b e c a u s e i t ’s n ot stretched o u t. Th e re i s a lso a differe n ce b e t we e n growth and re te nt i o n . I f t he ends of yo u r h a i r a re b reak ing as m u c h a s i t s growing from t h e ro o t i t w i l l seem as if yo u r h a i r i s n’t growing at a l l. M y t h 3 : B l a c k women with g o o d h a i r, c u r l y or fine hair a re th e o n l y o nes who can grow l o n g h a i r. *le sigh* I re a l l y w i s h p e ople would s to p p e r p e t u ating this myth b e c a u s e i t j u s t poisons little b l a c k gi r l s. Th ere is no s u c h t h i n g a s good hair/bad h a i r ! I f yo u h ave some hair o n yo u r h e a d t hat ’s a good t h i n g. Al l h a i r is good hair! M o i s t u re i s K E Y for Black h a i r. Q u i te o f ten biracial wo m e n’s h a i r h as a looser c u r l p at te r n w hich allows t h e h a i r to re t ain more m o i s t u re. M o i stur ized hair b re a k s l e s s. S o moistur ize t h o s e b e a u t i f u l k ink y cur ls! M y t h 4 : G re a s i ng your scalp i s g o o d fo r yo ur hair. NO.
Myth 5(b): Dirty Hair Grows. This. Is. Disgusting. Water is moisture...exactly what Black hair needs most. Dirty hair is just that...dirty. And it stinks.
HELL NO even. Grease contains ingredients such as mineral oil, petroleum/ petrolatum, and lanolin. Grease will leave your hair feeling dr y and yep, you guessed it...greasy. These ingredients don’t moisturize your hair at all. The seal your hair and keep moisture out. You can use hair grease to seal moisture into your hair, but it ’s best to just leave the grease alone so that you don’t r isk coating your scalp and suffocating your hair follicle, which can c ause slow growth or worse no growth. M yth 5: Washing your hair too of ten will dr y out our hair. UNTRUE. I suspec t this myth came about back in the day when shampoos had much harsher ingre dients in them than they do now. S ome shampoos contain(ed) such harsh ingredients that they str ip all of the natural oils from your hair. I think
this is how the “B l a c k gir ls only need to wa s h our hair ever y t wo we e k s” thing came abou t. G ro s s. That ’s like bathin g t w i ce a month. A clean s c a l p i s a healthy scalp. O p t fo r sulfate -free sham p o o s o r others with gentl e - c l e a n sing agents. M yth 6: Cutting/ t r i m m i n g hair makes it grow f a s te r. Hair grows from t h e ro o t, not the tip. Hair i s d e a d protein. I f it was a l i ve wouldn’t a haircu t h u r t ? M yth 8: Only a s t y l i s t can make your ha i r grow long. I t ’s true that s o m e things are best le f t i n t h e hands of a COMP E T E N T st ylist. However, yo u r hair will grow lon g i f i t ’s cared for cor rec t l y. K e e p your protein and m o i s t u re balance in check , l i m i t the use of heat, a n d d o n’t abuse chemicals.