Okay we get it! We get that we shouldn’t use certain products to care for our hair or we don’t need to do certain things to our hair for it to remain healthy. Anything else you want to tell me? No? Good! Now, let me get on with my life and pass me that Blue Magic grease so I can two strand twist my hair!
Now, I don’t really use Blue Magic grease, but I have a friend who does use it. The problem is that she can’t seem to get her grease without the cashier telling her, “don’t use that stuff. That is bad for your hair…[grabs another item] you should use this.”
We all have gotten so “educated” and “professional” in caring for black hair by researching books, reading websites and blogs, and getting our Doctorate in hair care from YouTube. How about we use our research in ways that do not cause confusion but for the greater good of our hair.
Here are 5 hair practices that we can still do, that some people will say are bad for us:
1. Using harsh water and sulfate shampoo to wash hair
Most of the water that comes from our shower heads and sinks is hard water (contains minerals like iron*, magnesium*, and silicon that creates hair build up).
When you use your clarifying shampoo* you are washing out the build up from the products you used and the hard water as well.
However, research shows that we are not to use sulfate shampoo, because it strips our hair of our natural oils* causing our hair to be dry, which in turn can result in breakage. So what are we to do???
Use your best judgement, clarify your hair when you need to do so, and deep condition afterwards to get rid of dryness.
2. Washing hair forward in the sink is bad
I have been told and read that washing hair forwards or flipping hair over in the sink can create unnecessary knots and tangles. So I’m thinking, “I guess I should get my hair washed at the beauty salon then.” And then I did my research on that.
There is such a thing called “salon stroke syndrome,” which blows my mind! In 2007, there was a 59 year old woman in Maryland who nearly died after her heart stopped as she was getting her hair washed. Crazy right?
“Well, when the head is tilted at a sharp angle, it can pinch the arteries in the back of the neck, which stretches the ones in the front. Those temporarily blocked arteries may cause a stroke [in ages over 55 and high risk patients],”
says David Pearle, MD and Direct of the coronary care unit at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. So what gives? The point is do what’s best for you, there is always a theory on something and if you can’t follow contradiction, it never works.
To each their own. If it works for them, so be it.