After a TikTok video went viral, Black women revealed how the treatment is a game changer for maintaining a smooth hairline. Experts say the long-term effects might be more trouble than the ‘baby-hair slay’ is worth.
As we Black folks know, a polished hairline holds a very special place in our culture. A deeply-rooted symbol of strength and creativity that dates back to the early 1900s first popularized by everyday African American women, the styling technique was an innovative way to neatly style their hair in a world that deemed textured tresses as unruly. But, it was the iconic performer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker who is duly noted for having propelled its global movement, her artfully etched hairline gelled to perfection in 3-D swirling patterns with elaborate decal embellishments. The aesthetic also gained high favor among Mexican and Afro-Latinx communities during the burgeoning Chola subculture of the 1960s.
Whether it’s simple or intricate, edge styling remains a big part of Black beauty routines, as it adds the finishing touch to just about any hairstyle. For many, the end results are often well worth the occasional, painstaking commitment to detail, but one thing we texture-haired edge slayers know all too well are the perils of when our finely-tuned work is easily wiped out by the slightest hint of perspiration.
Unkempt, frizzy, “baby hair” is a Black hairstyling no-no, a generally frustrating symptom of the inevitable exposure to moisture. But at the same time, the repeated use of the abrasive tools and styling products we use to spruce our hairlines (most haircare confections designed to hold the hair in place are alcohol-based; they zap essential oils and hydration) can wreak major havoc on our hair and scalp, causing breakage, damage, and in more serious cases, irreversible hair loss.
@destineewrayy just me chatting away while i show you my favourite ways to do my edges😌 #braidhairstyles #edges #edgetutorial #boxbraidshairstyles #boxbraids #knotlessbraids #grwmblackgirl ♬ original sound – des
Nevertheless, the pioneering, always-evolving natural hair community has hit upon an alternate styling solution: Botox injected straight into the perimeter of the forehead.
Using Botox to Combat Sweat
Botox, or botulinum toxin, best known for temporarily reducing the appearance of wrinkles in the face, has become well-known for effectively treating hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), where it is typically injected into a person’s underarms or hands. Doctors say it temporarily blocks the nerve signals and sweat glands responsible for producing too much sweat, so they have also found the injections useful for treating the areas around the faces of women with textured hair because it prevents it from reverting to its naturally curly or coily state while they sweat.
Davlyn Mosely, the co-founder of Namesake Skincare, was deliberating over the treatment when she recorded a now-viral, five-second TikTok video. In it, she flaunted her freshly blown-out hair with text on the screen that read, “When you tell your dermatologist you want Botox around your hairline so your edges stop frizzing up.”
While many of her followers were excited by the prospects— one shared how “the code has been cracked,” expressing the urgency to do it right away, others were not so enthusiastic. When another creator shared Mosely’s video on X, their followers were critical: “This is sick,” one user wrote. Another said, “Striving for perfection will leave you miserable and broke.” Others suggested she should just chemically relax her hair.
@mymomsaderm Still need to ask my mom abt this bc it’s genius #botoxforsweating #skintok #dermatologist #edgeslaid #blackgirltiktok #edgesonfleek #blackgirlluxury #botoxinjection ♬ original sound – 𝓜𝓲𝓪𝓪_❤️🚛
For a growing number of Black patients, the Botox treatment is worth the investment. “It was the best $400 I’ve ever spent,” says Shanese Francis, an Atlanta Air Force veteran, told The Washington Post. Frustrated by the hot, Southern heat that regularly ruined her makeup, hair and edges (she tried all of the standard remedies – hair spray, gel, sweat-wicking headbands, even a dermatologist-recommended prescription), she turned to Botox to minimize her excessive sweating.
Licensed Medical Aesthetician Wendy Pittman has received the Botox injections to treat uncontrollable sweating along her hairline for three years and says, for her, it’s a “game-changer.”
“The thing that was keeping me away from the gym were the flyaways and the frizz,” she shared with Business Insider. “It is a life changing treatment.”
To date, there aren’t any definitive statistics on how popular the shots have become in this category, but considering the level of commitment, some Black women are willing to invest in maintaining their appearance (last year, they spent more than $2 million on hair care, more than any other ethnic group, per Nielsen IQ), it seems the specialized treatment is on its way to not-so-novel status. New Jersey Dermatologist Dr. Jeanine Downie says the treatment is becoming more popular in the Black community; she has even performed the technique on her own hairline.
“At the beginning, I started doing this for myself…it’s really taken off in the past year, Black and brown women have been coming in. This is for people that have the lace front weaves. This is for people that want real edge control with their natural hair, and this is for people that just want to stop sweating so much in the front of their hair.”
Botox for migraines was taking my hair out around my edges but I told my doctor and she started switching up the injection sites. My hair is finally growing back babyyyy.
— Jewel Wicker (@jewelwickershow) April 23, 2022
A Viable Fix or Just Another Extreme Beauty Hack?
While some Black women are declaring Botox as a key, albeit short-term, solution to a common annoyance, others describe it as just another over-priced, radical beauty trick. For starters, the treatment is not cheap: depending on geographical location, prices range from $400 to $1500 for each hairline treatment every three to six months. And yes, size does matter: larger head sizes require a higher dosage and bigger financial commitment.
Doctors also warn that the use of Botox in general is not FDA-approved and although no data currently exists on the long-term effects it can have on Black women’s hair (they are already at a higher risk for hair loss), the regular use may trigger unintended consequences.
Moreover, when it comes to the conversations surrounding “baby hairstyling” for adults, notions of texturism can play a pivotal role. Some critics of the treatment argue that the trend perpetuates the same Eurocentric standards of beauty that have historically pressured the Black community to navigate for centuries. They say it upholds the implication that textured hair as a whole is still unacceptable, particularly for individuals with hair that goes up on the texture scale. Tightly coiled, type 4 hair, for example, could appear different and more difficult around the hairline, intensifying the pressure to mold, straighten and flatten it.
The Final Takeaway
While the treatment has yet to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and its financial obligations are exorbitant, for those Black women who have undergone the procedure, they say it has afforded them a new freedom to adequately care for themselves. New York City Dermatologist Dr. Michelle Henry (she says she has administered Botox around the hairline for patients of other ethnicities hundreds of times) notes that the treatment has only gained popularity among Black patients with curly hair over the last five years.
“There are so many women, particularly Black women, who are not working out or not doing what they can to best promote their cardiovascular health because they feel the constraints of always keeping their hair a certain way,” she tells The Washington Post. “After they get Botox in their edges, I get reactions like, ‘This has not only changed my ability to work out, but it has changed my life.”
