Yo, what’s with your natural hair?

So, I decided last month to be unashamed of my natural hair. I let it loose everyday. BUT, I get questions everywhere I go… Am I missing something? Is it wrong to just want to have an afro?

This one lady from across the street kept asking me questions everyday. “Your hair is natural? Why?” “You don’t like relaxers?” “Have you tried stretching it? Industrial blow?” “You went to church with that hair?” “You’ve come from town with that hair?”

Her last question was “You want to make dreads?”. I felt like she’d asked me 1 million questions, I smiled and said calmly (In the nicest way I could) “NO, I JUST LIKE MY NATURAL HAIR THE WAY IT IS.”

Bet she wont be probing me about my hair anytime soon. hehehe

THE SCIENCE OF HAIR – PART TWO (Superb Chemistry: Closed Cuticles, Happy Hair)

In the last article, I covered the basic structure of hair and explained what part of hair helps in retaining moisture. This part of hair is called the cuticle and it has an overlapping tree like structure that can either be open or closed. Take a look at the image below.

I left you guys asking, “just how do I encourage my cuticles to lay down or close?” and this article answers your questions. After lots of research, I came across a video series by youtube natural hair guru, Kim Love! (Kim, thanks so much for this multitude of information). If you ever have the time, check out her series on the structure of hair: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5532B6CD987E1D88. You will not be disappointed.

So, I know of 3 different forces that the cuticle responds to:

1. Temperature: Heat causes the cuticle layers to expand/lift open, whilst the cold causes them to contract/close. This is why frequently blown out or straightened hair, ends up damaged and in the winter our hair breaks because our cuticle layers are closed shut, not allowing moisture to enter the hair shaft.
2. pH balance: Alkaline solutions cause the cuticle layers to open, while more acidic solutions causes them to close.
3. Surface treatment: Running your hands downwards closes the cuticle layers. Also, sticky products like silicons or oils can manually close the cuticle’s layers. CAUTION! Even though silicons close the cuticle’s layers, they are not good for the hair. Yes, they seal moisture in the hair, BUT they can also keep well needed moisture out.

Of the 3 methods, pH balance is the most effective and yet least harmful to the hair, WHEN USED CORRECTLY.

Basics of pH Balance

In Kim’s basics of pH balance video, she tests the pH of different solutions using pH testing strips. Note that, water has a neutral pH of 7. The 3 solutions tested were vinegar, apple cider vinegar and baking soda. Both types of vinegars are known to be acidic solutions, whilst baking soda is known to be an alkali solution.

The test results revealed that:

• Vinegar has a pH that falls somewhere between 2 and 3. Which is an accurate result because vinegar has a well-known pH of about 2.5.
• Now, you may think that all vinegars are the same, but apple cider vinegar is slightly less acidic and has a pH of 3.
• The baking soda was dissolved in a bit of water to make a solution (you can only test the pH of liquids) and when tested, it revealed a pH of 9. Baking soda is a well-known alkali, it usually has a pH between 8.3 and 9.

Hey, what happens when you mix an acid with an alkali? You create a solution with a neutral pH of 7. Confused? Don’t worry, I’m about to explain the science behind it.

What does pH mean? It means potential of Hydrogen or power of Hydrogen. The scale used for measuring the potential of hydrogen ranges from 0 to 14; 0 being the most acidic, 14 being the most alkali and 7 being neutral.

As I said earlier, when an acid and an alkali mix they make a solution that has a pH of 7. How exactly does this work?

• Vinegar, an acid, contains a lot of hydrogen ions, charged and eager to attach to something. Baking soda, an alkali, contains many hydroxide ions (hydroxide is made up of an oxygen molecule attached to a hydrogen molecule).

When you mix an acid with an alkaline, you take these substances from their extremes and bring them together, ending up with two of hydrogen and one of oxygen. H20?

• So basically, you form water when the hydrogen and hydroxide connect. In essence, you neutralise them.

How does pH balance affect your everyday life?

• Take a look at this colourful scale below, representing the pH balance range. As you can see, battery acid is one of the strongest acids in our environment.

• Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, used in hair relaxers, is one of the strongest alkali.
• Both extremes destroy almost anything in their path (I will elaborate on this point later).
• In the mean time, please take a moment to look over the scale. Notice where some of your household items and bodily fluids are located.

Human hair has a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5. From Kim’s research, this range can refer to the natural oil (also known as sebum), which we produce from our scalp (in other words, sebum has a pH range between 4.5 and 5.5) OR when hair is dissolved, it has a pH range between 4.5 and 5.5. Notice how our hair is more acidic than water?

Please note that these colour bars are a little misleading. You may think that one step up is not a big deal. pH balance is actually measured on a logarithmic scale. So, for every step you must multiply the number by 10. In other words, sodium hydroxide is 10 million times more alkaline than water. Battery acid is 10 million more acidic than water.

Remember I said these extremes will destroy almost anything in their path? Here are the verbs commonly used to describe the way acids and alkali destroy things differently. Both extremes are harmful to your hair.

People in the natural hair community have experimented with baking soda and apple cider vinegar on their hair. The next article will explore some of the effects these products have on our hair and answer whether it makes sense to use them. Also, do you want to know what the ideal range of pH for hair is? Stay tuned for part 3!

Source:

1. The Structure of Hair (2010), video, < http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5532B6CD987E1D88 > [07 July 2013].

THE SCIENCE OF HAIR – PART ONE (The Basics)

In order to learn how to maintain natural hair; one first needs to understand the science behind it. This article is the beginning of a 4 part series of articles that will explain why your hair is often dry and why it is hard to maintain moisture. Using a presentation of facts, this first part will help you understand the basics of the structure of hair. How else are you going to take care of something with no knowledge about it?

Hair is composed of the bulb, root and the shaft. The bulb and the root are found under the scalp. The part that we see is the shaft. Contrary to popular belief, the part of hair that we see, the shaft, is not a living structure. According to biology, once it shoots from the scalp, it is dead. This means that in actuality, there is no such thing as healthy hair because a dead thing cannot be healthy. It is no healthier than your favourite pair of jeans. And, just like your jeans, hair can only be preserved. It is worn and torn from the time it shoots from your head. The image below is a cross section of the hair shaft.

The hair shaft is composed of three layers

source: http://www.luvnaturals.com

1. The Cuticle (Outer layer):

source: http://www.luvnaturals.com

• The cuticle layer, represented as purple, functions as the protective outer layer for the protein inside from outside elements including sun exposure or too much water absorption.  It has an overlapping structure like the bark of a tree. Human beings have anywhere between 5 to 10 cuticle layers. Afro textured hair however, has fewer layers (8 to 12) than Asian hair (more than 12), but more than Caucasian hair (4 to 7). Similar to the cuticle found on your finger nails (nails contain the same protein found in our hair), the cuticle is actually colourless and transparent. Apart from protection, the cuticle helps to lock moisture/water in the cortex.

2. The Cortex (Inner layer):

• The cortex, is made up of protein bundles (represented as grey spots). These bundles are held together by “inter-cellular cement” (represented as orange), which is a mix of lipids(fatty acids), water and trace elements of vitamins, metals and other chemicals supplied from our blood (doctors can tell your drug use history using your hair). The cortex makes up most of the hair mass. It gives hair its colour, strength, elasticity and shape/texture. Hair colour comes from a natural pigment called melanin, found in-between the protein strands. The darker hair you have, the more melanin inside. When there is little to no melanin, your hair grows out white and you have what we call grey hair (even though it really is white, it just looks grey because it is a mixture of coloured and white hair). Protein itself has no colour. The cortex layer is where chemical processes such as hair relaxers and colour changes, take place.

3. The Medulla (Centre):

• This is a soft, spongy mass of cells in the most central part of the hair shaft (represented as the green circle). The medulla is not always present throughout the hair shaft; it can be continuous, fragmented or not there at all. While it is not certain what purpose it holds; many researchers believe it has something to do with the regulation of body temperature. Remember that is the purpose of the hair on the body to regulate body temperature by keeping us warm when it is cold and protecting us from the sun.

Now that you understand the basics, I am sure you want to know why your hair is often dry? It all goes back to the cuticle. As the outer layer, the cuticle protects the protein strands inside, locks moisture in and gives your hair its sheen or shine* when the overlapping layers are closed. Remember the cuticle’s overlapping layers?

So to keep your hair moisturised, you must encourage your cuticle to close. BUT HOW?

The next article will explain the different methods used to close cuticles and will focus on one method, which seems to be the most effective and yet least harmful to the hair.

• NB *Healthy and happy shine: Ever wonder why Asian and Caucasian hair gets naturally oily whilst we have to add oils to our hair? This is because follicles (found under the scalp), have what are called sebaceous glands that produce a natural oil called sebum. Afro textured hair, unlike Asian and Caucasian hair, is coiled, curled and easily tangled, making it difficult for the sebum to go all the way along the hair shaft, so we have to add oils to get that desired shine.

Source:

1. Syed, A. Dr. (2008) Structure of Hair, [Online], Available: http://www.slideshare.net/dralisyed/1-structureof-hair-euro-july-08  [15 June 2013].
2. The Structure of Hair (2010), video, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i3MC4d-HmY&list=PL5532B6CD987E1D88> [23 June 2013].
3. Hair Science (no date) Hair Science, [Online], Available: http://www.hair-science.com/_int/_en/index.aspx?tc=ROOT-HAIR-SCIENCE^HOME-HAIR-SCIENCE&cur=HOME-HAIR-SCIENCE& [23 June 2013].