Hair Growth and Maintenance – OVERVIEW

Hey guys, last week I finally wrapped up the ‘Science of Hair’ series. In this article, I make attempts to demonstrate how I organise my thoughts around ‘Hair Growth and Maintenance’. I have spent the last couple of months researching this broad topic and maybe just like me, you guys often get confused because of the amount of conflicting information out there. In the beginning I had no intention of creating this blog. But I soon realised that blogging about it is probably the best way to learn. This will only serve as a general overview for now. Details will come in future articles.

Let me begin by pointing out that factors that affect hair growth and maintenance are both INTERNAL and EXTERNAL.

INTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING HAIR GROWTH

GENETICS: How appropriate that genetics come first on the list considering that genes map the way we look and how our bodies function. Our hair types, growth cycles and hair loss (such as balding patterns with age) are among many diverse genetic functions.

HORMONES: A lot of research has been devoted to the way hormones affect hair and nails. Hormonal changes that take place in the body such as during pregnancy or while taking certain forms of birth control have been closely examined to reveal how hormonal activity can affect your hair growth cycles.

NUTRITION: Your hair and nails are the last in line to receive proteins, vitamins and minerals from your food. The body is so efficient that it will forego the vanity of your hair to ensure your other vital cells are being fed. Watch your eating habits. It is one thing that your hair receives left-over nutrients from the body, it’s another thing that it receives insufficient or unhealthy left overs.

EXERCISE: This is probably the least utilised and most underrated factor in general wellbeing and hair growth. Exercise increases the flow of oxygen in your blood and promotes circulation. It releases endorphins and also helps to regulate the adrenal glands that are vital for the body’s response to stress.

STRESS: Stress can affect everything I have listed above. Stress constricts blood vessels and has the capability of signalling a single strand of hair to stop growing and it is just a matter of time before that hair is shed from the scalp. You can experience excessive hair shedding from an episode of stress that occurred from 6 weeks up to 4 months ago.

EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING MAINTENANCE

SCALP: How many times has someone parted your hair and lifted the dandruff from the scalp with a comb by way of scratching? I know, a lot of us have done this or had this done to us. The thing is this practice does more harm than good. So what’s the proper way to handle dandruff and prevent it? Also, should you oil your scalp or not? I’ll probably talk more about that in later articles.

WASHING: How should you wash your hair? How often should you wash you hair and with what should you wash your hair?

CONDITIONING: Same questions apply; How? How often and with what?

MOISTURISING (WATER & NATURAL OILS): So you don’t like water because of the shrinkage you experience? But really, we need to spritz our hair with water for moisture on a daily basis and seal that moisture in with an oil based sealant. What do I mean spritz? Lightly spraying the hair with water, not to make it wet, just to dampen it a little. Still confused? Don’t worry I’ll explain this soon!

DETANGLING, STRETCHING AND STYLING: When your hair is tangled and coiled it is impossible to maintain. So how do you keep your hair looking good every single day?

PROTECTIVE STYLING: This is an important factor for maintenance. When talking about protecting the hair I ask questions like what are you protecting the hair from? Why are you protecting the hair? How do you protect the hair? When do you protect the hair?

TRIMMING: And finally, how appropriate, at the end to talk about trimming. Trimming is not as straight forward as a lot of people tend to think. We all have different opinions on whether to trim or not to trim? And if you do trim, how do you trim it? How often? And why or why not trim it?

And there you have it, my big picture for understanding hair growth and maintenance. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this and I hope you’ve learnt something and that you’ve gotten an idea of what to expect. Now this is just an outline and a work in progress, if you have any suggestions for me, feel free to leave them in the comment box. I would love to read what you have to offer. As always, thanks for reading, until next time, stay blessed!

My current protective style: Masai Braids

These braids are called ‘masai braids’ because the men who do them are natives of Kenya and Northern Tanzania known as the Masai. Believe it or not, these braids are done faster that box braids. Mine took 4 – 5hrs because of my thick hair, but if you have thinner hair it takes 3hrs. They usually work in groups of 3.

I love them BUT man they break the hair around the edges so bad, especially if you get them done religiously.

Basic braid care: I spritz a water and olive oil mix daily and wash them with TRESemme Naturals shampoo and conditioner weekly.

What’s your braid care routine? 🙂

THE SCIENCE OF HAIR – PART FOUR (Using pH balance PROPERLY for hair care)

Hey guys! So far I have discussed the structure of hair; the importance of the cuticle layer in retaining moisture; the different methods used to close the cuticle layers – on which we focused on pH balancing. I have covered the basics of pH balance and we know that at pH 4.5 to 5.5, our cuticles are closed. Please note this pH range changes depending where you get the information from. Some sources say at pH 4 to 6 your cuticles close and pH of 7 (neutral pH) your hair remains unchanged! Meaning water just leaves your hair as is (because water has a neutral pH of 7)

I have also discussed why using baking soda on our hair is unwise. For those who insist on using baking soda, I have researched further to find at least one quality that could be helpful to the hair. Unfortunately, I could not find anything to redeem baking soda:

1. When seen under a microscope, it is a crystalline grain. This makes it highly abrasive and excellent for cleaning stoves, buildings and teeth.
2. It is used for degreasing machines (in industries) by way of absorbing oils, so much that it has been recommended in Caucasian and Asian hair forums or blogs as a  dry shampoo to remove excess oil (sebum) from their hair. Straighter hair types allow oil (sebum) to run freely down the hair strand and when in excess, it gives the hair a dirty look. However, afro textured hair is coiled, curled and easily tangled, making it difficult for the sebum to go all the way down the hair strand so we have to add oils to get that desired shine. Using baking soda will strip you hair of those needed oils.

Do not think baking soda is a superior method over shampoos; it is definitely bad for our hair!

So then which products are good for our hair?

Here is a list of acidifiers that can be used for closing the cuticle layers (or as a shampoo alternative), hence retaining moisture after the hair is washed:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar (3.0pH):  Skip harsh shampoos and wash away build up by complimenting your hair’s natural pH using an ACV cleanser/rinse. When ACV (apple cider vinegar) is diluted to water, its pH increases to the appropriate pH range for the hair. It has an unpleasant smell though, so rinse it out with water and then condition your hair. A point of caution: a little goes a long way! Kim Love conducted an experiment and found that adding ONE PART ACV to HUNDRED PARTS WATER will raise the pH to 4.0. Do not use one part ACV to four parts water because this does little to raise its pH (I also didn’t know any better so I used to do this).
2. Aloe Vera Juice (4.0 – 4.5pH): Aloe Vera is a natural plant which has been used for thousands of years and is currently still being researched for medicinal purposes. The plant has a natural gel which can be obtained by squeezing the leaf. Commercially manufactured Aloe Vera juice or gel has a pH that varies from 3 to 6 depending on the manufacturer. Is good as a leave in conditioner ingredient (you can add it to your leave in) and as one of the ingredients in your daily spritz. It has a plant like smell which usually fades within an hour. If you use the actual Aloe Vera plant instead of store bought juice of gel, please make sure to use it soon after extracting it. Do not store it because it tends to go bad quickly. And if you are buying it from a store, read the ingredients and make sure it is organic. I absolutely love Aloe!
3. Lemon Juice (2.0pH):  Lemon juice is also good for the hair WHEN DILUTED. Use VERY LITTLE to dilute with water because it is very potent. I personally do not use it on my hair. It has a very low pH of 2.0, if you use it, be very careful! It doesn’t take a lot to change the pH of water.

Main lessons I hope you take away from this series…

1. ACV (apple cider vinegar) is a great shampoo alternative! Not only does it cleanse your hair, it also closes your cuticles and keeps your scalp clean and even dandruff free.
2. If you prefer shampoo or another cleanser other than ACV; make sure to close those cuticles after you’ve washed your hair and whilst it is still wet, by using an acidifier of your choice (such as Aloe Vera or Lemon Juice). Your hair will be less rough, have a better sheen and it will be easier to control. At least that is what I and a couple of people who’ve given me a feedback have found. You can really tame your hair; it doesn’t have to be out of control. Just make sure you read up and know what to put on it.
3. You can mix your acidifier with your leave in conditioner of choice (or make your own leave in with jojoba oil, coconut oil, castor oil and your acidifier). Most gentle, low sulphate or sulphate free shampoos and hair care products are already pH balanced! Do your own research and Google ‘pH balanced shampoos and hair care products.’ You will be overwhelmed with just how much good stuff is out there.

This concludes the 4 part series about the science of hair and pH balance. I hope I have armed you with sufficient knowledge to make healthier educated choices about your hair. The next article will be a structured breakdown of what to expect from this blog. I have organised different topics in order for you guys to gain an understanding about how to grow and maintain your hair properly.

Thank you so much for the positive feedback; you guys have really encouraged me to keep blogging about Black Afro Hair.

Until next week Monday, stay blessed!

sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sohj1nnCOGs

 

Yes, I am back!

Hey Guys,

Many apologies, I’ve been a bad blogger. I left my ‘Science of Hair’ series on a cliff hanger and did not came back to give you some closure. I was just so busy preparing to come back to uni for my final semester. Yes final, I graduate after this 😀 *applause*. I got back almost 2 weeks ago and since then I’ve been busy sorting out my lectures and also just adjusting to being back on campus. The weeks just flew by…

So anyway, I had to fit blogging into my hectic campus timetable and I’ve finally got it covered. Sunday is my day off from everything 🙂 So every Sunday I will type out blog posts and then I will post them on here the next day (Monday). I already have one post ready for posting today (concluding ‘The Science of Hair’ series) and next week’s post is already in the pipeline.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback; you guys have really encouraged me to keep blogging about Black Afro Hair.

Until tomorrow, peace and love!