How is your hair doing? Is it healthy, shiny, and soft? How fast does your hair grow? The purpose of this site is for you to gain the knowledge to have beautiful healthy Black hair. Hair is comprised of 3 main sections; the medulla, the cortex, and the cuticle. The cuticle is the part of the hair that you see. The cuticle layers overlap each other like shingles on a roof. Cuticle layers reflect light and make the hair shine. The cortex of the hair is just inside the cuticle layer. The cortex is made of macro and micro fibers which are protein. The protein is made of coils of amino acids. The cortex is where the hair gets most of its strength and produces color molecules (melanin). Inside the cortex are DI-sulfide bonds (cysteine bonds) which give the hair incredible strength. The medulla or medulla canal is the innermost part of the hair which even today the exact function is unknown.
Black hair care is different from Caucasian hair care for many reasons.
1. The cuticle is the outermost part of the hair and has up to 14 layers of keratinized protein (white’s hair has about 7 layers). This offsets the cuticle to cortex ratio in black hair care. When a Caucasian hair is the same diameter as a Black hair, the Black hair’s cuticle is almost twice as thick but the cortex is smaller. This means in equal diameter hair, Black hair will tend to be weaker because it does not hold the same amount of sulfur bonds as in the White hair. Oriental hair is this respect is much like Black hair in that it contains about 14 cuticle layers also. Click here for ways to make your hair stronger and avoid breakage.
2. Black hair follicles tend to be curved as opposed to straighter follicles of Caucasian hair. This tends to make the hair growth curved or twisted. It also can lead to ingrown hair. The shape of the black hair is partly responsible for the dryness common in Black hair care. Natural oils don’t naturally slide down the hair as it does in Caucasian hair. Click here to see ways to avoid having dry hair.
3. Often Black hair growth is compacted into an elliptical shape rather than being perfect round. This makes the hair grow in a wavy (curly) pattern. Combing or brushing this pattern can be damaging because it may pull the hair. Gentle combing with a wide toothed comb is necessary to avoid damage. Click here to see ways to avoid damage to the hair.
4. Chemicals applied in black hair care tend to be more damaging (ie. relaxers. 80% of Black women relax their hair and this can lead to breakage and shedding if the hair is not healthy or relaxers are applied incorrectly. Click here to see ways to have less damaged hair after relaxers.
5. Relaxers can oxidize oils from the hair (and scalp) which leads to dry and brittle hair. Proper conditioning of the hair is necessary to maintain healthy hair. Click here to see ways to avoid dry and damaged hair.
6. As an alternative method of straightening the hair hot irons are often applies with extreme heat causing damage, breakage and dryness to the hair. Click here to see ways to avoid heat damage to the hair.
