Black Hair Care Guide

Transitioning from permed to natural hair presents some styling challenges. Either you’re going to end up with very short hair, extensions or a wig or with hair of two different textures. Here are some recommended approaches to this dilemma:

• Cut off the relaxed hair- depending on how much new growth and your preferences you have a few styling options. You can wear a TWA (tweeny weeny afro) or two strand twists pretty easily with almost any length hair. For other styling ideas, see http://www.ourhair.net or http://www.hairweb.com
  
  
• Braids and/or extensions- you can have your hair braided until it grows to a length where you feel comfortable cutting off the new growth and going with other styling options
• Sisterlocks^TM- SisterLocks can be started with one and one half inches of new growth at the scalp. They are similar to dread locks but with a look more like micro braids or very small twists. They leave you with many styling options. For more information (including pictures) go to http://www.sisterlocks.com

• Find a transition style- This great tip was given to us by one of our customers. “I just wanted to send you another hair styling option for those who don’t know what to do while growing out a perm and going natural. I recently did this and when my roots began growing out, I would wet my hair and add oil to it, then braid it while it was wet (Black Earth’s Crinkles & Curls Styling Lotion would be perfect for this). After it dried, my hair was left wavy and with lots of texture and this helped to blend the natural roots with the permed ends. It is important to keep your ends clipped regularly during this process so that your split ends do not continue up the hair shaft and damage the natural hair. I was able to wear my hair like this until I was comfortable with cutting all of my permed hair off and wearing my ‘fro.” (thanks Sheena!)

Trying to transition in other ways, like pressing the natural hair as it grows in underneath the relaxed hair, are going to make your hair prone to breakage and can damage the natural hair you’re trying to grow in. We do not recommend it. While transitioning, try to find a style that will accomodate the new growth coming in like twists or braids.

We have produced a short overview on how to care for African American hair. But, I have found that people are requesting more detail as to exactly what to do. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly what’s best for you or for your child. I purposely avoided a cookbook approach in the original guide because proper maintenance of hair is more of an art than a science. Every person’s hair is slightly different and therefore requires a slightly different maintenance routine. Even my two daughters, with the same father and mother, have different hair types. I find that an oil that is great for one is too heavy for the other. After years of trial and error that I have developed regimens that work best for each of the three of us. I am still tweaking those as I find new products and as I gain more experience. But, I will share my routines with you. These should be useful starting points for you to develop your own routine.

We are receiving a lot of requests from Caucasian mothers who have adopted children of African descent and know almost nothing about Black hair care. Most African Americans are multi-racial. So, African American hair has a wide variety of textures and needs.

The number one complaint we get about black hair is that it looks dry or dull. Before you go too far to make your natural hair full of sheen and shine, it’s best to have the proper expectation. Natural Black or African hair will not be as shiny as permed hair or Caucasian hair. A major part of what makes hair shiny is the structure of the hair, not just the amount of oil or moisture it contains. If the cuticles lay flat (smooth hair), the hair will reflect light better (translated will appear shiny). If the cuticles are raised, the hair will absorb light (translated will appear more dull). Without changing the structure of the hair (as in getting a perm or relaxer for us African Americans), our hair will only be so shiny. By applying a bunch of grease to make it shinier, you could end up damaging the hair. Having said that, natural African hair can appear healthy, smooth and have a nice healthy sheen.

Another complaint we sometimes get (again it seems usually from White mothers) is that their child’s hair is too curly or too frizzy. There are some things you can do to control frizzyness and curliness. But, if you want to effect “permanent” (permanent until it grows out anyway) changes, you are looking at a chemical process. One thing we often advise mothers about though is please do not expect your child’s hair to be like yours. And, please do not make her feel as though something is wrong with her hair because it’s “frizzy” or curly.

You should picture your child’s hair as a collection of fine fibers. You should treat it as gently as you would a fine washable silk blouse. The better you treat her hair, the easier it will be to grow and the better it will look. You should be aware that African hair and biracial hair tends to be drier than Caucasian hair. The structure of our hair makes it more difficult for the oils to work their way from the scalp to the ends of the hair. Because our hair is kinky, it tends to tangle more and pulling these tangles out can cause breakage. In spite of appearances, black hair and biracial hair tends to be more fragile than Caucasian hair. The lack of moisture and elasticity and the kinks that get grabbed when styling or combing make for hair that can be broken easily. Someone once asked me if natural hair is meant to be combed. Actually, the answer probably is no. I don’t think our hair was structured to be combed at all. So, as long as we’re going to do it, we have to do it causing the least amount of damage possible.

Both of my daughters have natural hair. We receive a lot of compliments about their hair. While I am still tweaking their regimens, I have them down pretty well now and I will share those secrets with you.