Out of Cathy Howse book "Ultra Black HAir Growth II
another 6"longer 1 year from now (2000 Edition)
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Do we, as Blacks, need to brush our hair ot mkae it grow? The answer isNO. History has given us three styles that prove brushing is NOT required for Blacks hair growth. They are:
Afros
Permanent Curls
Dreadlocks
All these styles that are not brushed, but have grown quite long on some peole who have never had long hair, in their life. In order to grow beautifully long hair there is one rule that should be followed where brushing our hair is cincerned. That rule is:
Avoid brushing OUR hair type at all!Just for the record, brushing the hair can in fact stimulate the scalp, but it also damages and destroys the hair on OUR heads, especially if it has been chemically processed. Put aside all the myths about brushing OUR hair to make it grow. Brushing out hair does MORE harm then good!Brushing OUR hair is one of the most damaging maintenance steps Blacks do their hair!If your hair is chemically processed either curl permed or relaxed, or natural and straightened with an appliance, and you chose to brush it, you can KISS your hair at the scalp and the ends GOOD-BYE. This technique causes too much stress on Black Hair, and more so if you have chemically processed hair that is already weak and easy to damage. Brushing the hair into a style is permissible. Repetitively brushing your hair from the scalp to the ends to produce stimulation will destroyi it!Up until February 1989, I just could not understand why the crown of my head was balding in one spot. The culprit this time was my hairbrush! Exactly one year after I stopped brushing my hair, the bald spot had filled in with 6 inches of new hair! To thoses of you who may still choose to brush your hair despite my warnings, please consider the following arguments against brushing.
Arguments Against Brushing
The three functions of brushing were to
stimulate scalp circulation,
to distribute the sebum oils from the scalp to the ends of the hair,
and to loossen scalp scales and dirt.
Brushing hair in the past was considered good for it. However, brushing our hair has no real value and is more damaging then beneficial.
*Stimulating cicculation is neccessary for hair growth, but hair does not need to be brushed to stimulate circulation. As we discussed in Chapter 6, products are available that can create this effect that are less traumatic for both the scalp and haor. The reason we need to stimulate circulation will be covered later.
*Since BLACK hair needs additional oil to lubricate it anyway as the chapter on conditioners tells us, any attempt to manually distribute sebum oil is not neccessary.
*A good shampoo is formulated to loosen and remove dirt and scales, so brushing for this reason is also not a requirement. (Chapter 4)
Brushing is very damaging to Balck Hair because of our curl pattern. The less damage you do to your hair when you care for it, the more you keep on your head. Remember dreadlocks cannot even be comb yet they grow quite well on lots of brothers and sisters.
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