Slashing The Myths, part deux.

3/19/2009 09:41:00 PM

New Growth: The Myth Slasher Series - Part II
By: Yardley Messeroux


Myths tend to keep natural newbies from enjoying their transition. So we're doing away with those age old misconceptions and making room for new growth.

Myth: Women who wear their hair in its natural state are more conscious than women that don't.
Myth Slasher: This is one of those myths that makes you roll your eyes and have a little chuckle. It's such an outdated myth and quite silly if you ask me. Where it stems from - who knows? But I wouldn't dismiss the idea that it originated from the initial neo-soul craze in the early 2000s. It may even be reflective of the concept behind the Black Panther movement in the 60's. Regardless of how the thought was incepted, it is absolutely false.

You can't put a face to natural hair. You can't put a personality to natural hair. And you most definitely can't measure someone's consciousness based on their natural hair-that's for sure. However, yes this may be a myth, but it does come from some truth. And that truth is, many women that flaunt their hair how it grows naturally are conscious of the natural beauty of their hair and/or the health risks of applying harmful chemicals to their scalp. But more or less deep and righteous, that can not be said.

Myth: Once you go natural, it's not necessary to go to the hair salon anymore.
Myth Slasher: If you are savvy at washing, conditioning, styling, trimming, coloring and all the other skills that stylists are training and experienced to do, more power to you, you fabulous natural newbie. But for me personally, I enjoy having a professional care for my hair and to experience their styling creativity. So, I leave it up to the professionals.

It isn't mandatory that you render salon services, just like it wasn't mandatory when you had a perm. But when you think about it, was it the best practice to apply a box perm to your scalp on your own at home? Not really. So is going to the salon absolutely necessary? That's relative, but highly recommended; at least periodically.

Myth: Chemical relaxers make your hair grow faster, longer, and healthier.
Myth Slasher: That couldn't be further from the truth. Hair growth is not stimulated by a harsh chemical. Just take a moment to think about this one. This is another myth that might make you chuckle a bit. A chemical straightener may not retard hair growth completely, but it definitely doesn't promote faster, longer and most definitely not healthier hair growth. Hair growth happens in seasons, so how do you measure the speed of growth anyway? Hmm.

Nonetheless, this myth can cause confusion due to the fact that straigtened hair appears longer than natural hair with all things being equal. This is due to two factors.

1. If not combed and cared for correctly, natural hair can break more easily and more often, slowing down the progress of lengthy hair growth.
2. Straightened hair generally appears longer than natural hair because, um well, it's straight! Natural hair has texture and shrinkage components, so of course it will look shorter than its relaxed counterparts.

Healthy hair growth is what's most important, and the major stimulators of healthy hair growth are:

  • A healthy hair maintenance regimen
  • Quality natural hair products
  • Healthy eating habits
  • A cleansed system
  • A regular workout program
  • And SLEEP (at least 8 hrs.)
And remember, too much, or too little of one thing isn't a good thing, so apply balance to all of the above, and you'll be good to 'grow'!

<33
-Sharz

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