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It’s no secret that Afro and curly hair can be complex to navigate around. Methods to manage it have of course evolved from simple box braids or cornrows to styles such as dreadlocks, faux locs, and Afro shape-ups, all found in drawings, engravings, and hieroglyphs from Ancient Egypt. I call it prolific hair-ritage.
For diaspora children, growing up with a lack of accessibility and resources specifically catering to Black hair was just one of the many nuanced annoyances we had to endure. I know I’m not alone in remembering all those years watching my parents scramble over ways to deal with my textured hair. After centuries of trial, error, and research, the Afro hair community is starting to find that alternative and traditional methods we’ve been conditioned to believe in may not always be good, useful, or progressive to the health of our hair and scalps. So let’s get these debunked. Opinions do differ in about overly scrutinised but underresearched hair texture, so we’ve rounded up some of the biggest Black hair myths directly from the experts below.
Myth 1. All braids are protective hairstyles.
False. The thing about braids is that depending on the styling or the person braiding them, they can cause more harm than the general environmental damage, or than the traction via brushing you would get from simply leaving your coils loose and free.
Eleanor Richardson, a consultant trichologist at the Fulham Scalp & Hair Clinic, tells Glamour, “The most common damage that we end up seeing in the clinic is traction. That’s a pulling force that’s been applied because of a very tight style. Maybe due to very chunky braids, or extensions, or weave-in and styles that’ve been there for a while as well.” This happens because some braid styles put a lot of pressure on hair follicles, which were built to cope only with the weight of the hair you grow. Adding extensions to your braids or sewing in a weave can cause a lot of pressure on your scalp. Not to mention the traction you can get from the tightness of the braid style. It’s essential to make sure the braiding styles you choose are not causing too much tension on your scalp and edges or baby hairs.
Myth 2. You should focus on the midshaft of your hair and below, as that’s where you get the most breakage.
False. If you have long hair, Renee Kadar, global artistic director of texture for Aveda, tells Glamour, “The way that I see it is, healthy scalp, healthy hair. If your scalp is doing well and thriving, it’ll show up in the rest of your hair.” In fact, according to Kadar, the secret is to treat the scalp and the hair as different entities: “I’d separate them by the hair that’s closest to the scalp that has all your nutrients and the things that you need, and the midshaft to ends.”
Caring for your scalp and roots is imperative for length retention. Richardson says, “As with any skin, if there is any inflammation, it will be visible. An unhealthy scalp will not get you the best-growing hair as a result. So we always want to deal with that and limit the damage as much as possible.”
Try: Sachajuan Scalp Shampoo, Cult Beauty and Keracare Dry and Itchy Scalp Anti-Dandruff Moisturising Shampoo, Beautybay
Myth 3. If your hair looks dry, add oils, and grease your scalp.
False. If your hair is dry, it will need to be hydrated with water-based products, not oils. Oils are way more beneficial to lock in moisture, so after you have applied a hydrating water-based product like a good leave-in conditioner, then you can apply the oil on top. However, be careful of the grease baths on your scalp. Winnie Awa, founder of online marketplace Antidote Street, tells Glamour, “Greasing your scalp can clog up the pores at the follicles, which will lead to poor-quality hair growth." To tackle dryness, steam treatments work a treat. Richardson tells us, “Steam treatments work really well and make your products work really hard. So when it comes to the winter months and you notice your hair drying out, seek out hydrating products/high water content products or steam treatments.”
Try: Babassu Oil, The Soap Kitchen, Olaplex No 7 Bonding Oil, Cult Beauty
Myth 4. Coconut oil is amazing for your hair.
Correction: Coconut oil is only useful to lock in moisture, as mentioned above. If the hair is already dry and brittle, adding it as an alternative to a water-based product will draw out hydration. It will make hair less elastic and even more prone to breakage, as it can cause protein buildup, blocking the hair from its much-needed moisture.
Myth 5. Leave-in conditioners are not made for Black hair.
False. In fact, these products will make a huge difference when you add them to your routine. Jamelia Donaldson, founder of natural hair product discovery box Treasure Tress, says, “When I was on my hair journey, I actually didn’t realise that leave-in conditioners were made for us, as Black women. It took me a moment to understand just how valuable they are.” In fact, Richardson points out, “Water-based leave-in conditioners are fantastic because you can apply it and build up that hydration as and when you need.”
Try: Aveda Nutriplenish Leave-In Conditioner Spray, Look Fantastic, and Teresa Angelina Trichology Leave-In Hair Protector, Fulham Scalp & Hair Clinic
Myth 6. I must use shampoo to keep my hair clean.
False. Cleansing your hair doesn’t mean you have to use shampoo. Kadar advises us to consider more co-washing methods. Alternatively, you can opt for sulfate-free shampoos or alternate products between the hair lengths. “I feel like shampoo can just be too stripping for the midshaft to end, so interchanging and putting them in between your conditioners might be a kinder alternative.”
Try: Aveda Nutriplenish Leave-In Conditioner
Myth 7. The longer I leave my deep conditioner, the smoother my hair will be.
False. Deep conditioners are designed to be on the hair for 20 to 30 minutes at best. They will also work best if put under a little heat or steam from the shower or bath, but they’re intended to be washed out. Kadar says, “You're not supposed to be sleeping with them because they harden over the hair and make the hair brittle over time. So even the best deep conditioner should be washed out. And then you should put on a leave-in conditioner.”
Try: Aveda Nutri-Plenish Conditioner Deep Moisture
Myth 8. I can only shop for products based on the hair typing system; all 4C hair should require the same products.
False. The numerical hair system is supposed to be used as a guide. Just as not all oily skin will react positively to the same products, hair is complex. In fact, you might find that your own head may host different types of hair textures, so it might be unproductive to pigeonhole yourself. The danger of focusing on hair types is that it can be a gateway for hair segregation and texturism, and it might lead you to inadvertently restrict the products you use.
Essentially, the hair typing system is great for when you’re early on in your journey and are trying to find your tribe among people whose hair looks like yours. It’s only through trial and error of finding products, trying them, and observing the results that you’re able to see what really works for you. Donaldson tells Glamour, “Our response is always that we can’t tell you what products are appropriate, based on your hair tech alone; the tracking system just isn’t sufficient. Think about hair density, hair porosity, et cetera. There are actually so many other attributes that determine whether a product works well for you. The way that you use a product is also really important.”
Myth 9. Afro hair is superstrong. Keep those braids tight.
There is this idea that because Afro hair can take a lot of manipulation, it is very resistant and resilient. However, the way our hair wraps into a curl or coil actually makes it quite fragile and susceptible to more breakage than our straight-haired counterparts’. It’s also more prone to increased tangling, making combing harder, so it needs to be handled with care. Richardson says, “Make sure your hair is hydrated. With Afro hair, the tighter the curl pattern, the more porous it’s going to be and therefore, the more likely it is that it might injure a bit of breakage.”
Myth 10. I don’t need to cut my hair because I’m trying to grow it.
False. A lot of people may see hair trimming as counterproductive when trying to gain length, but Afro hair needs to be trimmed. Richardsons tells us, “When you don’t trim your hair, your hair starts to wear and tear, and literally at the end of it, it starts to fray open, like a little paintbrush. And it will split further and further up the hair shaft. It actually starts trimming itself.” However, that’s not good because it will eventually trim itself to the root and you will stop seeing length retention.
Kadar reiterates, “What happens is that the fraying will continue to go up the hair shaft and rapidly split and weaken each hair strand. If you’re not regularly trimming, these will just create more and more damage.” That is why you should seek out a professional cut. You want that tiny surface area to lose as little water as possible, so having someone that knows how to trim and even out the length as they go, making sure that the end of the hair shaft is as neat as possible, is important. Naturally, it may not always be easy to have access to professional cuts by Afro or curly hair specialists, but if you aim to self-trim every six to eight weeks and get a professional cut twice a year, you will be doing your hair a favor.
Myth 11. I found my perfect hair routine, so I will never use anything else.
Finding your perfect hair-care routine can change your hair game and is absolutely amazing until it isn’t. As with skin care, hair goes through phases. Be prepared to have a hair wardrobe that allows you to change between products as your hair needs react to changing environments and climates; your hair might also become resistant to product overuse. Donaldson tells us, “I find it really useful to just listen to my hair. Sometimes I might want to deep wash it, but sometimes I may want to cleanse it without it feeling stripped. As I change my hairstyle, whether I’m having it natural or straight, then my product usage will need to adapt accordingly. I also think that understanding what the different roles of the different shampoos are is super important.” Awa adds, “Clarifying shampoos have a bad rep, but actually, once in a while you want to use a really strong shampoo to get all the gunk out. Sort of like hitting the hair refresh button. And then, start again.”
Try: Treasure Tress Shea Moisture BHM Box
Myth 12. There are good curls and bad curls.
There are no products out there that will change your curl pattern without destroying the natural coils on your hair and damaging the health of your hair and scalp. So it’s important to unlearn the idea of texturism and what the good curl looks like. Broadcaster Zezi Ifore shared some of her story with Glamour: “We’re so used to going on the YouTube page of our favs and hearing, ‘If you use the four steps of X range or whatever and spend X amount of money, somehow your hair will go from this to perfect spirals.’ For me, it took me time to even unlearn the idea of what good Afro hair looks like. I had to go on a journey of using and spending quite a lot on different types of conditioners. This would escalate to the point that I would drench my head so that my hair would be so weighed down to drop my coils into what I thought were bouncy thick curls. This inevitability just messed up my hair due to the lack of education surrounding silicones, et cetera.”
Myth 13. Hair that is strong will grow down to your back.
False. In fact, textured hair is notedly seen as growing upwards, and you shouldn’t measure the health of your hair by the scalp-to-hips ratio. Gina says: “There was definitely a time that for hair to be considered noteworthy and beautiful, it would have to be down my back.” Now with the force that is the natural hair movement, things are moving in a positive direction. However, it’s important to remind ourselves and others that our hair was created the way it was for a purpose, and it is our duty to cherish it and be prideful of it.
Now time to get those coils back on track. Are you set?
This story originally appeared on Glamour U.K.
