Myth 3: Afro (Natural) Hair is Hard, Tough, Stubborn and so on..

Before we dive right into this popular myth and  misconception about Afro hair, I'd first like to define what these words really mean.

Overnight twist out on wet hair, used Eco Styler Gel

Hard: "Solid, firm, and resistant to pressure; not easily broken, bent, or pierced." (google)
An example of an hard object would be a piece of plank (wood).

Tough: "Able to withstand great strain without tearing or breaking; strong and resilient" (thefreedictionary.com)
An example of a tough object would be a piece of metal or a diamond

Stubborn: "Difficult to treat or deal with; resistant to treatment or effort" (dictionary.com)
An example of a stubborn being could be an undisciplined child.

I googled these top three words I often hear women tell me about their hair and as you can see, none of these definitions relates to hair. In fact, I tried googling "Hard hair", "Stubborn hair", and "Tough hair" but couldn't come up with anything.

Took out twists after a week, didn't use a curl definition gel

It's not uncommon to have a Black woman (relaxed or natural) complain about how her hair is so difficult to manage because it's stubborn, hard and everything else! The truth is, our hair isn't any of these things and so we shouldn't be defining our hair with all these negative and nonsense words. What our really is is DRY!

It feels hard and tough because it's thirsty and needs some moisture. It is stubborn because it's caretaker, which is YOU, doesn't respect it enough to give it some TLC and as a result of that, handling and managing your hair will be very difficult.  So, you can't expect to reap what you didn't sow.

Curlformers on blown out hair

How can you get your hair to not be any of these things?

1) Eliminate every negative word you have about your hair from your "Hair Encyclopedia". Because the truth is, negativity only breeds negativity.

2) Treat your hair as a LIVING BEING. The reason why science has led us to belief that Hair is dead is because it has no muscles, fibers and nerves, and it doesn't send any neural signals back to the body. While this is scientifically true, I however like to belief the contrary which is - Hair is Alive! The fact that it is connected to our body is enough to justify this reason. And as such, I treat my hair like I would treat a plant. You wouldn't expect a plant to grow and produce abundant fruits if you neglect it and constantly throw insults at it, would you?

3) Afro hair isn't a weave or Caucasian hair and shouldn't be treated as such. Know that a comb would not smoothly glide through your hair as it would your weave. You WILL NOT get a "white girl flow" and your hair WILL NOT be able to do the things a white or Asian girl's hair is able to do, and vice verse. Just like an apple and an orange are both fruits, one would be a dummy to compare them with each other.

4) Because our hair is tightly coiled and densely packed together,  it will require you, to spend some extra time and  patience raking through the coils to take out any knots, detangle, wash, deep condition and style.
*5) Deep Condition, Deep Condition, Deep Condition

*6) Lock in the Moisture with a hair butter or oil

7) Educate yourself about our hair! And please stop spreading negative and false remarks about  our crown and glory

Cinabun on stretched hair

Take home point: Your hair is not a Diamond, undisciplined child or a piece of plank, it is only a part of your body which needs extra care, love and respect. :) 

**A more extensive post on point #5 and #6 will soon be posted