Is Afro-textured Hair Intrinsically *DRY*???

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#1 (**permalink**))

The reason I ask this is I hear too often our people say our hair needs moisture and many folks will pound on the grease, oil, or whatever concoction in their hair because of said "dryness". At the same time, if a brother or sister has naturally straight hair, it is said to be "good", and therefore has no need to pound on the "moisture".

Could it just be that our hair is fine as it is, but the people misconstrue the "kinks" they feel as indicative of "dryness"?

Could it be that these false notions of good hair / bad hair manifests a psyche that makes it nearly impossible to take good care of your hair? I mean, perhaps your hair really is dry simply because of the products you use...thinking it needs to be processed or modified to "healthy".

Just curious on people's thoughts on so called "dryness" of Afro-textured hair, as the notion is tossed around alot.

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#2 (**permalink**))

One all natural shampoo I have found to be excellent is the relatively new one by Dudu Osun.

Your hair and scalp will certainly be clean after using this. Some people like shampoos that leave a bunch of "moisture" in their hair after supposedly cleaning it, but I say do one thing at a time. Wash your hair well first. Then worry about the conditioning of it.

After I wash my hair with the above (or other all natural) shampoo, I work a homemade conditioning mixture through my scalp and hair and then comb it through. The conditioning mixture consists of:

Shea Butter (light): majority of mixture, seals in moisture with many revitalizing nutrients.
Jojoba Oil: light oil that absorbs very quickly to soften skin and hair.
Castor Oil: superb conditioning oil that strengthens the hair and provides a natural luster.
Carrot Seed Oil: helps prevent breakage by increasing elasticity of hair.
Vitamin/Herbal Complex: combination of great nutrients like vitamin E, plant extracts (mango, coconut, aloe, etc.), and so forth known to be good for the hair and skin.

After doing what I do for my hair, it is never oily or leaving off a greasy residue as many of our people's hair be after "conditioning" it. However, I have received compliments from both men and woman on my hair of all "races". I find that my hair is still "healthy" without having excess moisture in it. As if you clean it well with a shampoo, then the conditioning agents you use will be readily absorbed by the hair shaft and scalp instead of settling on the top layers sometimes as a residue.

Afriki · (#3 (**permalink**))

from what I understand, yes, it is.

The structure of straighter hair allows moisture to be sealed in longer because the outer cuticles lay flat like this: _ _ _ _

Where as curly hair has a twisted "cork-screw" pattern that bends and lifts the cuticles like so: ////// which allows moisture to seep out at a faster rate (causing dryness sooner and more frequently).

yeah, some people feel they need to beat up their hair with shampoo.
When I shampoo I put tons of conditioner from my ears down before shampooing to protect the length from the chemicals in the shampoo and shampoo my scalp only with a low-soap shampoo and it cleans just as well as the next without sucking the moisture out.

My wash-routine:
-twice a week
-detangle under shower with cheap conditioner (V05) and wide-tooth comb, rinse out.
-Elucence conditioner on length pre-wash as a protectant
-Nature's Gate low-sulphate shampoo on scalp only
-rinse shampoo out through the ends (even with cond. on it's enough to clean my length)
Condition:
-after-wash conditioner Giovanni 50/50 mixed with unrefined coconut oil.
-Deep conditioner: Biolage hydrotherapy mixed w/coconut oil and a heat-cap.
I always wash my length w/shampoo b/f deep treatments so I get the full absorption benefit.

style:
-Giovanni Direct leave-in
-raw shea butter on ends for sealing
-L'oreal lightweight Melting gel

I have wavy hair vs. kinky hair and still, I suffer from dry hair by the end of the second day after washing it. sometimes I have to wet the ends and re-moisture in b/t washes.
I personally believe anyone with curly hair will benefit from using moisture in every step possible.
People with straight hair also have the benefit of their natural oils being able to travel easier down the hair-shaft. But I am happy I don't have straight hair...you just can't do anything with it and when it gets greasy it sticks to your scalp. Not a good look, moisture or not.

I'm with you in the fact that I like my shampoos to rinse away the dirt and just the dirt. I don't want it to affect the moisture balance in my hair one way or the other which is why I use balancing shampoos.
Alot of the "moisture" some people think is in their shampoo is just silicones which sits on your hair. It's used to make your hair feel "nice" temporarily (the illusion of health vs. healthy) but if it builds up it could damage it in the long-run.

p.s. that Dudu Osum shampoo looks so delicious. Unfortunately it has alot of lightening ingredients which is the opposite of what I want. I'll probably try it anyways.
I've always wanted to try black-soap as a shampoo. I've heard some who've had success with it.

chi · (#4 (**permalink**))

I tried using baking soda, last week to wash my hair. It cleaned it very well, but didn't strip the hair. I found it wierd because there is no smell or lather, but my hair is still moisturised a week later. I also found doing a final oil rinse after washing to be a very good way to keep hair from becoming extra dry. Water provides the moisture and the oil helps to seal some of that in I believe.

I do think afro hair can become dry much sooner and more often as Afriki said.

Melissa · (#5 (**permalink**))

Did you use olive oil chi?

chi · (#6 (**permalink**))

@ Melissa, I used a mix of coconut and olive oil.

LadyDay · (#7 (**permalink**))

the dryness you hear of is only because the curlier the hair the harder it is for the natural sebum to run down the full length of the hair shaft

natural hair which comes in many textures does need moisture but certain products do not give moisture as they say they just coat the hair

read this some good q&a's re natural hair
Natural Hair Myths - MotownGirl.com :: Do It Yourself Natural Haircare

Melissa · (#8 (**permalink**))

Thanks Chi

chi · (#9 (**permalink**))

I thought I would put my process up gals.......

Section hair into for or five twists/plaits.
put one teaspoon of baking soda in a spray bottle and add warm water. They say not to add more Bsoda than that or it can make the hair hard.

Take sections down one by one and spray baking soda solution in then twist or plait back up.

Cover hair with a plastic cap or shopping bag for about 30 mins or so.

While you are waiting pour about table spoon full of coconut/olive/any oil you use in a small bucket/ bowl and add hot water to dissolve. You may want to add water enough to pour a few times over hair later.

Wash out BSoda by taking down one section at a time and running cool water from the shower onit for about fifteen seconds. At this point I detangled with a wide tooth comb which I had oiled lightly with coconut oil , comb from tip to root then twist/plait back up until all sections are done.

When thats done, I drenched my head under cool water from shower head then at its wettest point began to pour oil/water solution on my head with a plastic cup/bowl. The water will run back into the bowl below and you can use it to repeat the rinse about four times over the head. Then towel blot the ends and hair lightly and just wrap with towel and you are done.

I added no product to my hair or scalp afterwards and still havent yet.

I will be adding mid-week oil rinsing to my regime from now on.

Hope all that was easy to follow......lol

Aryek · (#10 (**permalink**))

Kinky hair does need more moisture than straight hair. Just like how long hair needs more moisture and care than short hair. It isn't really a good hair/bad hair issue. The scalp produces sebum which is a natural moisture for the hair and scalp. With straight, short hair, the sebum is able to travel down the entire shaft of the hair whereas with kinky or longer hair it's not able to do so. The thing is that all the coils and bends that our hair makes, makes it difficult for sebum to run down from the scalp to the ends of the hair. Hence, we generally need more moisture.

The real issue here, in my view, is that we tend to confuse greese with moisutre. Given that our hair is sebum deficient, what we need are moisturizes that can mimic sebum. Greese does not do this, but you can get a similar effect with glycerin, lighter oils such as jojoba and coconut oil, and off course leave-in moisturizers. Some naturals even have a really simple haircare regimen where they just wash their hair with conditioner frequently and don't use any moisturizers. I can't get away with that but as long as I deep condition my hair regularily, I can usually get away with just moisturizing my hair once every two or three days and my hair still stays soft. My scalp also produces a lot of sebum so I usually only moisturize the last four or so inches of my hair.

Aryek · (#11 (**permalink**))

Ah, nevermind. I see the other ladies have already touched on what I have said.

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#12 (**permalink**))

Uhm...the whole sebum theory is kind of silly to me. If it was really the case of sebum being able to flow down the shaft of the hair, thereby making it more moisturized, then the hair on top of your head, regardless of hair texture or "race", would always be dry and brittle. This sebum argument seems to be yet another "scientific" endeavor to inferiorize the traits of African people, and Africans are buying it (yet again).

The sebaceous glands are what secrete sebum, but sebum is just how the body naturally oils the skin. These glands are most often connected to hair follicles, but that only makes sense given it is an opening to moisturize the outer layer of skin. You will also find sebaceous glands on places where there is little to no hair such as the male and female genitalia, lips, and all around the body including the eyelids. The oil or sebum produced has been linked to the clogged pores resulting in acne and other dermitological problems.

If you have very active sebaceous glands, then I don't doubt that it would help naturally moisturize the hair near the scalp. However, to insist that our hair texture inhibits the flow of sebum down the hair shaft just simply isn't well thought out in justifying an argument that Afro-textured hair is "more dry" in my estimation.

Afriki · (#13 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shemsi en Tehuti

Uhm...the whole sebum theory is kind of silly to me. If it was really the case of sebum being able to flow down the shaft of the hair, thereby making it more moisturized, then the hair on top of your head, regardless of hair texture or "race", would always be dry and brittle. This sebum argument seems to be yet another "scientific" endeavor to inferiorize the traits of African people, and Africans are buying it (yet again).

The sebaceous glands are what secrete sebum, but sebum is just how the body naturally oils the skin. These glands are most often connected to hair follicles, but that only makes sense given it is an opening to moisturize the outer layer of skin. You will also find sebaceous glands on places where there is little to no hair such as the male and female genitalia, lips, and all around the body including the eyelids. The oil or sebum produced has been linked to the clogged pores resulting in acne and other dermitological problems.

If you have very active sebaceous glands, then I don't doubt that it would help naturally moisturize the hair near the scalp. However, to insist that our hair texture inhibits the flow of sebum down the hair shaft just simply isn't well thought out in justifying an argument that Afro-textured hair is "more dry" in my estimation.

I agree that that it probably doesn't travel ALL THE WAY down by itself, particularly if the hair is very long, but people with straight hair tend to brush/comb their hair dry between washes. Plus, the sebum is only one of different factors. Of course if you wash your hair daily, whether it's straight or curly, it won't apply.

Why would the hair on top be dry and brittle? That's the first spot to become soggy with oil on people with oily scalp. The oil coats as it moves/is brushed downward.

I am confused on the reason for your opposition to this theory (or the theory of curly hair being drier generally than straight hair). How does not having oily hair translate to the idea of inferiority? I mean, I just don't see it.
It's a FACT that straight hair retains moisture for longer periods of time. There are people w/straight hair that their scalp becomes drenched in oil hours