The Science Of Black Hair A Comprehensive Guide To Textured Hair Care.pdf

The Science of Black Hair is certainly a treasure, not only for my customers but for me as an African American woman in general who is interested in caring for my own hair. I refer to it, and encourage my clients who wish to know more about this much fussed-over appendage to read it as well. Fellow hair masters and stylists at salons worldwide, give YOUR clients a healthy hair advantage by including this book in your salon. Audrey, many thanks for bringing this valuable information together in such a timeless volume at such a critical time for black hair care. Thank you for helping us all to understand, The Science of Black Hair.

The science of black hair a comprehensive guide to textured hair care.pdf

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And yet, with all of the reading and writing I have done on the topic of black hair over the years, I have not come across a more well-researched, exhaustive and comprehensive book as The Science of Black Hair.

Understanding the science of our hair helps us truly understand our hair. When you know what frizz really is, you know how to prevent it. When you understand what protein does for the hair, you understand how to use it and when. When you understand what a blow dryer does to the hair, you have a reason to use it sparingly.

I stumbled across my first online hair community in the summer of 2004, and by this point, my frustration with my hair was at an all-time high. The hair-care sites were just what I needed for motivation and support. They were full of information on healthy black hair care, and whole communities of black women were supporting each other day in and day out, challenging one another to grow their hair out natural and relaxed to greater lengths. It was beautiful and encouraging, and without those many ladies I would not be here today. Those sisters inspired me to put my thoughts on hair care together into a book with the hope that this knowledge will continue to be shared in our community.

My own misunderstanding of textured hair cost me dearly over the years. I am fortunate that I have been able to reexamine many of my earlier beliefs about my own head of hair and come to terms with them. My view of textured hair as a rough, indestructible force led me to snatch combs and brushes through it at every turn. I thought my hair was tough and had to be manhandled into place. I thought it could take anything. I was abusing my hair and expecting it to just continue to thrive. But no more!

Hair breakage is the number one enemy of healthy, vibrant black hair. Until we understand the causes of breakage and take steps to control it, we will be unable to add visible length to our hair over time. This book presents a proven method for improving black hair health. It reveals a strategy for identifying and correcting common hair breakage issues, mostly using products you already have at home.

Unfortunately, hair-care misinformation runs rampant in the black hair community. Countless individuals capitalize on our lack of basic knowledge about healthy hair. Hair companies have unleashed many products over the years to satisfy this overwhelming demand for healthier, longer, stronger black hair. Some of these hair products are true

Cathy House has been in the game for a minute! Her book was first published in 1989 way before there were any black hair experts or natural hair gurus. Longing to dispel the myths about black hair care she spent years researching information about black hair care and growth. Kimmaytube gave this book tons of praise being one of the first to discuss the effect of PH balance in relation to black hair.

Longing for length? This book uses a simple six step process for retaining more length while also educating you about actions that could hinder your length retention. The author Chicoro, also shares her personal struggle with growing hair which a story that many of us can relate to. It also focuses on the commitment required to grow black hair to long providing a realistic view of the effort it takes.

It uses photography to serve as a visual guide and for clarity. Donaldson is a celebrity stylist who has worked with artists Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu. If you are transitioning to natural hair from relaxed hair, this is the book to read.

It explains the culture and politics behind the ever-changing state of black hair from way back in the fifteenth-century to present-day America. It ties the personal hairstyle preferences to political and popular culture.

Afro-textured hair, or kinky hair, is a human hair texture originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape. The overall effect is such that, contrasted with straight, wavy, or curly hair, afro-textured hair appears denser.[1]

English adjectives such as "woolly", "kinky", "nappy", or "spiraled" have been used[year needed] to describe natural afro-textured hair. More formally, ulotrichous ("curly-haired", Greek oὐlótrichos, from oὖlos 'woolly, fleecy' and thríx 'hair') refers to afro-textured hair, its antonym being leiotrichous ("smooth-haired"). Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent in 1825 introduced the scientific term Oulotrichi for the purpose of human taxonomy.

In 1997, hairstylist Andre Walker created a numerical grading system for human hair types.[2]The Andre Walker Hair Typing System classifies afro-textured hair as 'type 4' (there are other types of hair, defined as type 1 for straight hair, type 2 for wavy, and type 3 for curly, with the letters A, B, and C used as indicators of the degree of coil variation in each type), with the subcategory of type 4C being most exemplary of the afro-textured hair.[3] However, afro-textured hair is often difficult to categorize because of the many different variations among individuals. Those variations include pattern (mainly tight coils), pattern size (watch spring to chalk), density (sparse to dense), strand diameter (fine, medium, coarse), and feel (cottony, woolly, spongy).[4]

Different genetic groups have observable differences in the structure, density, and growth rate of hair. With regard to structure, all human hair has the same basic chemical composition in terms of keratin protein content. Franbourg et al. have found that black hair may differ in the distribution of lipids throughout the hair shaft.[5] Classical afro-textured hair has been found to be not as densely concentrated on the scalp as other follicle types. Specifically, the average density of afro-textured hair was found to be approximately 190 hairs per square centimeter. This was significantly lower than that of European hair, which, on average, has approximately 227 hairs per square centimeter.[1]

Loussourarn found that afro-textured hair grows at an average rate of approximately 256 micrometers per day, whereas European-textured straight hair grows at approximately 396 micrometers per day.[1][6] In addition, due to a phenomenon called 'shrinkage', kinky hair that is a given length when stretched straight can appear much shorter when allowed to naturally coil.[7] Shrinkage is most evident when afro-textured hair is (or has recently been) wet. The more coiled the hair texture, the higher its shrinkage.

The shape of the hair follicle determines the hair's curliness. An individual hair's shape is never completely circular. The cross-section of a hair is an ellipse, which can tend towards a circle or be distinctly flattened. East Asiatic heads of straight hair are formed from almost-round hair follicles producing straight hair, and European hair follicle forms oval shapes which produce wavy hair. Afro-textured hair has a flattened cross-section and is finer, and its ringlets can form tight circles with diameters of only a few millimeters. In humans worldwide, East Asiatic-textured hair is the most common, whereas kinky hair is the least common. This is because the former hair texture is typical of the large populations inhabiting the Far East as well as the indigenous peoples of the Americas.[8]

Robbins (2012) suggests that afro-textured hair may have initially evolved because of an adaptive need amongst humans' early hominid ancestors for protection against the intense UV radiation of the sun in Africa.[9] The author argues that afro-textured hair was the original hair texture of all modern humans prior to the "Out-of-Africa" migration that populated the rest of the globe.[9]

According to Robbins (2012), afro-textured hair may have been adaptive for the earliest modern humans in Africa because the relatively sparse density of such hair, combined with its elastic helix shape, results in an airy effect. The resulting increased circulation of cool air onto the scalp may have thus served to facilitate the body-temperature-regulation system of hominids while they lived on the open savannah.[9] Afro-textured hair requires more moisture than straight hair and tends to shrink when dry. Instead of sticking to the neck and scalp when damp (as do straighter textures), unless completely drenched it tends to retain its basic springiness. The trait may have been retained and/or preferred among many anatomically modern populations in equatorial areas, such as Micronesians, Melanesians, and the Negrito, because of its contribution to enhanced comfort levels under tropical climate conditions. In rare cases, kinky hair may also be found in populations living under temperate climate conditions, such as indigenous Tasmanians.[9]

For shampooing, black soap was widely used in nations in West and Central Africa.[citation needed] Additionally, palm oil and palm kernel oil were popularly used for oiling the scalp.[citation needed] Shea butter has traditionally been used to moisturize and dress the hair.[citation needed]

Because of the then-prevalent notion that straight hair (which, unlike kinky hair, is common in people of European origin) was more acceptable than kinky hair, many black people began exploring solutions for straightening, or relaxing, their tresses. One post-slavery method was a mixture of lye, egg and potato, which burned the scalp upon contact. 2ff7e9595c