Myths, Concerns, and Other things that go bump in the night…

I want to talk about a few things we’ve been taught and/or become accustomed to that are total MYTHS. Surely you’ve heard of these whoppers before:

- You should only wash your hair once every two weeks because too much water will dry your hair out!

Ok ya’ll, think about it…when has ANYTHING been dry after water has been applied to it? What’s probably drying your hair out is the shampoo (remember the SLS?). Water IS moisture! And it’s our hair’s friend; we just need to ensure we’re not stripping our natural oils out with the harsh shampoos and not replacing it afterwards.

- Black hair doesn’t grow as fast as the other types of hair.

Hair is hair. The normal growth of hair, any type of hair, ranges between ¼” and 1” of growth per month. Period. Do you know how this is proven? When you were getting your relaxers and touch-ups, it was because your new growth hair was growing in! So if our hair didn’t grow, what were you getting touch-ups on? Your new growth! What’s happening is the ENDS of your hair were breaking off. So the mission is to RETAIN the ends of your hair to see true length. And the key to retaining those ends is MOISTURE, MOISTURE, MOISTURE!!! *Reference the first “myth” above. Due to the cuticle shape of black hair, our natural oils have a hard time traveling down to the ends of our hair, thereby denying that portion of the needed oils. That brings us to the next “Myth”.

- You should always grease your scalp!

This is why we were taught to apply all of that heavy petroleum/mineral oil-containing grease to our hair and scalps! Now, applying the right oils is a very important step, but the “right oils” are definitely not those heavy, pore-blocking products of old that we were brought up on! That’s right, no more Bergamot, no more Ultra Sheen, and yes, no more Pink Oil, etc…until the companies replace those harmful ingredients! Instead, choose one (or more) of the natural oils, such as jojoba (very similar to the sebum our scalp produces naturally), coconut, olive, castor, etc… to moisturize our hair and scalp.

- Curly, coily, kinky hair is hard to manage/maintain!

*Looking at that one with the stank-eye.. Folks, what hasn’t been hard to do when you don’t know HOW to do it? Walking was hard until we learned how to walk! For many years we’ve been “taught” the wrong way to take care of our hair. I mean, who would PURPOSELY run a small rattail comb through naturally curly, coily, kinky hair?! Ouch! That hurts just thinking about it! We need to re-learn the basics about natural hair care and believe me, once you’ve learned to accept your hair and how to take care of it properly, it will be a breeze! Honestly, my hair has never been as easy to care for since I learned the proper way. Check this out…when I was relaxed, I would go through the process of getting the relaxer put in, then to the hair dryer or blow-dryer, then flat-ironed, just to get it re-curled in some form or the other! And the style lasted about as long as it took for me to walk out of the beauty salon, drive home, and go to sleep! Within the next morning or two, I’d have to repeat most of the process.

Well, these are only a few of the myths we’ve been led to believe or taught. And although it may seem like it now, learning the proper way to care for our hair really isn’t rocket-science. Before you know it, it’ll all be second nature, as it should be!