Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Let's Talk Hair - My tips for fixing damaged relaxed hair

Healthy Hair amongst Black Women
Published by The Duchesne


"I like your hair.  Is it Yaki or Remi?  Where did you buy it?"  - when I respond it is my hair I get,    "Chile please, that's some tracks and a weave!"    and without permission, people rummaging their fingers all through my hair doing what is known in hair terms as 'the scalp check'.      Then comes; “you must be mixed with something."
A lot of Black women can relate to the above. And truthfully, I used to be one of those people rummaging my fingers through Black women's hair if it was below shoulder length or assuming they were mixed. I am not mixed for the record. Have a look at these photos of me and hazard a guess which photo has tracks or weaves.
Tracks, weave, all mine?
Tracks, weave, all mine?
All mine or added a lil something?
No lil something has been added to any of the pics and just 12 months ago my hair was a different story.
12 months earlier
I managed to turn my hair around because of several bad relaxer treatments at hair salons which prompted me to go online and research Black hair. Contrary to what we have been brought up to believe, Black hair does grow and will grow to any length if properly cared for.


Black Women everywhere now are learning to take care of their hair and have stopped believing the nonsense that Black Hair can't grow past shoulder length unless you're mixed. Remember I was in the same category just a year ago believing this same nonsense.
To feed the multi-million dollar industry which is Black Hair Care Products, we have been conned sisters and brothers, Bamboozled.
There is no mass marketing on learning about Black Hair Care. We are instead targeted with all the products in the world that claim to be good for our hair when in truth they are not.


Thankfully, things are looking up for us due to the wonders of the world wide web as countless hair boards, blogs, sites and you tube videos are now easily accessible with very valuable and reliable information on Black Hair Care. It is from these same sources I acquired all the information that propelled me to take the steps necessary to have and maintain healthy hair whether relaxed or non-relaxed (natural).


So if you're a Black woman struggling to maintain healthy hair, run don't walk, run to google and you tube and you'll be amazed. I promise the way you look at Black Women and Hair will never be the same.

Caring for relaxed hair: My tips
  1. Give your hair a rest - Low maintenance is paramount for our kind of hair because our hair is brittle. This can be achieved through wearing wigs, weaves, head scarves, buns, braids (not tight) etc.
  2. Deep condition- Important for all hair types. This can range from protein deep conditioning to moisture deep conditioning.
  3. Stretching relaxers - This means lengthening the amount of time you get a relaxer treatment. I didn't relax for my hair for 10 months and when I did relax I did it myself! That brings me to the next tip.
  4. Self relax - No one will care for your hair the way you care for it and a lot of stylists that we trust our hair to, do not understand how to care for our hair. Let me not begin to tell you the amount of bad experiences I have had. You can google youtube links for self relaxing.
  5. Educate yourself about our hair - Black people's hair is the driest of all hair types hence very susceptible to breakage. It needs a good protein and moisture balance. Youtube is a great source for information specific to caring for black hair. 
  6. Don't rely on products - Products will NOT grow your hair regardless of what anyone tells you. What products will do is help prevent breakage and so on. 




        Additonal info.
  • The tips on the list are not exhaustive
  • Pic 1 & 2 taken June 2010
  • Pic 3 taken September 2010
  • Pic 4 taken September 2009


If you have any questions or would like an opinion on anything hair related, please use the comment section or Contact page.




Photography, The Duchesne

15 comments:

  1. Was your hair in the first picture damaged?

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  2. Hi Duchesne, my hair is not damaged but I am looking for a good moisturiser. Can you recomend any?

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  3. @Anonymous 1, I have reshuffled the pictures so the picture you ask about is now the last picture. Yes it was damaged.

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  4. @ Anonymous 2....It depends on your hair. The only moisturiser that works for me is Infusium 23 Body, in the blue bottle. I recently discovered it and it is Amazing.

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  5. To be honest, it does look like you are wearing tracks or a weave in the pictures. I would have to feel it myself to believe that is all your hair.

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  6. Your're pretty

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  7. Oh my God. I so appreiciate this article because I have had so mnany bad experiences with my hair. I keep wondering what am I doing wrong? What are the hairstylist doing wrong? Am I using the right products? Is my hair too fine? Is the products too strong? and bla bla bla. One minute my hair seems to be flourishing and the next minute i'm like, "WHAT THE HELL!

    Your hair looks great by the way! I am not the one to rummage through someone's hair to see if they are wearing tracks or weaves but i have always wondered, "Is her hair real?" when i see a black woman with long hair. To tell the truth I would definitely have to touch your hair to see if it is really real.....not that i dont believe you but it just seems so unbelieveable. Oh my God to think that my hair can look like that....because i love long natural hair.....without weaves is intoxicatingly exciting!!

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  8. @ Anonymous and Anonymous,
    Thank you and thank you.

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  9. girl please that is not true im a black woman with nappy hair.. but i comb it everyday... deep moisterize every week.. braid it acouple times a month... and put in conditioner....... now my hair is curly and cute thanx to a little time and hard work.. :)

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  10. Then there is the 'bad hair' branding of Black hair... never heard of hair hurting or killing anyone. Rather it is a very diverse tissue: 'nappy' today, straight tomorrow or curly later.

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  11. Hi Could you post a day to day hair care routine? honestly for me its not about growth I just want to take better care of my hair because its damaged and I just feel as if I do not know what to do next.You can reach me through email please. Deb_riece@yahoo.com

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  12. do u think white pple hair products can cause mre damage on our hair than our own products

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  13. I'm trying to go off relaxers for some time now, but when I stay 2 months without relaxers, my hair starts to break really badly, den off I run to relaxers again. How can I go natural without my hair breaking at every touch and looking really terrible? Please I need your advice. You can also reach me on yojay4real@yahoo.com. Thanks in advance

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  14. Hello duch.... my hair is healthier than it used 2 ... But my headache is my frontal hair... I can't even jst hold my hair back,, cos it aPpears as though I'm bald... Pls what can I do about it??? BTW u r pretty...

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  15. My front hair is sparse .thanks.. Pls u can reach me on orebanjofunlola@gmail.com

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