How do you know if your NATURAL HAIR is healthy?

[Analiyah9]

Hello
I have been natural for almost a year and my hair grew ALOT (collar bone length)! But most of the time while natural I wore my hair in kinky twist extensions. Although my hair grew, my edges were not growing. So I stopped
Since November I wore my hair out, but it was difficult because that meant I had to take MORE time to do my hair and maintain it .Now I wash my hair ever week and I feel like its damaged because ALOT of hair if falling out. Even when I twist it some hairs fall out.
I admit I don't really detangle daily, only when I am about to wash...so maybe that is why it seems like its alot of hair (you do shed 100 hairs a day)..I dunno

I would also say that lately I have been using protein, but I'm going to stop and see what happens...
Anyways, how do you know your hair is healthy? and any advice on my current problems?

 

[lalla]

My hair is healthy if:
- the curl pattern is ~ uniform from root to tip.
- The colour is not lighter at the ends.
(- Doesn't need constant moisturizing)
- it is not breaking too much

It is well conditioned when:
- it shines
- it doesn't tangle too much


Do you keep your hair stretched?
You could try to do a moisturizing DC and see what happens. It is normal to lose a lot of hair if you only detangle once a week.

 

[alive]

My hair is healthy if:
- the curl pattern is ~ uniform from root to tip.
- The colour is not lighter at the ends.
(- Doesn't need constant moisturizing)
- it is not breaking too much

It is well conditioned when:
- it shines
- it doesn't tangle too much


Do you keep your hair stretched?
You could try to do a moisturizing DC and see what happens. It is normal to lose a lot of hair if you only detangle once a week.

i agree with lalla.
also, try examining the hairs that are coming out. it's just shed hair if they have white/gray bulbs at the ends.

 

[MissSenegal]

How does your hair fell when wet? I can always tell if my hair is off if it feels dry and weak even if its soaking wet.

 

[Spongebob]

thats a really good question, I wouldnt know but the less breakage the more healty I suppose

 

[Ann0804]

I judge that my hair is healthy if there is no breakage. If I have a section of hair and it is the same length from the root to the end, I say my hair is healthy. My hair has never had a shine to it, so I can't judge it by shine . Also, if I see a lot of hair on the floor or in my comb, I just take that to mean that my hair needs help. I think it is a good idea that you are going to discontinue the use of protein. In my experience with heavy proteins my hair does not like them. What protein treatments are you using and how do you use them?

 

[Analiyah9]

My hair is healthy if:
- the curl pattern is ~ uniform from root to tip.
- The colour is not lighter at the ends.
(- Doesn't need constant moisturizing)
- it is not breaking too much

It is well conditioned when:
- it shines
- it doesn't tangle too much


Do you keep your hair stretched?
You could try to do a moisturizing DC and see what happens. It is normal to lose a lot of hair if you only detangle once a week.

My hair is ALWAYS soft (even when I don't moisturize it) ppl say my hair looks healthy, but I get nervous when I see me lose alot of hair! My hair does not tangle too much. I am able to retwist it without the comb...

I judge that my hair is healthy if there is no breakage. If I have a section of hair and it is the same length from the root to the end, I say my hair is healthy. My hair has never had a shine to it, so I can't judge it by shine . Also, if I see a lot of hair on the floor or in my comb, I just take that to mean that my hair needs help. I think it is a good idea that you are going to discontinue the use of protein. In my experience with heavy proteins my hair does not like them. What protein treatments are you using and how do you use them?

I use African's Best organics hair mayonnaise

 

[SEMO]

Unless you feel your hair is getting thin, I wouldn't worry too much about shed hairs (as long as you've determined it's not breakage - the shed hair has the bulbs on the end). I lose a good amount of hair when I wash & detangle and it looks like even more as my hair get longer (for example, 10 shed hairs at WL look a lot different than at APL).

I can tell my hair is healthy when the shaft of my individual hair strands feels smooth when I run my fingers over it (the cuticle isn't raised up, making my hair feel rough and letting out moisture). There's also a good elasticity to my hair. I periodically test it out on shed hairs. I gently try to stretch out a strand and feel it expand a contract like a new rubber band (no brittleness or overstretching). Moisture also takes well to my hair and really soaks in rather than just sitting on top. Damaged hair never seems to be able to get enough moisture.

I'm not sure if I can describe it better. When acting like it should, my hair just feels soft and plump and well moisturized. I haven't had any major damage for awhile. But even though my hair is healthy, I'm constantly monitoring my hair's reaction to different products so it can stay that way. A lot of times I can tell after one use (maybe two) when a product will or won't work for my hair.

One more thing: healthy hair doesn't have a ton of split ends.

 

[SmilingElephant]

Yes...it will seem like a lot of hairs being lost if you detangle weekly. That's 700 hairs shed that you are combing out

Also, as your hair gets longer...it will also seem like you're losing a lot of hair when you comb out your sheds...that's because as the hair gets longer...it will wrap around a few more times in the comb than it did when it was shorter...simply because of the length.

 

[smwrigh3]

Nice thread. I have often wonder this myself. I just keep doing what I'm b/c Im lazy and it seems to work!