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Looking back over the past few years, we can confidently move into 2013 knowing that there is a wealth of information readily available at our digital fingertips on the world of kinky/curly haircare. Products have evolved and changed to suit our needs. New niche lines have been developed to address areas of concern that had previously gone neglected. Black haircare, as an industry and as a movement, has made a lot of progress.

But some habits, and thinking, don’t go down so easily. There are still a number of beliefs, some old and some relatively new, that are misleading, false, divisive or simply will destroy our hair if we don’t pay attention.

Here are ten of those popular misconceptions.

This recession is putting a hurt on everybody’s wallets. Women in particular are looking for ways to cut back on beauty expenses, opting to do for themselves things that would normally be a pampering service to take the stress away. But some self-care action items are almost a medical necessity. I for one cannot shave my bikini line  — the potential for ingrown hairs is far too great. Waxing has been my only method of hair removal for some time, but at a minimum of $30 per service in New York, more than once I have downgraded this treatment in order to save. Popular drug store hair depilatory creams like Nair did the trick as money-saving hair removal solutions. If you can’t afford to go to the salon you have to be real, right?

Would you still agree if I told you that the same ingredient used to dissolve hair on your skin is used to unplug hair-clogged bathroom sinks? According to the Drano web site, its main caustic ingredient (meaning the chemical doing the destroying) is sodium hydroxide.  A quick google of “Nair Sodium Hydroxide” reveals a plethora of sites detailing that this is also used in the product, and likely the cause of the burning, stinging, smelly nature of the cream. It is so similar to Drano in composition, there is even an eHow article detailing “How to Use Nair to Clear a Clogged Drain.” Yikes!