Isn’t it amazing that hairstyles can look similar but each person’s hair can be so different? Natural hair comes in so many different styles, textures, densities, lengths and more. Even people with the same ethnicity or race can have different hair textures. Because of this, there are so many misconceptions in the natural hair community because there is no one rule for all hair types. Everyone’s hair thrives off of different products and different routines. So it’s important to learn about your own hair to see what methods work the best for you. Here are 6 common misconceptions about natural hair:
- Being Natural is Easy
People can have similar hair textures, but what may work for one person, may not work for another. So it’s important to learn your hair to properly take care of it. This means there will be some trial and error with trying different products to see what your hair likes, trying different methods of doing your hair and trying different hairstyles. Learning about your hair is the hardest part because it costs time spent on doing your hair and money to buy hair products. This can be very frustrating and difficult in the beginning stages. But learning your hair eventually leads to creating a hair regimen that allows you to become consistent with nurturing your tresses, so caring for your natural hair will grow easier overtime.
- Your Hair is One Hair Type
Hair types are used to generalize people’s hair texture. The hair typing system is used to discuss hair texture by using letters (a,b,c) and numbers (1,2,3 and 4) to describe how tight, loose, coarse or fine an individual’s strands are. The numbers describe the texture of the individual’s hair; 1 represents straight hair, 2 represents wavy hair, 3 represents curly hair and 4 represents kinky hair. Then the letters describe the hair curl pattern more thoroughly such as fine hair, medium hair, coarse hair, tight curls, kinks and more.
This system can help one find commonalities in their own hair to better help them find products or hair care regimens that will work best for them. Each hair type has certain products or methods that work best for that hair type but a lot of times, people have multiple hair types on their head. For example, a type 4 natural can have 4C kinks (very tight coils) in the back of their head and have 4A coils in the front of their head (dense spirals). This means that the hair in the front will likely have better coil definition than the back strands will. This just shows that even though your hair may look similar to someone else’s or a hair tutorial comes out a specific way on one person, doesn’t mean that everything they used or did to their hair will look exactly the same on yours. So hair typing is a tool that can be beneficial but it’s not the end all be all.
- You Don’t Have to Have a Hair Regimen
Having a hair regimen is probably the most important thing you can do. Although most people’s routine will look different, a hair regimen helps one to consistently care for their hair. Some people have to wash and condition their hair every few days, while others only have to once a week or bi-weekly. Some individuals may need to moisturize their hair more often than others or even trim less often, it just depends on their hair. But developing a hair care routine helps your tresses thrive and when the routine is lacking, you’ll definitely be able to tell by how your hair may look or feel.
- Protective styling makes your hair grow faster
Protective styling is putting your hair in low manipulation styles that will help you to better maintain its health on a daily basis. Protective styling can be good for your hair, if you still take care of your hair underneath the style; this can include washing your scalp, moisturizing your scalp with oils or scalp serums, etc. These styles do not necessarily make your hair grow faster. But in most protective styles, you can see your hair growing in over time, so it seems faster. But when it is hard to care for your hair underneath the protective style, the neglect can lead to dryness, tangled hair and even breakage. These issues can lead to unhealthy hair and defeats the purpose of the protective style in the first place. Protective styling maintains healthy hair and promotes steady growth if done correctly.
- All Oils Moisturize Your Hair
Oils have multiple benefits for your scalp and hair health. Different oils have different benefits. Oils can increase shine, lock in moisture, promote growth, stimulate blood flow in your scalp and much more. However, not all oils moisturize your hair. Olive oil, coconut oil, baobab oil, argan oil and avocado oil are oils that penetrate deeply into the hair and moisturize the inner and outer layer of the hair shaft. But black castor oil, tea tree oil, jojoba oil and grapeseed oil help to seal or lock in moisture. Some oils are also used for their antibacterial and antifungal properties like cedarwood oil, tea tree oil or even eucalyptus oil. It’s important to know the benefits to the oils you are using, so they aren’t being used for the wrong thing.
- You Don’t Need to Trim Your Ends
Trimming your ends is definitely a debated topic in the natural hair community. Some people don’t believe in trimming their ends, others don’t do it often enough and some may do it frequently. However, trimming your ends is necessary. The ends are the oldest part of your hair and the easiest part of your hair to split or break off. Trimming your hair often can mean once every 3 to 4 months or maybe twice a year, it just depends on the person. This is why understanding and studying your hair is important because you will know when your hair looks or feels a certain type of way, that it’s time to get a trim. Some signs that show that it is time to get a trim includes split ends, damaged ends, single strand knots or frizzy and less defined curls. This is why having a good hair regimen will help your hair stay healthy and will ultimately lessen the amount of times a trim is needed within a year.
All in all, these misconceptions can discourage people from staying natural or even encourage unhealthy hair care habits. It’s vital to do your own research about natural hair and your own trial and error to determine what is true or not. Pay attention to how your hair reacts to different products and different methods to nurture it, understand how to keep your hair moisturized, how often to wash your hair and more. These are all keys to maintain the health of your hair but keeping up with all these things does not make natural hair easy.