Biggest Myths About African-American Hair

January 4th, 2011 - By Veronica Wells

In our quest to outwardly express our inner diva, black women worldwide have sacrificed time and treasure to achieve ravishing ringlets, roller sets and relaxers. It’s a constant struggle and sometimes we’re unknowingly battling ourselves. There is a wealth of misinformation swirling about when it comes to African-American hair care. Acting on this false information only leads to unnecessary stress and frustration. Here are some commonly held misconceptions about African-American hair.

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  • Terrance

    honestly i believe that it can be. yes it 'breaks down' the hair so it can be strait. but it can just be as healthy if you take care of it. a person who has natural hair that's always matted, dry, and tangled. and are too lazy to do anything to it, opposed to a person who straightened their hair and take care of it; you cant tell me the natural person's hair is healthier. i have natural hair and i love it. some people want to straighten their hair, so be it. you should just be happy that you stuck to your natural locks. if they want to go afro then they know what to do

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    I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, but good topic.

  • Ashley

    I agree with every one except one. Relaxed hair is not as healthy as natural hair its a proven fact. This is because a relaxer damages the hair to straighten it. Now you can have healthy relaxed hair but it is only healthy to an extent. Relaxed hair requires diligent care to keep healthy.

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  • Ashley Songs

    @ Anna, since you about heat damage can it be undone? I tried to touch up a press in the front with my curling iron and a very small portion got burnt by the hair leaving it like a relaxer would, very straight. Can this be undone? If so what is the procedure? Please msg me on facebook isis ashley songs, if anyone has any info.

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  • Michelle

    I really hate this article. Was it written by a black person? It seems that they have absolutely no experience with black hair whatsoever. I'm an original nappy head and I know my hair was never as long as my white peers even straightened, and I don't feel any less beautiful because of it, either. Unless you are mixed with some other race, whether it be through your ancestors or your close relatives, your hair will be very different from that of white people, Indian people, Spanish people, or WHOEVER! Those differences are in length, curl patterns, dryness, and many other ways that I don't have the time to sit here and type out. Take it all the way back to our ancestors from Africa. Some people in Africa barely have any hair at all. It grows very short and curly and no matter how long they grow it, it just ain't gonna be long. And they are beautiful. Whoever wrote this needs to do a little more research. Our hair is VERY different.

  • Jacqueline Irons

    Well, I tell ya, I sure learned something up in heaaahh about AA hair. I wrote everything down and am glad I took the time to read it. Thanks!

  • Nikki

    @Beautiful Mic the only thing I can guess it to be is when they are targeting people of mixed races hair.

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  • Beautiful Mic

    Can someone tell me the different between African-American hair, African Hair, Afro-Latino hair, Afro-European…hair if we're all a very diverse set of people with varying physical characteristics?

  • Steph

    @Anna my hair wasn't damaged at all. But it was made permanently straight by the combination of shea and heat which I had never heard of and definitely did not expect. I haven't used heat in a while now. I do use grapeseed oil for my skin mixed with koser salt as a scrub. I'll try it in my hair without the heat, thanks!

  • Anna

    I think when people say that relaxed hair is not healthy they are just saying the hair protein is broken down which actually is not healthy for the hair be it that the hair is made up of protein. Dont get me wrong relaxed hair can grow because the hair coming out of your scalp has not been touched with relaxer yet and is full of protein but when you add the relaxer to take the protein away this is damaging and can create dry, brittle and dull looking hair if you do not add the protein back in your hair. Always be sure to add it back in with a protein treatment such as Aphogee 2 step (heavy), aphogee 2 min, Giovanni Protein infusion, Organic Root Stimulator replenishing pak just to list a few. The same goes for naturals, you as well need to add protein into your hair because to much moisture will leave your hair mushy and lifeless. So it is essential to have a balance with moisture and protein to have a healthy head of hair for anyone with hair natural or relaxed because remember hair is already dead once it leaves your scalp, it is your choice to have it natural or straight because either way you go healthy hair is achieved by how you take care of your hair.

  • The Phantom

    One misconception about black hair is that if you have what mainstream society considers to be good hair, then you must be "mixed with something."

  • Solo

    @ Huny, no your hair length is not predetermined by birth or by genes. The type of hair you have is predetermined and the length is determined by the type of maintenance.

    And let's be real ladies, if it was 'just hair' there wouldn't be any arguments like natural vs relaxed when pertaining to afro-textured hair. Hair is a big issue and plays a large part in our community.

  • Steph

    I've worn my hair natural (well no relaxer) for 2o years. I flat ironed it with shea butter a couple times (thank goodness only the top and front hairline, the rest was in a weave). The shea butter permanently straightened my hair!! I guess it's a natural alternative to a relaxer, I'm still trying to grow it out so I can cut it off since it doesn't blend with the rest of my hair. It seriously made my hair bone straight only in those sections, it's crazy.

    Has anyone ever used shea to straighten their hair and gotten the same results? I have 4A hair.

    • Keasha

      Yes i was natural for some time. I am relaxed now, however when I was natural sometimes I would flat iron my hair with shea butter and I received some heat damage from the combination of intense heat and using shea butter with the heat.

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