A rule of thumb is that afro hair should be washed every 7 – 10 days, or more often if you have an active lifestyle Every 4 - 5 days. It is important to cleanse the scalp and hair of flakes and product build up to ensure optimum health and hair growth.
To help keep Black hair healthy, dermatologists recommend the following tips: Wash your hair once a week or every other week. This will help prevent build-up of hair care products, which can be drying to the hair. Use conditioner.
While you'll need to take into account how curly your hair is, generally washing afro hair 1 – 2 times a week with a good shampoo achieves the desired cleaning effect without overly drying out our hair. It is also ok to condition hair daily.
Look for gentle, moisturizing shampoos, and use a conditioner with each wash, making sure that the conditioner coats the ends of the hair. While washing, massage the scalp gently. Pat the hair dry with a towel, rather than rubbing it.
You are at higher risk for fragile hair if:
Hair follicles in most people of African descent are shaped like an oval, giving way to many possible breaking points along the hair shaft. This results in hair curling and twisting when coming out of the scalp.
The structure of hair
Depending on your hair's natural porosity, you may find your cuticle is raised, tightly bound, or in between. If your hair is highly porous, it loses moisture easily and is likely to have less sheen, as uneven surfaces refract rather than reflect line.
There are two reasons why we believe African hair texture is genetic. Firstly, the texture is universal in Africans, while nearly absent from other ethnic groups. Secondly, it is consistently passed down to the children in each new generation.
Even though natural black hair is dry, the build-up of debris can make it feel greasy if not washed regularly. You should ideally wash your natural black hair once every seven to fourteen days. Use a mild cleansing shampoo and a gentle conditioner.
Can you wet African American hair everyday? Yes, you can wet natural hair everyday, and it is actually advised to do so to maintain moisture. Let's be clear though: by wetting your hair, we don't meanwashing it. We simply mean rinsing natural hair either in the shower or spritzing water over your hair.
How Much Should You Wash? For the average person, every other day, or every 2 to 3 days, without washing is generally fine. “There is no blanket recommendation. If hair is visibly oily, scalp is itching, or there's flaking due to dirt,” those are signs it's time to shampoo, Goh says.
"Two to three times a week is best to 'wash' your hair with a shampoo," Paves says. "For the days in between, I recommend rinsing the hair with water alone. For a fresh feel and smell, you can condition from the mid-shaft out." This content is imported from poll.
African American hair is typically coarser and has a thicker texture than Caucasian hair. It also tends to have a higher density, giving it a fuller appearance. In contrast, Caucasian hair is typically finer, straighter, and has a lower density.
This type of hair is known to be highly prone to breakage, dryness and brittleness than other hair types. This is the sole reason why 4c hair should be washed as little as possible on a weekly basis and put in protective styles for both women & men to avoid any further damage.
You should only be washing your natural hair once every two weeks. Yes, once every two weeks unless you feel your hair is in desperate need of a wash. If this is the case, it's better to wash your hair with a shampoo that provides a gentle cleanse, or better yet, a cleansing conditioner.
A rule of thumb is that afro hair should be washed every 7 – 10 days, or more often if you have an active lifestyle Every 4 - 5 days. It is important to cleanse the scalp and hair of flakes and product build up to ensure optimum health and hair growth.
Going a long time without washing your hair can cause a buildup of a yeast-like fungus called Malassezia on your scalp. Over time, this leads to a layer of dead skin cells that shed from your head in the form of oily, yellow-ish dandruff flakes. Dandruff can also make your scalp red, scaly, and itchy.
Hair traps moisture, Lamb said, meaning that built-up bacteria on unwashed scalps can start to pick up a mildewy or sour smell after several days or a week, especially if exercise is involved. “If you run five miles a day, you can't go three months without washing your hair,” said Lamb.
It has been reported that Asian hair is generally straight and is the thickest, while its cross-section is the most round-shaped among these three. Caucasian hair is generally straight or wavy and is the thinnest, while its cross-section is relatively elliptic.
Higher Concentration of Melanin
Most Africans have high levels of melanin that results in yellow eyes. Melanin determines the color of your skin, sclera and eyes. When this concentration increases, the eye color becomes light yellow or muddy brown.
Being less protected with the natural oil, the cuticle loses moisture, becomes fragile, and tends to get damaged at a touch. Black puffy hair is the toughest scenario because of the coiled pattern common in people of African ancestry.
Afro hair produces plenty of protective oils called sebum, but the oil struggles to spread evenly along the hair fibre due to the curly nature of afro hair. Without lubrication, the fibres become very dry which causes the hair to become frizzy and brittle.
The sebum is what makes some textures of hair look greasy after just a few days – however, in Afro hair it has a harder time spreading out and is more concentrated around the scalp.
Typically dark Hair Colour's with weaker Developer's will be more prone to oils. Whereas lightened Hair dries out the Hair resulting in less oils.