see and learn from it. I hope she has someone in her camp to help her find a way out of this.
BTW, most styles with the exception of a free afro put some amount of stress on the hairline. You just need to avoid too much tension or tightness and also switch up the styles, don’t wear the same thing 24/7/365.
Co-Sign!
+1
I know you are on her bandwagon but be real here.
this is horrible and I feel sad for her and there is a LOT going on with this picture other than that missing hairline. this IS one of those teaching moments for ALL women because so many STRIVE to get her look and she doesn’t even have that look and for her to achieve that LOOK she did this. LOOK WHAT SHE DID TO HERSELF? My own sister has not wore her natural hair since HIGH SCHOOL. She is thirty. I have never seen her hair but I can tell you what I see of her sides this is about what she is working with. Had she listened to others and worked with her own hair instead of striving so hard to have hair down her back, bone straight maybe she would not feel ashamed today. this IS a teaching moment
+1000
True, but do you really feel badly for her?
Is that why you’ve referred to her as being vain and described those who have supported her as having joined her bandwagon? As you mentioned this is a sad occurrence for any woman, so let’s have a bit more compassion.
My guess is that the damage is irreversible. While she has obviously been a long-time wear/ wig wearer, all it really takes is one bad weave/ relaxer to damage your hair permanently. I have very full hair, but there is a small patch around my edges that has never really grown back 100% following a bad relaxer nearly 12 yrs ago (ended up being one of my last relaxers). It’s almost entirely imperceptible to others, but I know it’s there. It bothers me but I know that after relaxing my hair for 10 years or so as a child/teen, the results could have been SO much worse. Recalling my relaxed days and the damage that I could have potentially done, I consider myself extremely fortunate to be rocking a full head of hair.
There is so much ignorance among women, among stylists about how to care for our hair properly. I think my minor hair loss could have been reversible had I avoided relaxers for some time following the initial incident (which was my intention and common sense reaction). But I went against my better judgment and listened to a stylist who advised me that my hair would never grow back without a relaxer. Ha! I was 16 at the time, so I didn’t know better much better. While Naomi likely has access to the most high profile stylists and image advisers, who know what kind of advice she has been receiving about her hair. I’m sure that during her catwalk days, (she started modeling at the tender age of 14!) her hair also suffered tremendously at the hands of these very professionals.
keep speaking honestly as you have on this post. the damage is irreversible and she is not alone. i see it everyday in atlanta just almong women who certainly do not have the means of ms. campbell. i hear it in the voices of young women who say timidly, i like you hair, i wish… (you fill in the blanks.) when you have killed the hair from the root there is nothing to grow back. any reputable dermatologist will admit this unless he/she wants to keep you delusional to continue taking your money. we show our children and others what we really think by what we do, how we care for ourselves and how we spend our money. frankly, i think this is so much bigger than hair and personal style choices. the money we spend on hair products alone woould solve all of our education problems if so applied! we are holding ourselves back as a people with this continued obsession with hair and skin color, proving everyday to ourselves and others that we are not really ready to take our place among equals, and further demoralizing our children. if they cannot depend upon us for validation, where else will they get it? we simply do not respect ourselves, and love is impossible without respect. otherwise, why do we allow this treatment of ourselves to continue? what in the world has happened to the fighting spirit that kept us alive and achieving in spite of all that was thrown at us as a people? madame cj walker surely never intended this! our beauticians may have started out as our friends, but now they are not. the damage has been done and it cannot be undone except by a new generation of black girls who refuse to be so disrespected and exploited – by anyone. i am hopeful because i am counting on them. i think they have it right, and i remain positive about my sisters because i do know that not all have succumbed to the white supremacist thought pattern. i see them in atlanta, too! recently, i have been watching the reruns of soul train on demand. other than the exhilirating music, performers and dance moves, what i notice consistently is how much healthy looking hair we had and how few of us were very heavy or obese. of course, i realize that the soul train dancers were often handpicked but even so… the range of black looks then was astoundingly attractive sans makeup, sans wigs and weaves compared to the botched hair jobs, the skin bleaching, the nose thinning, the lip cutting, the colored contacts, the nearly monstrous looks we see representing beauty today. i am so sorry but not sad for any adult women living with the consequences of their personal health and beauty choices; i am only sad for the children watching them and seeing only the wig, the weave, not what lies beneath. if true beauty comes from the inside out, too many are indeed missing in action. who feels it, knows it.
No one is mocking nor ridiculing Naomi Campbell… we know she was a top black model, etc.. but that doesn’t take away from the fact that her hairline is jacked up. this pic was posted so we can learn and understand the consequences of weaves & tensions on the hairline. its like reading all day about the warnings of cigarettes; but seeing a picture of a cancer ridden lung will really open our eyes. and this pic is no way in comparison to the Gabby Douglas hair situation.
but what i want to know is…why are some of you taking this so personal??? could it be your edges are similar to hers?
If u think for a SECOND this is anything like the gabby Douglas situation u are clearly delusional… Gabbys hair is healthy,and in good shape. Those idiots were complaining about her style. There is NOTHING healthy about Naomi’s hair! I mean seriously… This blog teaches the pros of living with natural hair as well as the downfalls of the alternatives. Such as this.. They would be doing their readers a huge injustice to not show the dark side effects of mis treating your hair.. Especially if their goal is to promote HEALTHY hair care. C’mon now
People need to see this, unfortunately someone in my family has a hairline like this….and she thinks it’s hereditary (she wears weaves STILL). I had to show her this so she could actually get the picture, but i’m taking care of the situation I got her castor oil, peppermint oil, and a prayer.
Well good for u for trying to help her out. I’m a stylist and I cannot tell u how often clients sit in my chair expressing their concern for their breakage but will tell me it’s hereditary. When I try to explain its their choice of hairstyle they either don’t believe me or for the most part just don’t care. I don’t understand why the majority of us will choose a fly style for the moment over healthy hair. Also I see how some stylist will know that their clients hair is thinning but will continue to slap glue in the hair, in the same spot (which is the problem) and just continue to give them those fly styles. At some point when it’s so bad, it’s just not going to grow back because at this point they have stressed out and damaged the follicles. Theeeeen, when they reach their mid 30’s, 40’s and 50’s they hella regret the decisions they’ve made. Then they spend money at the dermatologist getting shots in their scalp to help it to grow back and at this stage, now the dermatologist is getting paid off them because they know after the damage is so bad it’s not going to grow back. In Naomi’s case it looks like its too late. It will never be back like it was and at that point, especially if the woman is older, they will continue to wear the weave for the rest of their life or eventually go to a wig. I just wish that we would pay more attention to having a healthy scalp as well as healthy hair. Ladies I can go on and on and on…..
This is sad….Naomi is such a beautiful lady. A someone mentioned earlier, this type of damage is likely irreversible. And I don’t know any woman in her right mind, who would want edges like this.
This is a HUGE reminder for women to take care of our hair and not sacrifice hair health for a style or convenience.
I am not really shocked by the picture I see plenty of everyday people walking around with receding hairlines. I will never forget I was getting my hair braided in this shop and I was turned around and I heard this lady talking about how she doesn’t have any edges when the lady turned me around to start braiding the other side I was not ready for what I saw. This lady had NO EDGES AT ALL, I mean no where, she only had hair in the top of her head. But get this she was still getting a weave I’m thinking this lady must don’t realize where the damage is coming from.
I have seen this too. The hairline is receding and the person is still getting a weave on the hair that is left. I know one person who was getting medical treatment (injections) on the area of hair loss and was also advised to DC weaves. It was suggested that she wear a loose wig until they could achieve regrowth. Well, she continued to get weaves and the patch of hair that she was weaving hair onto kept getting smaller and smaller. She said she was attached to the idea of weaving because she did not want her boyfriend to see what her own hair really looked like. . . afraid that he would leave her.
I personally cannot imagine feeling this way about a hair style, but it happens for some people. I find it sad.
I’m “old school” and I must say this issue that some black women have about hair, specifically about having longgggggggg flowing hair [at all costs] is nothing short of pathological. I mean WASSUP!!!
I agree. I can’t believe for one minute that she did not have signs of losing her ages ago so I’m thinking one) she is a diehard never giving up the weave don’t care about her own hair anyway kinda chick or two)she was told it would never grow back so she has to do what she does.
scary to look at really. I hope she was not vain enough to just keep weaving it up because she didn’t like her own hair and would trade off on ever having healthy hair for weaves. Something tells me she is just that vain
Receding hairline isn’t a good look for anyone. It’s very unfortunate. Many suffer from it. We gotta put a stop to it but learning to really take care of our hair!
Oh, this makes me sad. She is stunningly beautifully *still*… I would just cut it all off if I were faced with this.
I can’t help but laugh. If she’s not concerned about getting treatment, that’s her own piece of hair. She has all the money in the world to seek for medical assistance as well as stylists to cater for her needs.
Personally I try not to judge other peoples hair as a style issue. You never know what type of health or other issues they have going on. Being female celebrity (especially a black female) is hard enough without having to read negative comments about your hair posted by ppl who don’t know a thing about it. I try to practice the adage if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.
+1
Why are you even bringing this up? As you said, these pics are from 2010, and you have no idea what her hairline looks like now or if weave is to blame. I’m so sick of black women trying to tear each other down and divide each other (i.e. TEAM natural, etc.) I’m becoming natural for ME and ME only. If you are really concerned for her, then how about you reach out to her and offer her some direct advice, instead of recirculating old pictures of her that I am sure she’s embarrassed about.
Read this post thoroughly, because these pictures are recent, not 2010. And I don’t see how this is tearing her down. This isn’t belittling her accomplishments. It’s just recognizing an issue and discussing it.
Clearly you did fully read the article. These pictures are recent and not from 2010. Also, the article isn’t an attack. If anything it’s a forewarning for people who wear weaves religiously to watch out for their edges. Please stop trying to be self-righteous and uptight.
The article says that these are recent pictures.
Read it again. These photos are from 2012.
@girl0032, these pics are recent, but 2 years ago were the first shocking pictures of her hairline
These pictures are from early THIS week http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2185897/Naomi-Campbells-shocking-bald-patches-years-relying-hair-extensions.html?ITO=google_news_rss_feed. They are not old. What is being asked in the post is that Naomi seems willing to deal with the impact that weaves have had on her hairline (which is her decision) but are you willing to pay the cost. I think it is a good question. When I realized that relaxers were doing significant damage to my hairline and edges that may be permanent I stopped relaxing. For me it wasn’t worth it. I need to figure out another way and for me I was willing to accept the way my hair looked. I think it is cool that she exposes her hairline without concern. It is jarring for sure but there are many women who may feel more comfortable about their own alopecia or hair loss if someone that is a supermodel suffers from a similar problem. It may lead to other women reconsidering how frequently or how tight they due their weaves if this could be the consequence. It is all about personal decisions.
You need to READ properly before you start jumping to conclusions smh
Girl you must be confused! This picrure was taken earlier today, and since then its been an uproar on all beauty websites… Get your states right!
she mentioned that these are recent pictures!
it’s as if you didn’t read the article. These are recent photos of her. Also no one is looking down on her. All the comments are very friendly and non of them say she “should” join team natural. All they say is that she should start over from a fresh canvas and really get some help, maybe some of those expensive celebrity massages for her head. Anyways also, how do you suppose we “reach out” to a CELEBRITY? Yeah I don’t see that ever happening. Ok maybe we go to a red carpet event and call out to her, Naomi girl you need to shave it all off and start over! Yeah that’s going to go over well. Anyways I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just that you needed to read over the article better.
I think it’s just as important for women who aspire to the “super star” / “super model” hair looks at home to understand that there is a down side. The at home or even salon weaver needs to know – there is a danger that no amount of money maybe able to help.
…and FYI – it says these pics ARE from 2012 and I don’t think this is about tearing her down. It’s about hair health, just like they’ve shown “celebs” with super healthy here.
Please click the link following the year of 2010 and see what she looked like in 2010. The 2nd paragraph goes on to say that things have not changed based on the recent pictures at the beach. I don’t think anyone is trying to put her down, but show examples to what could happen to your hair when you don’t pay attention to the warning signs. I’m natural, my warning sign was home dye… I stop dying b/c it broke my edges. I prefer to have edges and the dye was not that serious for me so I rock the silver. lol
Reading comprehension should still be a requirement in all schools! Good God!
Exactly! This is why I homeschool my child.
hahahah, @girl0032, you feel crunchy yet? lol
The saddest part about this is that traction alopecia is often permanent. If she stopped weaving today, her hair still might never grow back. She and Serena Williams need to start a support group.
LOL!
I haven’t noticed issues with Serena’s hairline. But going back to the permanence of traction alopecia, that is a good point. It could very well be the case that Naomi does care, but has tried the remedies and nothing has worked. At this point, she might as well keep the weave. Yes, it could make it worse, but the alternative is to wear her alopecia scalp exposed, which MOST people wouldn’t be comfortable with.
My goodness, lawd-a-mercy. I was just thinking the same thing. Well, not about the support group (LOL) but about the fact that her hair loss might just be permanent. It might explain why she continues these hair destroying practices . . . she may just be resigned to wearing wigs and weaves for the rest of her life given the damage her hair has experienced. And we are just talking about her hairline. She may just have other areas of extreme damage elsewhere. *sigh*
At this point she should just cut it all off and start over. I’m pretty sure she could pull it off.
exactly what I was thinking! big chop, start a nice treatment & don’t look back. With her bone structure she can carry anything off [even with this disaster, she’s looking like a gorgeous Masai warrior princess] 🙂
@Gigi. Hope you dont mind me correcting you 🙂 its learning, from one culture to another.. Only Masai men can become warriors, Masai isnt a kingdom so there are no kings or queens, prince or princesses. We are among the many tribes in Kenya and Tanzania.
so i guess the correct term would me “masai beauty” ok I was just itching to say that. Hope you dont think am being rude
thank you, the exotification of African cultures makes me cringe.
Thanks for that knowledge!!
oy… point is she looks great no matter what/ it’s just a shame she’s had so much edge damage over the years… serves me right for being a little clever & purely visual while borrowing from the ‘Xena warrior princess’ title…. ah well, off to the library now, lest somebody else gives me a lesson on global traditions on a nice little HAIR site. 🙂
…but thanx chica… well done
Agreed, she is gorgeous. I’d love to put her onto a healthy hair journey then use her results to put myself on a healthy get that money journey via an informercial! This grew Naomi’s edges, yo!!! Lol but seriously, I want to send her some castor oil.
Absolutely! She could benefit from Aloe Vera as well. I know both help me when I began to notice my hairline receding. I hope that she will take action sooner than later to restore her hairline.
But at some point, when your follicles are so damaged, closed and shiny, there is no return! So maybe just hiring whoever makes Nicki Minajs wigs might be the best option.
agreed! she is so beautiful. just rock that beautiful bald head!
yes! she has the perfect head for a bald look!
Naomi Campbell is a beautiful woman. I don’t understand how she is able to ignore the damage she’s done to her hairline. Maybe she feels resigned to it being that way since the fashion industry compels models to wear weaves for the most part. I think she could reverse some of the damage with intensive effort if she acted quickly. I’m all for self expression whether it’s a relaxer, natural, wig or weave, but at the cost of your own hair is just too much.
I SO AGREE, JUST GIVE IT UP! Stop letting these camera’s be Microscopes. Why in the world. Someone should get sued .. This is really horrible for her.
Yes! I agree. It looks like the damage is reversible but if she never takes steps to repair it could become permanent. It is possible to wear wigs and preserve the hairline (look at Tyra and Beyonce). Y’all remember Susan Taylor (the former editor of Essence magazine) hairline? She wore those little tight braids so much that it pushed her hairline all the way back to the middle of her head. I believe that her braids were so tight that they were ripping her follicles out so she is probably permanently bald.
Lol@TeE regarding Susan Taylor. I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt that way.
Naomi has somehow convinced herself that her weaves are part of her identity regardless of the cost, and is it surprising? More than 50% of black women, whether they be Americans, British or straight out of Africa have issues with their hair! So don’t point the finger at Naomi, folks. This isn’t a Naomi issue. This denial, self-hatred, whatever you want to call it is deeply ingrained in those with black skin and kinky hair. Naomi is a model, not a psychologist. Why should she be above the madness?
you spoke the truth. and it’s probably more than 50 %, more like 80% i think of black women wherever they are seem to have succumbed to white supremacist thought about our hair. we now pass it on to our daughters and even the mothers who work hard not to are finally beaten by the preferences of men, employers and others in a position to hurt us if we do not conform. what is the solution for the 80%, seriously? the 20% have already made their choices and are living well (more or less) with our decision to embrace our own characteristics.
Yeah, that is very sad. My edges hurt just looking at those images.
This is a big and stupid price to pay all for a certain look any really sad