Hair grooming practices, such as braids and weaves, as well as
inflammation in the form of bacterial infection, may be contributing to the
development of scarring hair loss in African American women, according
to a report posted online that will appear in the August print issue of Archives
of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Central centrifugal
cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is a term coined by the North American Hair
Research Society to describe a scarring hair loss, centered on the
vertex of the scalp, that spreads peripherally," the authors write as
background information in the article. "It is thought to be the most
common pattern of scarring hair loss seen in African American women, yet so
little is known about its true prevalence among them."
