I find that the busier I am the less time I have to play in my hair which for my fine hair is a blessing in disguise. I have increased my protective styling quite a bit just based on my lifestyle and it has done my hair a lot of good. The other day a lady messaged me asking what were my signature styles and how do I take care of my own hair.
The premise of her question was that her own hair seemed to be going haywire and she wanted an example that she could mimic to fix her problems and retain more length.
I understood her concern because sometimes when things are a little crazy with our hair we tend to try to fix the issue with a regimen that may work for someone else.
I do believe that we can all learn something from each other but I also think that if we understood the science behind black hair we would all be in a better position to help ourselves.
Before I get into the details I want to go out on a limb to say that if you have afro textured hair, coarse or fine and you want to retain length you need to get serious about protective styling.
Watch this video:
The YouTuber NaturallyHigh created that video to dive into some of the myths we still believe today even with the growth of the natural hair movement.
Here are 3 of the main points:
1. Afro-textured hair is very prone to breakage, splits, and knots due to the shape of our strands and follicles. This means that we should use techniques that reduce both knotting and combing of our hair. Keeping the hair stretched and protected is the best way to retain length!
‘The most significant feature was that the majority of the tips of the African hair had fractured ends …Similarly, the basal end also exhibited evidence of breakage in contrast to the Caucasian and Asian samples in which the majority of hairs had attached roots.’
‘From these observations, it could be proposed that any procedure that reduces knotting of hair and/or the need for combing would result in an increase in the length of the hair by reducing the incidence of breaks in the hair shafts.’
2. Our hair is curly or kinky based on the shape of the hair follicle. The follicle is the only thing that determines the hair that grows from a black person versus a person who is caucasian or Asian.
‘Although there are no biochemical differences among black, Caucasian, and Asian hair types, there are differences in the hair morphology (8). Black hair appears elliptical or flattened in cross-section, whereas Caucasian hair is oval, and Asian hair round. The follicle of black hair is curved, in contrast to a straight follicle in Caucasians and Asians.’ – Callender, V. D., McMichael, A. J. and Cohen, G. F. (2004), Medical and surgical therapies for alopecias in black women. Dermatologic Therapy, 17: 164–176.
3. Clumped hair reflects light in a uniformed way and will appear shiny, hair that doesn’t clump and that has a ton of twists and turns does not reflect light. This means that shine is not necessarily a determinant of whether your hair is healthy or not but rather just how your hair is receiving light.
4. Our hair is prone to dryness because the sebum we produce is less in comparison to other people and the moisture we do happen to produce does not travel down the strand easily.
‘In addition to these properties, the water content in African descent hair is slightly lower than in Caucasian hair, and the sebaceous glands often secrete an inadequate amount of sebum, which has an uneven distribution along the shaft due to its spiral shape, leaving the hair with a dry appearance. M [17,20]’
With that said what is the solution
Protective styling is key to length retention! If you want to retain the length you have to get serious about protective styling and keeping your hair stretched. Additionally, you have to give your hair what it lacks naturally and that is moisture and loads of it.
If you are protecting your hair, do not do it for long periods of time without giving your hair the attention it needs with regards to moisture and proper care.
Crochet braids, cornrows (with no tension), individual twists, and wigs are some of the best protective styles for afro hair and should be used very often in order to retain length.
