These Doctors Just Received A $200K Grant To Study Crown Hair Loss In Black Women

Regrowing (and holding onto) our edges has become more than a meme when it comes to Black women and hair. In addition to our edges, research shows that 47% of Back women suffer from crown hair loss. Protective hairstyles, lace front wigs, and chemical processing have all been attributed to traction alopecia along the hairline and in the center crown of the head. 

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But what about the women who experience crown hair loss, but can’t attribute it to a hairstyle? It’s called central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) and board-certified dermatologists Yolanda Lenzy and Amy McMichael are looking to figure out its cause and cure. 

Drs. Lenzy and McMichael were recently awarded a $200K grant from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to study the hair condition which impacts an estimated 15% of Black women. The AAD Hair Loss and Alopecia Initiative in Research (HAIR) Grant will fund two years of research into what causes CCCA to scar and inflame the follicles leading to permanent hair loss, including genetics or disease.

Both Lenzy and McMichael have previously published or contributed to surveys and reports on skin and scalp issues endemic to people of color, including hair loss, possible connections to diabetes, connections between hair products and breast cancer, cellulitis, and more.

“One of the goals I set for 2022, was to do more larger scale and high impact scholarly research,” shared Dr. Lenzy in an Instagram post. ”I am so excited about the potential impact that this work will have on helping us to further the work that Dr. McMichael and colleagues published in the @nejm in 2019 discovering the gene that is involved in a portion of women with CCCA. The number one question that I am asked when I diagnose a patient with this condition is ‘Why do I have CCCA?’ It is continuous, rigorous, scholarly research on this long-overlooked form of hair loss (in terms of research focus) that will get us closer and closer to being able to answer that question with confidence.”

Upon completion, the doctors will present their project, “Investigation of Genetics Study of the Genetic Mutations in Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia in a Larger Cohort of Black Women Across The United States” at the AAD Annual Meeting.