Best Regimen to Grow African American Hair, The Water Myth

Sep 28
06:22

2010

Tracey Kramer

Tracey Kramer

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Black hair is inherently dry and needs moisture, but heavy creams and oils will do more damage than good slowing down growth, and in some cases preventing growth.

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The best regimen to grow African American hair involves a precious liquid easily obtainable from your faucet. There are many myths about water and black hair. First of all,Best Regimen to Grow African American Hair, The Water Myth Articles we know our hair is inherently dry. Dry hair is often thirsty, but thirsty does not mean we should plaster and shellac our hair down with heavy oils. Our hair needs moisture and will thrive in a moisture-rich environment.

Somehow in a twisted way we were led to believe that water is our enemy and that black hair should not be washed very often. In fact, I have a curly perm (Wave Nouveau) and have been told by my beautician not to wash my hair for 2-1/2 to 3 weeks because she felt it would strip out the natural oils from my hair! Yikes! I performed an experiment to prove this theory wrong. I followed her instructions for a 3-month period of time, and my hair seemed to remain stale, stagnant and limp. However, when I went back to washing my hair once weekly, my hair seemed to thrive and has been growing in leaps and bounds. The point I am trying to make is that water is our friend--not our enemy.

You should never let black hair go more than one week before it is washed no matter what type of style you have, natural, relaxed or curly perm; even every 3-5 days is not too much. The very action of washing the hair is healthy in itself because it dislodges plaques of dead skin buildup and dandruff, cleanses the scalp, and increases blood circulation to the scalp which results in hair that is vibrant, strong, clean, pleasant smelling and downright healthy! If you adopt this simple common sense approach, you should notice a visual difference soon, and you will be on a fast track to long healthy hair.

If you want to continue to stay on a good health kick with regards to water, do your entire body, especially your hair and skin, a favor and drink 8 glasses of water daily. I know this may seem hard to do, but if you get a 16-oz. tumbler, simply drink four of those a day and you will have drank your 8 glasses of water. The key to doing this is to make sure you spread your water intake out. Drink the first tumbler at 10:00 a.m., the second during or before lunch, the third at 3:00 p.m. and the last at 7:00 p.m. or whatever works best for you. This not only flushes out the impurities from your body, but your internal organs including your hair and nails will rejoice because sick organs are those that are deprived of water. Water moisturizes your entire body from within including your hair.

While you are chugging down your 8 glasses of water, taking a vitamin E supplement will improve the luster and sheen of your hair and has been known to also promote hair growth. Check with your doctor before you try the supplement, and he or she will direct you as to the correct dosage to start out with.

For those of you who have natural black hair or curly perms, before you get into the shower, spritz your hair with your favorite moisturizer, put on a shower cap and take your shower. The steam (moisture droplets of water) and heat from the shower work wonders in helping to protect the hair from becoming dry and brittle and help to keep it soft.