by Valencia Williams

Created on: May 17, 2008

Relaxed Hair

When my hair was relaxed, I never took the time to care for my hair. When I was in high school, I always had breakages and some hair loss, my hair got shorter. So after coming home from college and moved into a new home, I was determined to fix this problem. I have had decided to put into a research and tried to find as much information as possible. That was when I found the solution. The solution was to moisturize and bring protein back to my hair so that way I can care for my hair in a better condition. I enjoyed learning about caring the relaxed hair. Then I wanted change, so I chopped all of my hair and went natural.

The majority of black women have dry hair and are prone to breakage and hair loss. Most women do not know that using shampoos, conditioner and the use of relaxers improperly can wound the scalp and hair.

The hair is made of protein and grows from the roots. The oldest hair is the ends apart from the scalp. So basically the hair is dead. There is no such thing you can do to improve the structure of the hair itself. Therefore you can do lot damage to the hair. Once damage is done, the repairs are much limited. However, you will have to wait until the hair grows more and then you can cut the damage hair or until the hair is replaced by a new hair, you will see more about once I talk about it. This is why the hair shaft is damaged because of a relaxer. Relaxers are permanent. The relaxer alters the hair structures and it will never be the same. So once the hair grows out from the scalp, it is new and virgin but still the same hair shaft.

Our head of hair is made up of an estimated hundred-thousand strands of hair. Each hair is going through its own cycle. So a different hair will go through different rates at the same time. There are three phrases in the cycle. They are anagen, catagen and telogen. The anagen cycle is a resting cycle. This cycle remain for 4 to 6 years. Then there is catagen cycle where the hair follicle actually reverts during the time. Lastly, our hair sheds, this is the telogen cycle. Ninety-nine percent of the hair in the anagen cycle in this phase sheds at any given time. The average shedding is about fifty to sixty of the hair per day. These cycles can be shift by stress, medicines, genetics, and other given reason.

Our hair grows from one half inch per month but it varies by individuals on their genetics. Each person will receive utmost growth rate he/she can attain. Each person can attain more or less depending

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>