How to Grow My African-American Son's Hair Out
Increasing the length of African-American hair requires moisturizing, cleansing and maintaining the hair during the growing-out process. Everyone's hair grows at a different pace and is affected by the amount of sebum, also known as natural oils, the scalp produces to encourage growth. Typically, African-American hair is dry and requires daily upkeep to maintain moisture as dryness can cause scalp itch and breakage. For males, growing out the hair also requires taming the hair's natural growth pattern to manipulate the hair in an easy-to-maintain style until it is long enough to style differently. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Moisturizing shampoo
- Moisturizing conditioner
- Wide-toothed comb
- Hair moisturizer
- Satin pillowcase
Instructions
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1
Wash your son's hair once with a moisturizing shampoo. Overwashing his hair can cause the natural oils to be stripped from his scalp, which decreases the scalp's ability to provide nutrients necessary for hair growth. If his hair gets dirty quickly, wash his hair twice a week to reduce excessive hair sebum.
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2
Cover his scalp with a palm full of conditioner and comb the conditioner through the hair with a wide-toothed comb. A wide-toothed comb is preferred to prevent snagging the hair, and the conditioner softens and detangles the hair for easy management.
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Leave the conditioner in as directed on the bottle's instructions, then rinse it out with cool water, which seals in moisture.
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4
Pat your son's hair dry with a towel to reduce split ends caused by rubbing the towel against the hair.
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Cover his pillow with a satin pillowcase. The satin fabric is gentle against the hair and does not dry out the scalp like cotton pillowcases tend to do.
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Moisturize your son's scalp with a daily moisturizing oil to supplement the scalp's natural oil production. A light misting of the moisturizing oil is enough to keep the scalp hydrated and replenish moisture to the hair.
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Massage his scalp with your fingers to stimulate the scalp. Do not use fingernails as this can scratch and cause a scalp infection.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
