You’ll hear tons of advice while on your road to natural hair. But one thing is for sure: not every person with great hair is equipped with advice for YOUR hair. The good news is, there are myths that we should remove from our natural hair stories and lessons. Here are a few of mine.
1. Once you’re natural, you don’t have to comb your hair. The devil is a lie. You MUST comb or finger detangle your hair. Otherwise, it will become severely tangled or knotted.
2. Trimming Makes Your Hair Grow. This is one myth that has been going around since I was a kid. Trimming your hair does not make your hair grow. Eliminating split and damaged ends helps you retain length. There is no need to trim your hair if there are no split ends or breakage. Don’t set a certain time to trim your ends. For example, every 4 weeks or every two months. Only do so when needed. You will save strands you would have eliminated unnecessarily.
3. Natural hair can withstand a great deal before breaking. Natural hair is strong but it still needs to be nurtured and pampered. Many women believe that natural hair requires less maintenance than relaxed hair. Chile, you couldn’t be more wrong. If you do not moisturize and seal your hair, it will break. Simple as that.
4. You can only transition from a relaxer. Everyone who transitions doesn’t necessarily have a relaxer. Women often transition from heat damage and texturizers. Transitioning is growing out one’s chemically treated hair to its natural state.
5. You shouldn’t use shampoo. Co-washing is a really popular practice in the natural hair community. Because of this, some transitioners have gained the notion that shampoo should be eliminated altogether. This works for some naturals but it may not work for you. If your scalp and hair isn’t properly cleansed, this can cause breakage.
Have you ever heard of any these myths? Heard of any that I didn’t mention?