Are Products For African-American Hair Different?

Jimmy Just Wants To Know:
I just wanted to ask if using hair care products made for black people could damage your hair. I heard that they might alter your scalp or something. Also, are natural boar bristle brushes really good and are they just a gimmick?

The Right Brain Replies:
Jimmy, hair is different between different ethnic groups and so are the products they use. African (negroid) hair is biologically different from Caucasion hair, primarily because African hair is very irregular shaped, almost like a kidney bean, while Caucasion hair tends to be more oval.

For this reason, African hair tends to be have a lot of bends, or kinks, along the hair shaft. These bend points are hard to comb through and make the hair break more easily.

Because of this difference, African hair requires extra conditioning to reduce breakage. So, shampoos and conditioners formulated for kinky hair tend to be much heavier and greasier than products for Caucasion hair. If you were to use these products they certainly will not damage your hair or scalp, but you might find them a bit too greasy for your tastes depending on your hair type.

Another difference is that many people with this hair type use a chemical known as a relaxer to get rid of the kinks. While this kind of processing does straighten the hair it also causes chemical damage that weakens it. Relaxer can also damage your scalp by giving it a chemical burn if you leave it on too long. So yes, if you were to use this kind of product, it could cause damage.

And as far as boar bristles are concerned, yes, they do make a good hair brush. Are they better than nylon or other bristle material? Hmmm, we might just have to look into that for a future post!