Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD There are a lot of myths out there about black hair: About what it needs and how it grows. Misconceptions are everywhere. African American hair is the most unique and varied of all textures. From kinky coils to bone-straight, there is beauty in hair texture diversity. However, there are also misconceptions.
Myth 1. Black Hair Doesn’t Grow
If you’re alive, your hair is growing. In general, your hair grows about 1cm to a half inch per month depending on your genetics. Your hair has three main cycles: Anagen, telogen and catagen. The anagen phase is the growing phase. It can be anywhere from 2 to 7 years. The longer your anagen phase, the longer your hair can theoretically get before it is shed. You can read more about the hair growth phases here. Typically, when people think that their hair isn’t growing, it’s because it is breaking faster than it’s growing; or it’s shedding. African American hair, because of its coils, is very fragile and can break more easily than other hair types. However, it does grow, and when healthy and well cared for, can reach long lengths. (Which might not be as obvious thanks to our dear friend shrinkage!)
Myth 2. Dry Hair Needs More Oil
Oil does not moisturize the hair. Only water can do that. Oil is fantastic at sealing moisture into the hair, and some oils like amla and baobab may help to strengthen your hair and help you attain longer lengths. However, oils themselves do not provide moisture. They only support moisturized hair. If you’ve got dry hair, you may not be providing it with enough moisture. Try nighttime spritzing followed by a sealing oil. You can read how to do that here. Check out our Top 3 Reasons for Dry Hair.
Myth 3. Your Hair is Breaking Because You Don’t Take Care of It!
Too much heat, using bad ingredients, and tight hairstyles can cause breakage and damaged hair. But sometimes your hair can be brittle or damaged because of an internal problem. Don’t assume that your hair woes are due to something that you’re doing wrong. See a doctor and make sure everything is okay internally!
Common Medical Causes of Brittle Hair
- Thyroid problems
- Low iron and anemia
- Low vitamin D
- Low biotin levels
- Infections
Hair loss can also be caused by illnesses, weight changes, stress and medications.
Myth 4. Minoxidil Doesn’t Work for Black People
Minoxidil is an over the counter medication that is recommended by many dermatologists for a variety of hair loss conditions. It works for African Americans and those with kinky or coily hair textures too! Minoxidil is used to help treat everything from CCCA to female pattern hair loss. It can also be used for thin edges. Rogaine is the most popular brand of minoxidil, but there are many generics out there that are just as good.
One thing to know about minoxidil: When you’re using minoxidil for female or male pattern hair loss, you must keep using it to keep the hair that it grows. When you stop, you’ll go back to square one. However, for many women, that’s a small price to pay for a head of full hair.
Myth 5. Dandruff Means You Need to Oil Your Scalp
If you’ve got a serious case of seborrheic dermatitis, all the oil in the world is not likely to help you with your itchy scaling scalp! In fact, too much oil could irritate your scalp and make your dandruff worse. Conditions like seborrheic dermatitis are typically treated with medicated shampoos like Nizoral. Also, many dermatologists will treat this condition with steroid creams to calm down the inflammation so that it doesn’t lead to hair loss.
Dandruff can also signal a condition like psoriasis, a scalp infection like ringworm, or an allergy to something that you’re using on your scalp.
Myth 6. Hair is Dead. Your Diet Can’t Affect Your Hair
Your hair is made of a protein called keratin. Our nails and skin are also composed of keratin. A poor diet can affect your hair in many ways. Just as eating the wrong foods can wreak havoc on your skin, eating a poor diet can lead to weaker and less healthy hair. A diet that is poor in protein, biotin and iron can lead to brittle breaking hair. A lack of vitamin D can also cause hair loss. Excessive dieting and weight loss can also lead to hair loss.
Avocados, eggs and salmon are all great foods for your hair. Biotin rich foods may help with your hair too. You can read about how to increase the amount of biotin in your diet here. A healthy and well-balanced diet will keep your weight in check and help you have beautiful skin, hair and nails.
