If you haven’t already seen it for yourself I just want to warn you that there are a TON of myths out there regarding natural hair. Some of these myths I can honestly say that I can understand why they have been formed and for others, they are just completely far fetched!
There is a lot to learn when it comes to natural hair and I don’t dismiss the fact that it can sometimes all feel a little confusing especially if you were used to having relaxed hair before.
Well, I just want to break down some of these natural hair myths so that we can actually get down to what is really important when it comes to our hair. How to care and nurture it.
Let’s take a look at some of these myths.
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11 Natural hair myths to be wary of
1. Natural hair is hard to manage and unruly
I can honestly hand on heart say that I don’t know where this myth has come from.
From my own personal experience, the people that tend to spout this nonsense are the ones that don’t even rock their own natural hair to begin with.
If you are used to having relaxed hair then you need to relearn how to manage natural hair but that does not equate to it being hard to manage.
Transiting from relaxed to natural can be hard because you are dealing with two textures but if you are brave enough to go for the big chop then you get to learn much faster about how to manage your natural hair.
What is unruly about natural hair anyway?
It doesn’t lay flat, yes that’s true but isn’t that what makes it different and special?
Just because you may not understand something does not constitute to it being unruly.
2. It’s not possible to have long natural hair
If there was ever one BIG lie this would be it!
Let me just start by saying one of the things that first attracted me to want to embrace my natural hair was the fact that I began to see a lot of YouTubers who had long natural hair.
I was so amazed by this I wanted to see if I could do the same thing that they did.
Roll on to today and my hair is now almost at my waist. This is something that I just couldn’t achieve with my relaxed hair. Don’t get me wrong my relaxed hair was a decent length but nothing like it is today.
If you are in any doubt as to whether you can grow your natural hair long I am here to reassure you that it is possible if you use the right practices.
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3. Afro hair is tough
I can’t speak for everyone here but I do know that for most people you can’t really class their natural hair as tough.
You may have a tighter curl pattern which can make your hair seem denser but I would not class that as being tough.
I mean if your hair is not straight, which is very easy to comb through then you must have kinks and curls.
Kinks and curls are going to be harder to comb through even if you finger detangle because the strands of hair twist and curl around each other.
Also if you do think your hair is tough it may not actually be tough it ould actually just be dry. Using the right leave-in conditioners should be able to help with that.
4. You need to grease your scalp
No, you don’t, this is a very common misconception.
Mostly it is birthed from those of us that used to have relaxed hair and didn’t really know how to move away from those old practices.
When my hair was relaxed I would constantly have my scalp greased because that is what was practised with my hair for many many years.
When I became natural I began to learn new things about my hair and discovered that I didn’t need to grease my scalp because my scalp had its own natural oils which were much healthier.
In the past, we were told to use a lot of hair grease products that contained things like petroleum and bad mineral oils.
A lot of these products actually caused build upon our scalps causing our follicles to be clogged. Not only can this prevent your hair from growing effectively it can also attract a lot of dirt that you don’t want as well.
5. Once you know your hair type you can copy others with the same type hair
I used to believe this for a long time. If you could find that one YouTuber to follow that had the same hair type as you then you could simply copy all their products and get the same results as they do.
This could not be further from the truth!
You can cheat at many things in life but not with your natural hair. You can gain advice from others but truthfully you have to know and understand your own hair if you want to see great results.
There are too many variable factors in order to be able to copy someone else’s hair care regimen.
Most people have more than one hair type on their head, hair density can also make a difference and even where you live can affect how your hair behaves.
Whilst its good to take advice from others ultimately you need to come up with a regime that works for your own hair.
6. Natural hair is not suited in a professional workplace
What a big load of poop!
Hair that grows out of your head can not be bad in any workplace. There is nothing that you have done to make your hair grow that way so how can it not be professional?
I would have serious concerns if anyone had the nerve to say that to me.
It would be as ridiculous as saying that blond hair is not allowed in the workplace. No one would ever stand for that.
7. Natural hair does not suit everyone
I find it very sad when I hear this kind of statement in the natural hair community.
What makes one hair type better than another? How can the hair that grows out of your head not suit you?
You may not understand how to immediately deal with your hair but that is just a learning process.
Rock your hair no matter the curl pattern that you have. I love kinky, dense hair because I love that it has a lot more body but I also love my own hair too which is not as dense as I would like it to be.
Does my natural hair suit me? Too right it does!
8. You can repair damaged hair with the right products
Let’s just get this out there now so you can remember it.
There is no product out there on the market that can fully repair hair once it is damaged.
There are some products that can help but they can never fully repair or reverse damaged hair.
The only thing you can do once you experience extensive damage it to trim it away or cut it off and learn from your mistake.
9. Natural hair is strong
One thing that you need to remember is that natural hair is actually very delicate despite what people may think.
If your curls are generally tighter then your curls could be more prone to snapping if not handled the right way.
You might have been used to the snap snap sound when you were younger or when you had relaxed hair but it’s not a good sound.
That is actually the sound of your hair breaking. Each time you snap a strand of hair there is potential for a split end. We all know what that looks like!
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10. Straightening your natural hair is bad
Some people think that if you are natural you shouldn’t straighten your hair because it can cause irreversible damage.
There is some truth in this but it is not the full truth. Whilst it can cause damage, done in the right way you should be fine.
Not only this but some even believe that straightening your natural hair is contradictory to why you are natural in the first place.
Natural hair is not a statement and should never be classed that way. Its is simply the way that your hair grows.
If you choose to straighten or colour it that is entirely a personal choice.
Related post: How to safely straighten your hair with the tension blowout method
11. Natural hair doesn’t need to be washed as often
Quite the opposite is true here. In order to keep your hair healthy, it needs to be washed regularly.
If you don’t wash it often you will likely experience dry dull hair and have lots of build-up from products that you don’t want.
In my experience, it’s much easier to style your hair when it is on freshly washed hair rather than when it is unclean.
Final thoughts on natural hair myths
Hopefully, you have learned some valuable things here. It’s easy to believe something just because enough people say it.
We are all on a journey to learn more about our natural hair so put your own personal experiences above things that you hear on the grapevine.
Keep learning and don’t let natural hair myths get in your way.
Related posts:
Can you change your hair type?
Why you need to trim your natural hair
Why you need to try the greenhouse method for growth
