African American Hair Issues
I’m an African-American woman. Growing up, my hair was always soft to the touch but still very coarse and tightly knotted. Over the years, I’ve worn my hair natural, tried chemical texturizers, braid extensions, a Jheri curl - just about everything imaginable. No matter what products I used or how I styled it, I always conditioned and trimmed it regularly, sometimes visiting salons for care. My hair grew slowly but steadily.
Needless to say, this has been traumatic. Losing the hair I worked so hard to grow was devastating, especially since it grows so slowly. I’ve struggled to see myself as beautiful because the change was so drastic. After that, I was afraid to relax my hair again, but with it now short and brittle, manageability seemed even more important.
After another year, I grew tired of relaxers. They felt like a quick fix masking the real problem. I didn’t want to depend on chemicals anymore. They’d already damaged my hair enough. So a few months ago, I decided to go fully natural and had my last relaxer. I’m done with chemicals for good. I’ve heard that after stopping relaxers, hair tends to shed before regrowing because the bond between relaxed and new growth is weak. Right now, my hair is in that phase - shedding a little more each day, but not in clumps, just the damaged strands.
Despite being advised against it, I use a ceramic flat iron once a week. I keep the heat setting low and use a protective cream beforehand to minimize damage. So far, the iron hasn’t caused more shedding. In fact, without straightening, my hair becomes so knotted that products can’t penetrate my scalp, and combing is nearly impossible. But once straightened, I can apply leave-in conditioners, nourish my scalp with oils, and condition properly when wet. Thank goodness for flat irons!
Still, I know this will be an uphill battle, so I want all the help I can get.
My priority now is growing my hair back naturally. I’ve noticed that all my African-American friends who regularly wear cornrows experience much faster growth than before they started braiding—sometimes inches at a time. When I had braids as a kid, my hair grew about an inch between touch-ups, whereas leaving it loose took months for the same growth. Even my best friend, whose hair barely grew for three years, gained about five inches in two years after switching to cornrows.
In my community, it’s widely accepted that proper braiding promotes growth. I’ve seen it firsthand—even with my own hair - so I believe it, regardless of what hair science says. My only concern is that since I’m transitioning from a relaxer, cornrows might tug out what little hair I have left.
Here are my questions:
If I decide to get cornrows, what kind of natural products would you suggest?
How often should I be trimming dead/split-ends?
What is "too much" in terms of putting hair products on?
Is water damaging to your hair?
Why does the winter seem to make my hair so hard?
Can you recommend a good leave-in moisturizing spray?
What's the healthiest direction to cut hair?
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