Before & After Views of Water on Hair

[Poohbear]

Before joining this forum or before learning more about your hair, how many of your believed water or moisture on hair was the 'devil'? In other words, did u think water was bad for black hair???

Before knowing more about hair, I always believed that blacks shouldn't wash their hair as often as whites when in fact that is not true. I thought water was actually bad for our hair.

Now, I have been washing my hair more often (I used to wash every 3 weeks or so). So Im gonna see the benefits of using more water on my hair.

After voting, explain your experience...

 

[SherryLove]

generally speaking, i believe we do not have to wash our hair as often as they do because of the differences in textures of the hair...their hair is usually much straighter than ours,,,A lot of them need to wash their hair every day to prevent excessive oil build up and it becomes very oily if it's not washed often. when i was natural,i went a while (a couple of months) w/o washing my hair; and my hair did not fall out or stop growing......if anything, it seemed as if it grew more and retained growth better because i was not manipulating it as much.......

 

[jla]

Yes, I thought water was the devil,especially on natural hair but looking back, it's only because I didn't know to take care of my hair. I would pile my hair on my head when applying shampoo and rub using both hands, in various directions...this let to tangling. So the water wasn't the problem, the proble was lack of proper handling while washing. Now, I LOVE washing my hair. I love feeling the water on my scalp and it's freeing to know that water doesn't make my hair 'fall off'.

 

[Queenie]

I thought a lot of washing was bad, but now I know it is the products used on the hair that dry it out.

So, for the next couple of months I am trying to do 3 conditioning washes and 1 shampoo & deep conditioning treatment a week. So far my hair LOVES conditioning washes.

 

[Isis]

I didn't have a belief one way or the other about water on my hair. I used to wash every 7 days, sometimes a few days longer. One summer I washed daily but I wasn't doing it for a particular haircare reason (although I did experience a lot of growth). When I was growing up, how often to wash hair wasn't mentioned so I didn't know there was such a belief system about water being bad for the hair until I came to the hair boards last year. Now I wash every 3 days and my hair loves it.

 

[candibaby]

I didn't really think water was "bad" for our hair, I just thought it was "bad" to use it on our hair often. I definetly didn't think we could wash our hair as often as whites do, but lookie here: I was wrong. Now I wash every 7 - 10 days and my hair is thriving, so much in fact that I'm about to start doing conditioner washes more frequently than that!

 

[NaturalRox]

Until I went natural, I did think EXCESS water was "bad" for our hair. Not only was it instilled in me through other female family members, friends, etc. but also through the products I used. I used to press my hair with Apex Pressing Oil and it actually says "Water Repellent" on the bottle. Though that trait was desired for the purposes of using the hot comb, the connotation of it alone perpetuates that negative light. I see it on a lot of products and I personally think that's why a good number of us were raised to believe that any additional water besides washing your hair was a bad thing.

 

[alliyah4eva203]

i use to think that water was bad for our hair. when i first came to the board and saw that many of the members wash their 2-3 or even 4 times a week. i thought you were all insane.
i'm glad i don't think like that anymore

 

[PretteePlease]

i didn't think it was bad.i just liked to maintain my style as long as possible and i was trying to avoid heat.when i was perming i was all about the bone straight look. i saw that brandy and queen latifah washed like every 3 days but i didnt want to blowdry/flat iron that much...i was trying to maintain a bone straight look because my hair would curl up even though i had a perm it kind of had a 3c look. i always liked the way my hair felt and looked when wet

 

[Honi]

I didn’t think it was bad for relaxed hair because before I found the boards, I washed once a week and would always spritz my hair with a leave in mixture after blowdrying the hell out of it. I quickly noticed how moisturized it was. However I didn’t do this daily like I do now . Water was taboo for a relaxed head if you wanted to keep your style. I was also taught that water was bad for people that pressed their hair because it would “make their hair go back.”

 

[hiza]

I use to think the same thing, that water was bad for our hair, but now I known better!
Now I wash my hair 2 times a week.

 

[carletta]

I thought that using alot of water only lead to hair breakage. but after joining this site and washing my hair more often I found that my hair done alot better/ grew faster.

 

[calbear]

I never thought water was bad -for me it was the process of washing that was bad for my hair. The detangling was a nightmare, plus I was using quite a bit of heat in an attempt to straighten it after washing which what was really killing my hair. I wasn't one of those that put my hair on my head while washing - my hair just seems to like to grab onto the one next to it after being washed - so major tangles.

 

[happylocks]

I used to wash my hair every saturday when I was younger, I did not having anyone talking in my ear or telling me it was bad, I have not heard that in a while and I wont listen to it, but I dont wash my hair alot, its not something that works for me,

 

[Lindy]

Before I discovered this forum, I was definitely afraid of water!! I thought that if I washed my hair more often than once a week (at one point I was only washing every two weeks!!

), that my relaxer would somehow revert and I'd need to retouch sooner...

Now I know that water is my friend, not my enemy!! It seems like the more frequently I wash my hair, the more healthy my scalp feels.

The only problem I have now with frequent washing is that I prefer not to have to comb/manipulate my wet hair too often.

But I find that as long as I use the right products & leave-in's on my hair, I can detangle it with little or no breakage.

 

[ADB]

I use to think water would dry my hair out if I washed to much

. I would get my hair washed once a month when I got it pressed. Now I do a rinse 3 times out the week a shampoo once and a CW 3 times. I can tell a big difference in my hair. I don't have crispy ends anymore

.

 

[levette]

I still run into black women who think that you shouldn't wash your hair that often. When I told my black coworker that I washed my hair weekly, she looked at me liked i had grown 2 heads. Now her hair is long, but she tends to have a lot of problems with flakes. She can go as long as 3 weeks without washing. That would drive me nuts.

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
Lindy said:
Before I discovered this forum, I was definitely afraid of water!! I thought that if I washed my hair more often than once a week (at one point I was only washing every two weeks!!

), that my relaxer would somehow revert and I'd need to retouch sooner...

[/ QUOTE ]

hey i thought this too...my mom would always tell me this so I would believe it...maybe we were both

 

[Dubois007]

My grand mother use to tell me that too much water on my hair was not good that my hair will fall. That's not her fault that 's what she knew back then.

 

[Lindy]

[ QUOTE ]
Poohbear said:
[ QUOTE ]
Lindy said:
Before I discovered this forum, I was definitely afraid of water!! I thought that if I washed my hair more often than once a week (at one point I was only washing every two weeks!!

), that my relaxer would somehow revert and I'd need to retouch sooner...

[/ QUOTE ]

hey i thought this too...my mom would always tell me this so I would believe it...maybe we were both

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, Poohbear... even after discovering LHCF, it took me a WHILE to change that belief!! I had to try it for myself, and I only believed it AFTER I was able to go EVEN LONGER between touchups than usual, after doing condition washes 2-3 times weekly last summer...

 

[zigzag1]

It was'nt so much thinking water was bad for my hair. As a child I had long thick hair which used to take half a day to wash and comb etc. So my hair was washed once a week somtimes once every 2 weeks. When going to the public swimming pool I was definetly told that the water was bad (chlorine etc.) so was not allowed to get my hair wet as it would 'cut your hair'(my mums word)

 

[kitchen_tician]

I've never thought water was necessarily bad for me, it's the excessive manipulation (washing, conditioning, combing etc...), which causes problems. I am also better able to manage my newgrowth with fewer washes.

 

[whosthatgurl]

i've always felt, after washing my hair, that water is good, it keeps it mositurized in my point of view

 

[missykeyana]

I thought that water was bad for holding a style. I didn't like rain or sweat or any kind of moisture other than the grease (so I thought) I put on my hair every day. Now that I have gone natural and found hair boards, I love water! My scalp feels so good after a wash.

 

[Iansan]

Do you think certain hair types thrive with frequent washing while other hair types do better with washing less frequently.? My cousin has long, beautiful hair that she washes every two weeks. I would type her as a 3c relaxed. When I tried to do that, my hair would become very dry. My hair type is 4a/4b relaxed. I find that washing every three days works best for me.

 

[balisi]

Before joining this forum or before learning more about your hair, how many of your believed water or moisture on hair was the 'devil'? In other words, did u think water was bad for black hair???

Before knowing more about hair, I always believed that blacks shouldn't wash their hair as often as whites when in fact that is not true. I thought water was actually bad for our hair.

Now, I have been washing my hair more often (I used to wash every 3 weeks or so). So Im gonna see the benefits of using more water on my hair.

After voting, explain your experience...

I never felt water was bad for anyone's hair. How could it be? I could never understand how anyone could wash her hair only once or twice a month. To me, THAT was bad.

 

[jshor09]

I have always loved washing my hair, but i would get the comments of you shouldn't wash your hair so often. There has been so many myths that we have been given.
Jackie

 

[Lorraine]

I wash my hair every other day if I do wash and gos and when I flat iron I wash it about once a week or two. I never thought water was bad for my hair, I just knew better not to go swimming after my mom paid $100 for a relaxer, blow dry and curl.

 

[lsubabiedee]

i never thought that water was bad for hair in general, but i knew it meant hell for me when i had relaxed hair....but as long as my hair wasnt straight, i would wash and wet it as much as i wanted....i have a very oily scalp so i have to wash often and i havent seen any bad effects!

 

[Poohbear]

who bumped this old thread! buttafly, i'm gonna get you!


anyway, i used to think water was bad for my hair too before i joined this forum. i can't believe i ever believed something like that for so long... trying to hide my hair from getting wet at all times.

now (especially since I'm natural), my hair LOVES water!