Black Hair Care Questions & Tips

You didn’t really think we were going to answer this one. Did you? This is one of the hottest debates I’ve run across in years. Our job is to inform you and let you make the best decision for yourself. There are pros and cons to each. This is a highly personal decision. Don’t go natural to please those sisters who think all women who wear perms are selling out to the White man and have low self esteem. OTOH, Don’t wear a perm because you feel that going natural is a political statement that you don’t want to make. This really should be a personal decision. Having said that, the reality is that if you go natural, some people will assume certain things about your political and social points of view. If you wear a perm, some people will think you have low self esteem. So, you can’t please everybody.

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First of all, make sure you have a good stylist. If you do apply your perm at home (which we do not encourage), be sure you follow the directions religiously. Make sure you apply touch ups only to new growth. Do not overlap the perm on to the already permed hair. Follow the general directions hair care outlined elsewhere on this site.Additionally, for permed hair:

• Dry your hair slowly and with as little heat as possible. I try to allow a couple of hours to wash my hair. I wash it and towel blot it. I apply a hair and scalp oil. Then, I walk around the house for a couple of hours and let it air dry as much as possible. Finally, I blow it dry the rest of the way and begin my conditioning and styling routine.
• Wet your hair as much as possible (at least twice a week). Spritz it with water daily or rinse it in the shower every day or two.
• Use a leave-in conditioner and/or moisturizing pomade. Again, this is especially important for relaxed hair as you’ve stripped the hair of some of its ability to oil itself and its protection against moisture loss.
• Have your hair trimmed on a regular basis (whenever you have a perm applied). If your ends split, this split can travel along the hair shaft causing damage to the hair further up. Don’t hang on to damaged hair for the sake of its length. If your hair has been damaged by a bad perm or general abuse, trim it back and let the healthy hair grow out to make up for it. Keeping the damaged hair around can actually begin to damage the healthy hair.
• Touch up frequency will vary depending on your hair type and how fast it grows. I need to go pretty often. Six weeks is what some people need. Up to two to three months is fairly normal.

This is a question we get quite often. First, we need to set some expectations. With the obvious caveats about how we all have different hair types due to our diverse ancestries, natural African hair is going to appear more dull than Caucasian hair or even Black permed hair. Let me repeat that. Natural hair is going to appear more dull than permed hair. It’s just the structure of our hair. The cuticles on our hair, because of the curvature, do not lay flat. Flat cuticles reflect light better making that hair appear shinier. If you try to make your hair shine like someone with permed hair or a White person, you’re going to end up making a mess of your hair. If your hairdresser tells you you need to put more oil on your hair because it looks more dull than the permed hair she’s used to working with, now you know better.Having said that, we can make our natural Black hair look very healthy. There are two things that many of don’t get enough of on our hair- Water and Oil. Make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids and wash your hair often enough (as described elsewhere in this paper). Make sure you are oiling your hair with good, natural oils that the hair can absorb. Too much of the wrong kind of oils, can actually damage the ability of the hair to absorb moisture and make the hair appear even more dull. As discussed elsewhere on this site, conditioning after each washing is especially important for Black hair care. Natural African hair is beautiful. But, it must be maintained properly to be and appear healthy.

Someone once asked us if we thought Black hair was “designed” to be combed (or brushed). Well, the answer to that would be “no”. The kinks in our hair are great places for combs and brushes to get caught and, if the hair is dry an inelastic, it can snap right off. However, modern society demands we do certain things that are “unnatural”. We brush our teeth, shave our legs, pluck our eyebrows, wear deodorant. So, the question we think is relevant is what is the best way to comb or brush my hair?We think that bristled brushes are a bad idea for natural hair and stay away from them entirely. The sharp ends on the bristles tend to catch and snap off natural Black hair. Brushes with rounded “bristles” (really more like teeth or tines) are much better. These can be found in many beauty supply stores. The Kakakiki KombBrush is uniquely designed for African-American hair. It is a combination of a comb and brush with multiple tines laid out similar to a brush. But, they are rounded, placed and designed specifically for Black hair care.As for combs, for natural Black hair, wide toothed combs are a must. African-American hair (and biracial hair) varies widely. So, you’ll have to decide which width is best for you. But, if you are going to use a rattail comb (great for detangling hair, making parts, etc.), remember the rattail is the end you want to use. Leave the other end alone!

If you have super curly, kinky or (dare we say it?) nappy hair, your hair is best handled wet. You may find it easiest to comb it with a wide tooth comb while in the shower. Give up on that skinny little European comb and get one made for your hair. Try to avoid combing your hair while dry as the comb will tend to catch and break the hair. If you need to comb your hair while it’s dry, be gentle. Try to spritz with some water or a cream first. You can use an unbraid product like Black Earth’s Protective Mist Bodifier or Royal Roots Detangler, Softener, Remover. If you’re unbraiding your hair and get to some tangles, pull them loose with your fingers (or the end of that rattail comb) before you go on combing.

How often you should wash African-American hair will depend on your hair type and how prone your hair is to drying or becoming oily. Not all African Americans have the same type of hair. Generally speaking, our hair tends to be dry and shampooing too often will worsen that. Rinsing your hair with plain water on off days (if necessary) and washing once every week to ten days works for most of us. Starting off with washing weekly and adjusting up or down from there is a good rule-of-thumb.It’s important to use a good moisturizing shampoo designed for your hair type (which is probably normal to dry). It’s also very important to condition your hair afterwards (see our article on why it’s important to condition for more information on that).Bi-racial people may want to wash their hair a little more often as it may tend to be more oily. Again, start with once a week and adjust up or down as necessary.BTW, when you dry your hair, do not rub it. Rubbing your hair can cause breakage. Blot it with a towel.

Q.) I have never met a person who says that “relaxers have helped me grow my hair.” All it seems to do is ‘tame’ the hair and keep it straight. I am interested in getting a relaxer, however I want my hair to continue to grow. For many years I have been using hair oils such as “Long Aid,” “Indian Hemp,” and “Hair Food,” etc. When I do decide to get a relaxer, is it possible I can still use these products along with vitamins such as “biotin?” Will using hair oils and vitamins help grow my hair while it is relaxed? Or is it better to keep my hair growing natural?A.) Ooh. These are loaded questions! Let’s see if we can answer them without stepping on too many landmines.

You’re right. Relaxers don’t help to grow the hair. There are people who would tell you that chemicals will make it impossible for you to have healthy hair. But, we don’t think that is necessarily true. Relaxers do work by breaking down the hair. And, relaxers do tend to make the hair more dry. But, with the proper maintenance you can have healthy relaxed hair. People with natural hair can (potentially) damage their hair more than chemically treated hair with too much heat (blow drying and pressing) trying to make it straight “naturally”. So, there is a trade-off there. If you want to wear your hair straight, a perm may actually be healthier for your hair.

Now, whether you wear your hair natural or permed, it’s always a good idea to keep it moisturized and get the proper nutrition (possibly including hair supplements such as Treasured Locks H2G Hair Growth Supplement).

We hope this answers your question. We can’t say that natural hair is always easier to grow than permed hair for the reasons above. Many people with relaxed hair have long, healthy hair. But, proper maintenance is important either way.

You want to put your best face forward. African American skin needs to be maintained properly to look its best. Common problems among African-Americans are hyperpigmentation (dark spots) caused by scars from acne or other injuries to the skin and “ashy” or gray skin caused by not exfoliating properly. While African-Americans do have the advantage of natural protection from the sun (we’ve all heard the phrase “Black don’t crack.”, that doesn’t mean that Black skin care can be taken for granted.This is a guide to our HumiNature skin care products for the maintenance and treatment of black skin. Our face care products for African-American are of absolutely the best quality, at a very reasonable price. Because your skin has unique needs, HumiNature has multiple products for “normal” to special needs skin types. We have also assembled recommended “regimens” which are bundles of products that work well in concert with each other. Each regimen is based on completely natural, non-soap cleansers, alcohol free toners and balancing non-greasy, non-comedogenic moisturizers. If you have dry skin, you might have been tempted to skip the toner step because many toners are drying and harsh. Ours are not. Each of our products is gentle, hypoallergenic and helps prevent and/or repair damage.Click on the links below to see a short description of each product or regimen.

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We know that whether to oil or not oil African-American is the subject of an on-going debate. In our experience, the right oils, put on at the right times and in the right amounts are a great thing for our hair. Oils, pomades, daily moisturizers, leave-in conditioner and creams will make the hair feel more soft and flexible. They are particularly important to be added to permed hair which has been stripped of some of its ability to oil itself. Mineral oil and petroleum use should be minimized or avoided. These products can tend to clog the pores (known as comedogenic), are not easily absorbed into the hair and attract dust. If you use products with these oils, try to use the ones that have the least amount. But, really there’s no need to use such products when there are much better all natural alternatives available. But, just so you know, generally, the further down the ingredient list, the less there will be in a product. So, try to use products where these are listed near the end.Now, back to what you should use. There are so many great natural plant oils. We typically don’t use animal oils, with one exception- emu oil. Emu oils reduces inflammation and has essential fatty acids and vitamins. It also easily penetrates the hair and skin. Emu oil has been shown to stimulate hair growth and is also good for a variety of other conditions. Some natural plant oils to try are shea butter, jojoba oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil. Jojoba is another oil worthy of note. It’s great for hair and skin as it naturally is very close to the sebum we secrete to lubricate our own hair and skin. Jojoba oil helps balance the skin. Treasured Locks offers a great selection of oils, pomades and moisturizers for every hair type and style.Many people ask us how often they should oil their hair and how much oil to use. This is something you will have to experiment with. You’ll probably find that permed hair needs more oil. But, natural kinky hair will need more oil than straighter natural hair. Biracial hair will probably require less oil than Black hair. And so on and so forth. As long as you are using good, natural oils in reasonable amounts, you should not have to worry about any build-up.Oils are best applied to wet hair to help hold in the moisture already there. Creams or leave-in conditioners can be used on days when you don’t wash or wet your hair. The type of oil or cream you use in your hair is going to depend on your hair type and may take a little it of experimenting to find what works best for you. Also, the time of year and your hair’s exposure to the elements will vary your routine.

Several of our Black and Biracial clients complain about dull, dry hair. But, many of them skip the essential step of conditioning their hair after they wash it. Conditioner is vital because conditioner helps leave the hair feeling smooth by leaving a thin wax-like coating. Conditioner also helps lessen the breakage and pulling caused by tangling. Tangling happens when the cuticle of one strand of hair (which are more raised in Black and Biracial hair) catches on the cuticle of another hair. Conditioner also smooths over rough broken edges of the outer layer of hair. By smoothing over the outer layer of the hair, conditioner makes the hair feel softer, reflect light better and keeps it from tangling and breaking as much. Lastly, the protective coating left on by conditioner holds moisture and reduces static electricity. So, do not skip this important step in hair care. If your hair is dry, dull and/or tangled, it’s very important to condition.

In addition to regular washing and conditioning with a good moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, a good hot oil treatment or deep conditioner is essential to repairing and preventing damage done to the hair by chemicals, sun, heat, dry air, etc. Treasured Locks offers several hair repair products.This treatment should be done every 4-6 weeks for best results.What you’ll need:

• Deep conditioner or hot oil treatment
• Disposable plastic conditioning cap (can be bought at any drug store or beauty supply store)

Nice to have:

• Microwave or Professional Conditioning Heat Cap- these are devices that get warm and you can place on your hair to open up the cuticles and allow the conditioner to penetrate. They work better than a bonnet dryer because they produce warm, radiant heat rather than drying convective heat.

To do the treatment

• Wash hair as normal. You can skip the normal conditioning step
• Apply the conditioner or hot oil treatment to the hair and scalp
• Cover with plastic cap
• Place heated conditioning cap on the head and leave on for 15-30 minutes
  • If you do not have a heated cap, you can wrap your head in a towel or use a bonnet hair dryer
• Wash hair thoroughly