Afro textured hair is naturally on the drier side because our beautiful kinks, coils and curls make it hard for the natural sebum created by our scalp to run down the entire shaft of the hair.
Why do we get dry afro hair? Dry afro hair is usually a result of a lack of moisture. Our scalp produces natural oils for our hair, however, unlike straight hair which allows these oils to glide down each strand, the oils in afro hair find it harder to move down each shaft.
Afro hair produces plenty of protective oils called sebum, but the oil struggles to spread evenly along the hair fibre due to the curly nature of afro hair. Without lubrication, the fibres become very dry which causes the hair to become frizzy and brittle.
When you have afro hair, the natural oil your scalp produces can easily get stuck. As the oils are stuck and not moving down your hair, the ends of your afro hair become weak, brittle and dry.
African hair is seen to be much thicker and more dense meaning that the hair follicles are larger. Density represents the amount of hairs that grow from the head, with denser hair resulting from more hairs growing closer together from the scalp. An individual with high-density hair creates a fuller appearance of curls.
"Because the hairs are thicker naturally, dark hair is better at camouflaging damage than light hair; it weighs down flyaways and split ends," notes Adrian Wallace, senior colorist at Rita Hazan Salon in NYC.
The average diameter, or thickness, of Asian hair is from 80 to 120 µm, compared to 65 µm in Caucasian hair and 55 µm in Black hair. The average diameter of Hispanic/Latino hair tends to fall between that of Asian and Caucasian. Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied.
The African hair is generally curly or frizzy, and grows almost parallel to the scalp. It has the slowest growth rate of 0.9 centimeters per month due to its spiral structure which causes it to twist on itself as it grows. African hair has a flattened shape.
Being less protected with the natural oil, the cuticle loses moisture, becomes fragile, and tends to get damaged at a touch. Black puffy hair is the toughest scenario because of the coiled pattern common in people of African ancestry.
African slaves no longer had access to their natural herbs, butters and oils to take care of their hair. They resorted to bacon grease, butter, and kerosene as their moisturizers, conditioners, and shampoo.
Damaged natural hair is first and foremost characterized by its dryness and frizz. This can present itself in the form of split ends, where your strand splits into many pieces, or an overall dull look to your hair. It might also have a more irregular texture and less defined curls.
Different Curl Patterns
Afro textured hair types typically have a high concentration of cysteine which form strong bonds with each other, creating tension which causes hair to bend and curl.
Black hair thrives on moisture, but the curliness of afro-textured hair often means it is harder for moisture to actually get to each strand. Everyone's scalp produces sebum, an oily substance that moisturizes the hair follicle, according to the Canadian Dermatology Association.
Black hair, because it's curly, can be weaker than straighter hair. Each bend in the strand represents a weak point in the hair shaft, which makes it more prone to breakage. All this means is that it takes a little more TLC to avoid breakage.
H. Harris, publishing in the British Journal of Dermatology in 1947, wrote American Indians have the least body hair, Chinese and black people have little body hair, white people have more body hair than black people and Ainu have the most body hair.
Individuals of African ancestry, for example, are more likely to have curly hair due to the oval shape of their hair follicles. Additionally, the Keratin Associated Protein (KAP) cluster genes, responsible for the structure of keratin fibers, have been found to have variations in many African populations.
genes and me » hair curl. Human hair comes with all sorts of colors, textures and shapes. Notably, African hair is more coiled and dry; Asian hair is straighter and thicker; and Caucasian hair is somewhere in between with around 45% having straight hair, 40% having wavy hair, and 15% having curly hair.
There are racial differences, however, in the incidence of male pattern baldness. The highest rates are found among Caucasians, followed by Afro-Caribbeans. Chinese and Japanese men have the lowest rates. For some unknown reason, this form of hair loss is does not occur among Native Americans.
Sweden. Livings standards, healthy lifestyles, geography, and diet are the primary factors why people in Sweden have the healthiest and beautiful hair.
Japan, Spain and Sweden are widely known for having people with healthy hair, but there are also other countries like India, France and Russia that are also known for helping people keep their hair natural and not messing with any artificial coloring.
African hair produces plenty of protective oils, called sebum, which keeps our hair healthy. In fact, African hair actually produces more oils than Caucasian and Asian hair.
Black hair and blue eyes is a much more rare combination than is blonde hair and blue eyes. The reason why these two traits are linked is that the genes responsible for hair and eye color happen to be close together on the same chromosomes.
Which hair colour do women think is the sexiest? Most women think brunette hair is the sexiest, as 25% of those polled favoured this option. Womens' second preference is blonde, which was voted as the sexiest hair colour by 19.6% of women. Again, red took third spot, accounting for 11.8% of womens' votes.