Hair Myths Fact or Fiction

Hair Growth

100

Trimming your ends will make your hair grow

What is FICTION ! Trimming your hair wont make your hair grow but it will make your hair grow "fuller". When you trim your ends all you are doing is shortening your hair. Hair grows on an average 1/2 inch a month. The secret behind growing your hair out isn't to constantly cut it but instead to just care for it.

200

Black hair grows slower than other races

What is FICTION ! Regardless of race all hair grows at approximately 1/2 inch per month. The reasons black hair appears to grow at a slower pace: 1) Natural Hair appears shorter due to its curly, unstretched nature 2) Massive amounts of breakage due to black hair not being cared for properly

300

Greasing your scalp often makes your hair grow faster

What is FACT/ FICTION ! If you take a look at the ingredients on the back of a jar of grease you may see things like petroleum oil and/or mineral oil. Yes these are good for our hair but they are not necessarily the greatest to use when it comes to greasing our scalp. Most women think of oils as moisturizers, which they are not. By using too much oil on your scalp you are in fact doing the opposite of what you want to happen, you're actually clogging your pores and not giving your scalp the chance to breathe. Instead use light spray and water based moisturizers to protect your hair and promote hair growth.

400

Going to the hair salon every week will make your hair grow long.

What is FACT AND FICTION! Your hair will grow long if you properly care for it. That means using protein and moisture treatments, using water based moisturizers correctly, and limiting the use of heat. If your beautician is using all of these treatments on you each week, that is only part of the equation. You still must do your part in caring for it on a daily basis.

500

Prenatal vitamins make hair grow faster

What is FICTION ! Vitamins are important for hair growth and prenatal vitamins do have a nice mix of nutrients that promote hair growth. There are a few non-pregnant women who have taken the vitamins and claimed that their hair has grown but there is no medical literature to support the idea of prenatal vitamins being a hair growth supplement. Also, in the case of pregnant women, their increased hair and nail growth is due to hormonal change not prenatal vitamins.

Protective Styling

100

Braids and weaves can cause hair loss

What is FACT ! Braids and weaves pull on your hair strands. Continuous hair pulling for extended periods of time can in fact lead to some hair loss. If you like wearing weaves and braids as protective styles just make sure that they aren't too tight and to give your scalp a rest in between protective styles.

200

Protective Styling will guarantee you length retention

What is FICTION! Protective styling done the right way will help with length retention but it is not guaranteed that your hair will grow. If styles are kept in for too long you can suffer breakage or even hair loss.

300

Protective styles and low manipulation styles are the same thing

What is FICTION! Protective styles and low manipulation styles are indeed similar but different. They are similar in that they both help with length retention because you are not constantly using brushes,combs, and other tools to maintain your hair daily. The difference between the two is mainly the amount of time that you wear the style. If you wear a weave, box braids/twists chances are you wont change that style for several weeks.

400

The longer you keep your protective hairstyle installed the better it is for your hair

What is FICTION! You're actually hurting your hair rather than saving it. For example, When you have box braids in for longer than a month or two you'll start to notice that the extensions will start to slide off of your hair shaft which then causes breakage.

500

You can wash your hair while it's in a protective style

What is FACT! When your hair is in a protective style you want to keep your scalp clean. A clean scalp is a healthy scalp and will bring forth healthy hair.

Hair Types

100

4c hair experiences the most shrinkage out of all of the hair types.

What is a FACT! Type 4c hair is composed of curl patterns that are tightly kinked and less defined. Tightly coily hair can shrink more than 75%

200

Natural Hair is stronger than other hair types

What is FICTION ! Because natural hair has more of a coarse looking texture to it most people believe that this means natural hair is automatically stronger.

300

Natural Hair isn't versatile

What is FICTION! Most people in the African American community believe that black hair isn't versatile. There is a lot that you can do to natural hair. Between twist outs, braid outs, cornrows, bantu knots, wash n' go, straighten it and the popular afro puff. With all of these different techniques you can create so many different styles.

400

It is very easy to retain length in Type 3 hair.

What is FICTION! Yes those of us with Type 4 hair may face challenges due to our tightly coiled curl pattern but length retention isn't a walk in the park for individuals with Type 3 hair either. Moisture maintenance, how you detangle, how much you manipulate your hair , the current state of your hair (healthy or damaged) are some factors that play important roles in the "ease" of length retention.

500

Black hair is the weakest hair

What is a FACT! The main characteristic that distinguishes black hair from other races is the tight curl pattern. Scientific research shows that because of this tighter curl pattern it causes black hair to become drier and weaker. The tighter the curl pattern the drier and weaker the hair will be.

Maintenance

100

Natural Hair is hard to manage

What is FICTION! Natural would be hard to manage if its treated like relaxed hair. Many African American women never learned how to properly care for or style their natural hair. From a very young age most women had their hair relaxed. Natural hair isn't harder to manage it just require patience and re-learning

200

Wearing a satin/silk scarf/sleeping on a satin pillowcase protects your hair

What is FACT! Satin and silk scarfs/pillowcases reduce friction on hair and because of this they help prevent split ends and hair breakage. Also if you wear a lot of hats, particularly during the winter, its always smart to wear a hat with satin/silk scarf inner lining to prevent hair breakage.

300

Washing your hair more than once a week will dry it out

What is FICTION! Water is a moisturizer and doesn't dry your hair out. Also if you're using products with ingredients like mineral oil, petroleum and alcohol in them then you should try to wash your hair at least once a week. Product build up is actually one of the major things that stunt hair growth, this is why washing your hair is extremely important.

400

Brushing your hair daily will make promote hair growth

What is FICTION! Brushing your hair so frequently can actually be extremely damaging because it causes a lot of friction and damages your hair shaft and cuticle.

500

You can mend split ends with certain products

What is FICTION! The split in the hair shaft will keep on splitting despite the products used. The only way to mend split ends is to cut it off. There is no conditioner or secret ingredient from a natural source that can mend your ends. However, you can lessen the appearance of split ends by using products with silicone or beeswax that will make the hair ends appear temporarily together.