Having natural hair as Africans, we tend to focus on the length of our hair rather than on how healthy the overall hair is. Earlier in the month, we looked at eating healthy food that positively affects your hair, and moves you from just having lengthy mane to healthy mane.

In this Edition of Allure, we show you how your natural hair should look if it is healthy, and how it should look if it is not. 

1. Fullness without unequal length: 

This is a great healthy hair detector that never goes wrong. Some people  naturally have black hair that is thin and lack fullness. While people think it is the type of their hair, you should know it is a type that is not being maintained appropriately. To know how full your hair really is, try to check it without applying any product. If it’s thinner on one side and fuller on another or not even in length, then your hair is definitely unhealthy. However, if without any product it shows volume even though not as huge but is bouncy enough, then you’re good to go with your healthy mane. 

2. Doesn’t Break Easy: Our hair is like a plant and if plants can be easily uprooted, then it means there is something wrong with the root. making our chris like our hair breaks easy. You know a healthy black hair when it does not easily break but rather, shrinks back after you tug at it. Healthy black hair is elastic and this elasticity is related to the keratin in the hair. It does not break every time you comb it or pass your hands through it: rather it stretches and shrinks back to its place.  

3. Curls till the end: 

While we’ve stated shrinkage is one way to know your black hair is healthy, it is important for you to also know that the ends of your hair should also curl and not straighten. If it is straight, that part of it is unhealthy and needs to be chopped off. Healthy black hair is curly till the tip of the strand and splitting hair at the end,  is just a sign that that part is dead and needs to go.  

4. Easy To Achieve Shine:

The ability of your hair to easily achieve shine is another way to know your hair is indeed healthy. Shiny hair normally is low in porosity and retains hydration better. A dull and lifeless hair is an unhealthy indicator but a sure indicator of healthy hair, is one you don’t have to work on so much to make it shiny and easy on the eyes. 

5. Shrinkage: The African hair, no matter the type, shrinks. While we all hate that, that’s the natural stage and that’s one way to know your hair is healthy. Of course, it straightens under heat, but water takes it back to its natural shrinking stage. Shrinkage means the curl structure of your hair is still intact, which also means your hair is properly hydrated. So learn to love those kinky hair when you see them, it shows your locks are healthy. ____________________________________
Olayiwola Ajagbe