Today's lesson is "loving and understanding your hair."
Black hair is a fragile thing. It needs constant protection from intense heat, harsh chemicals, rough styling tools and the outside elements. It craves kindness and attention. If you treat those tresses well, your reward will be beautiful, healthy hair.
Put away your combs and brushes, let down your locks and prepare to give your hair tender, loving care.
HISTORY
Many of us remember those Saturday mornings sitting in the kitchen by the stove, sweating from the heat, and praying momma wouldn't burn the back of your neck as she pressed your tresses with the hot comb, which by the way was invented by a Black woman, Madame C.J. Walker.
Today, just thinking about all the styling options available for Black hair can make your head spin--relaxers, texturizers, dyes, waves, weaves, braids, coils, twists, locks, straw sets, hand rolls, afros, naturals and, of course, the good ol' press-and-curl. Whew!
But it's not enough to rock the hottest style if your locks are fried, dyed and laid to the side. The first step to healthy, gorgeous hair is learning about your hair structure and type. Class, take out your magnifying glasses and let's get to science.
SCIENCE
A strand of hair actually is made of three concentric layers: the medulla, cortex and cuticle. The medulla, the innermost layer, is not affected by hair care products or styling processes like chemical relaxers or heat straightening.
The cortex is the middle layer where pigment is located. Relaxers, texturizers, dyes and heat straightening all work by altering the chemical bonds of the cortex, either permanently, as with relaxers and hair color, or temporarily by blow drying or flat ironing.
The visible outer layer, the cuticle, is the layer that comes into contact with the environment. The cuticle is made of tiny overlapping scales that protect the cortex. When the cuticle is healthy, its scales lie flat, giving hair that smooth, shiny look. But when the cuticle and cortex get damaged, the scales stick out and problems like split-ends, dry hair and breakage can occur.
When it comes to hair type, people of African descent have hair strands that are thick at certain points, thin at others. This alternating pattern of thick and thin results in the characteristic curl of our hair. It also makes our hair very fragile and prone to breakage at the thin points.
In terms of texture, African hair can range from fine and thin with a loose wave to coarse and thick with a tight corkscrew or spiral pattern. Coarse hair, which tends to look dry even if it's not, usually is porous, which means it quickly absorbs any moisture or chemicals exposed to it. Also, hair that is relaxed, straightened, or permanently dyed is more porous than natural hair, thus needs ample amounts of moisture.
MATH
The formula for, healthy hair is simple: cleanse + condition + care = long, healthy hair.
Cleanse: For natural or relxed hair, wash as frequently as every day but at least once per week. You can use diluted, moisturizing, sulfate-free shampoos or (my favorite) rinse-out conditioners like Vo5 or Suave, to clean your hair and scalp. If your hair is on the coarse, dry side, try eliminating shampoo and use a rinse-out conditioner to wash your hair instead. This will help keep moisture in your tresses and aid in detangling, making your hair more manageable. Whether you wash your hair with shampoo or rinse-out conditioner, look for ingredients like glycerin and panthenol that help bind water to the hair to reduce dryness.
To rid your scalp of product build-up between cleansing, especially if you wear braided or dreadlocked styles, wipe it with an astringent-soaked cotton hall or pad.
Condition: Natural and relaxed hair should be deep conditioned at least once per week. If your hair is very dry, damaged or chemically treated, you CANNOT leave this step out. Deep conditioning revitalizes natural oils, hydrates and protects the hair. After cleansing, squeeze out (don't rub) excess moisture - do not towel dry - and apply a good, heavy, thick and creamy conditioner formulated for deep conditioning. Cover your head with a plastic cap and sit under a warm hood dryer for 15 minutes, or put on a stocking/wig cap over your plastic cap and sit for at least an hour.
To combat daily dryness, use water-based moisturizers to moisturize your hair (paying close attention to your ends) and light oils like coconut and olive to seal and lock in the moisture. Avoid heavy greases and pomades, which weigh, hair down, clog pores and get stuck in braids and locks.
Care: The best way to combat split ends and breakage is to prevent them in the first place. Only use hairbrushes with super-soft bristles and wide-toothed combs. Don't overbrush your hair, which can tear it out. Avoid brushing wet hair since wet hair is more fragile than dry hair and more prone to tearing. Break up tangles with a wide-toothed comb or just your fingers. Take small sections and gently detangle from end to root.
Keep breakage at bay by avoiding too-tight hairstyles, weaves and braids. Also avoid rubber bands, which tear your hair. Instead, pull your hair back with a satin scrunchie or silk scarf. If you use rollers on your hair, avoid the sponge ones, which can damage those strands, and don't wind your hair too tightly around rollers. At night, protect your hair with a satin scarf, bonnet or pillowcase, which retains moisture, prevents split ends, tangling and matting, and preserves your hair style.
If you have split ends or breakage, ONLY a good trim will get rid of them. Once your ends are even and free of splits, you can maintain your healthy ends with a split-end treatment or leave-in conditioner.
Reference: Jet Magazine
Great post girlie!
Posted by: Braids4Grow (Tiffany) | April 04, 2009 at 08:15 AM
Great article! I cannot agree more with the use of sulfate-free products. It has made such a difference in my hair.
Posted by: Lavendar | September 21, 2008 at 05:30 PM