Black Hair Growth
and Care
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.