10 of The Worst Natural Hair Advice I’ve Been Given

10 of The Worst Natural Hair Advice I’ve Been Given

We’ve compiled a list of some of the worst natural hair advice that we have received. Read the experiences of the Natural and Proud team.

I’ve received some pretty terrible natural hair advice in my experience. Although it usually comes with good intentions, there have been times when I forgot one important rule of the game: hair is not “one size fits all.” You will always have to eat the meat and throw away the bone, knowing that what works for someone else’s hair won’t necessarily work for yours.

That being said, here’s some of the worst natural hair advice I’ve been given for my hair. (But if the shoe fits for you, by all means: keep wearin’ it!)

1. Brush your hair at the roots daily to stimulate growth.

Wait, so you mean I should run a bristle brush through my roots? With my Type 4 hair? So not only do you want me to pull my hair out, but also cause tangles in the process? I’m not sure if this is advice or straight-up sabotage. In fact, I’m not even sure how you still have hair on your head. Thanks, but not thanks: I’ll stick to scalp massages.

2. Two words: Inversion. Method.

Yes, I tried it. (Of course I did). And let me just say, whether or not the inversion method actually “works” (which personally, I’m persuaded it’s an utter waste of time), there is absolutely nothing okay with intentionally rushing blood to my head for a period of time simply for the sake of increasing hair growth. Again: I’ll stick to scalp massages.

3. Co-wash every 3 days to retain moisture.

Sounds good, right? In theory, it is. But in practice, on this 4a hair: it’s a no go. I was expecting my hair to be super soft, shiny, vibrant, and easy to detangle from all the moisture it was receiving. But instead, I received a dry, itchy scalp and dry hair to match. (Remember when I said hair is not “one size fits all?”) I’m still perfecting my wash routine, but co-washing every three days is definitely not for this girl.

Kanisha’s thoughts

4. Detangle from ends to roots.

Please hear me out before you say, “That’s what you’re supposed to do!” That’s what I was doing for the majority of my 5 years of being natural. Then one day, I gently tugged the section of hair I was working on with one hand, and started working the tangles down with my wide tooth comb using my other hand. (Note: I detangle on wet and moisturized hair AFTER I have thoroughly finger detangled first). I haven’t experienced any breakage or excess shedding with this method.

With this method, you are working all of the tangles down and getting them out at one time instead of working up and getting them out along the way. It also puts less strain on the ends, the oldest part of your hair. Instantly, my detangling sessions made more sense. They were quicker and more efficient. (Still think I’m crazy? Read this.)


Chelsea’s thoughts

5. Don’t wash your hair, dirty hair grows faster.

Okay. Let’s be real, that doesn’t even sound right. Although, I can understand why people may believe this far-fetched theory: Washing your hair less means less manipulation. On wash day, typically, whether your hair is healthy or not, there are some strands of hair left in the tub. If you don’t wash your hair, then those few strands are preserved? From my understanding, that’s one of the logical explanations for this false claim. The truth is, there is nothing about dirty and sweaty hair that causes growth, sorry. Not washing hair can cause even more hair loss.

6. Dying your hair black makes it healthier.

Let’s say you have a yellow crayon and a black crayon. Hypothetically, you color a spot on a paper yellow, and then cover the same spot with a black crayon. Undoubtedly, the spot will now look black, but does that mean you never colored it yellow? Did I confuse you? Okay so basically the assumption here is that dying your bleached hair black will look healthier, because your fried ends are not as visible, but rest assured your ends are still, well, fried. The best way to revert color processed hair is by cutting it off.

7. Always shampoo your hair.

From one extreme to another! My hair is already too dry for life, there’s no way I’ll constantly shampoo it. If you don’t already know, shampooing hair leads to very dry strands, African American hair is already prone to dryness, shampooing only increases this. If you must shampoo, make sure to at least pre-poo (add an oil prior to shampooing to protect hair from being completely stripped).

8. Stay away from water, unless you’re washing your hair.

Water is moisture. You will literally die without it, just saying! Sometimes rather than adding product, you need to give your hair some water. Oh, and you should drink it too every day.


Ariane’s thoughts

9. You don’t have to trim your hair

I use to be one of those women who dreaded cutting her hair, but now I don’t even think twice about it. If my hair is in need of a trim, I will definitely go for it! Not only is it not good for the health of your hair, it looks pretty bad when you have thinned out scraggly strands of hair. On average, I go to the salon for a trim about every three to four months, whereas I have seen some advice that suggest waiting up to six months or up to a year!

10.  Do your twist/braid outs on wet hair

Unless I am doing a wash n go style, every time I have tried to do a twist out or braid out after my hair has been freshly washed it looks a hot mess. No matter how much product or how many oils I put in my hair, it immediately soaks it right up. The next morning I can say hello to shrunken, matted, and dried out hair. For my hair, if I am attempting a twist out or braid out it works out better if I wait until I have stretched it out some by pineappling (for a few hours or overnight) or blow drying my hair. This way I don’t have to worry about my hair being packed in or matted. If I aim to do my twist/braid out on hair that is a few days after a wash even better.

What’s the worst natural hair advice you’ve ever been given?

19 thoughts on “10 of The Worst Natural Hair Advice I’ve Been Given

  1. Is it safe to use Groganics? What do you suggest? I just did the big chop and I am clueless to what oils, moisturizer, conditioners and shampoo to use. Can you help?

    1. I still occasionally will start at the ends just to be safe if I run into a tangle that’s super stubborn. 🙂

  2. I wash my wash-n-go style with WEN often (3xperweek). My stylist warned me again dryness but I think co-washing or using a “cleansing conditioner” like WEN lessens the blow of washing often. The downfall is that if your hair is thick like mine, you can use a lot of conditioning product which gets pricey and can clog up your drain.

  3. I wish I read this yesterday. I’m new to this natural hairstyle ghing, and tried to do a curly style with flexirods on my wet hair (saw if on YouTube). Well, that was a mistake… I looked a hot mesa all day at work today, lol!

    1. It happens! It’s all about trial and error- you’ll find what works for you as long as you keep trying. 🙂

      Kanisha

  4. I hear you! Every head of hair is different. I typically use oil when I massage because my scalp tends to be drier since my hair is almost always in a protective style. Some women never oil their scalps and that works for them. Sebum’s cool and all but I don’t think my scalp produces enough sometimes!

    Kanisha

    1. I have a dry scalp. I oil my scalp and massage in the oil as well. I also found that If I oil my scalp when it is wet right after I do my wash routine, my scalp doesn’t get as dry as it would be if I waited until my scalp and hair drys.

  5. I stopped using shampoo about a year ago…only apple cider vinegar (with a few drops of lavender or lemon essential in the mix if I’m feeling fancy). For months, I saw the soap residue go down the drain. My hair is softer, cleaner, stronger…love!

    Now, adding baking soda to the mix – NO! My hair felt like a BROOM!

  6. if you’ve bleached ur hair and dye over it with black, it’s filling ur hair cuticle with color, which makes your hair porosity go down and appears to improve the health of your hair. since bleaching takes color out of hair, dyeing your hair with color puts it back in. ?

  7. I’m of Indian and Jamaican parentage I use to wear a relaxer for over 15 years when I decided to go natural my hairdresser was shocked and did not believe I would and said I will not like going natural my hairdresser has never seen my natural hair in its fullness I did not listen as I already made my decision to go back to my hair that the lord blessed me with.My curls are s shaped I have saved a fortune by going natural.Whats not to love about natural hair no matter the hair type?

    1. I went natural in 2001 and have never looked back. I’m so happy that I did not listen to folks who said that I wouldn’t date if I have natural hair…so what, if he doesn’t like my natural hair…so what. I love being able to go out in the rain, humidity, or swimming without worrying about my hair!!

  8. Could you please redo your page? Reading in this list format takes up too much time and i’ve only been able to read the headings and not the important content.

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