0 Natural Hair Care Myths, Do your research!

This post is prompted from a post on: To Be a Naturalista about being a Responsible Vlogger/Blogger it should be no surprise to many of you (if you read my blog) that I agree with her post completely!

Here is a excerpt: "So many naturals make a point to rant against enemies of natural hair including sulfates, mineral oil, petroleum and boar bristle brushes. But I am willing to bet less than one percent of those who do actually sat down and took the time to invest in serious scientific research as to why these things are harmful to our hair. I can bet on it because I know if they had done the research they’d be singing a different tune. And no, watching youtube videos does not count as serious scientific research…"

I think many people don't realize the importance of study and making factual AND honest statements. I have never considered myself a guru or haircare "know it all" as I have a lot to learn but, when it comes to blogging and listening to others I do notice a lot of "know it all" mentalities among people who haven't studied anything. There are many myths about haircare, many many many many myths. These myths exist because someone took the advice of someone else and didn't research it for themselves.

Let's discuss 3 myths involving natural hair for example:

• "Black hair" tends to be dry and brittle.

Dry and brittle hair isn't a characteristic of healthy hair. If you take care of your hair and learn what works and what doesn't, no matter your "race", your hair will be moisturized and strong. Any person of any background can have healthy hair. Unhealthy hair, period, is dry and brittle, the color of someone's skin is not a determining factor in that.

• Mineral Oil and Petroleum make your hair dry.

While it is true, these products if not used correctly can result in dry hair, they don't MAKE hair dry. Hair becomes dry when it loses moisture. Some people have used vaseline in their hair with great success. Being that these ingredients fall in the sealant category, they can't be used as moisturizers. If you don't use an adequate moisturizer underneath a product that contains these ingredients as the main ingredients (top 5), you haven't put moisture into your hair shaft, thus resulting in dry hair. Moisturize and then seal. 

• Brushes will break your hair off!

The proper statement to make would be, brushes can break your hair off.  Again, if you don't use any tool correctly it can cause damage to your hair strands, this includes brushes, combs, rollers, blow dryers, flat irons, etc. For some, the trick is to only brush hair that has product in it (such as a leave-in conditioner) and to use a soft bristle brush (some use baby brushes).

And there are many more myths that I could list but I won't because we would be here all day...

Your hair is as difficult or as simple as you make it. All of us want healthy hair, they route we take to get it can be long and hard or it can be simple and short, it's up to us.

I'm going to be participating in a challenge being hosted by Naturally Imperfect titled: State Your Reference in support of spreading factual information about haircare.

Anytime, you state something as "fact" your will have to state where you got that information from. Easy enough, right? Will you join us? Join in the comments, or on Twitter (WAHMTown) or on Naturally Imperfect!

No matter what we speak about we should always strive to give reliable and honest information. This is a great practice that can and will build a positive character in us.

Also check out: http://www.naturalhairunity.com/ for discounts, giveaways and other cool prizes! I will be hosting giveaway soon with more info!


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