It is normal to focus on the hair’s length but what is more important is the overall health of your hair. From eating healthy foods to doing protective hairstyles, all add up to make your hair bloom. We dive deeper into how to know whether your hair is healthy and how it should look or not. Take a look below:
1. Fullness and equal length
While some people naturally have black hair that is thin and lacks fullness, others don’t. To know how full your hair really is, try to check it without applying any product. If it is thinner on one side and fuller on another or uneven 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 have healthy hair.
2. Brittle hair
Our hair is like a plant and if plants can be easily uprooted, then it means the plant(hair) is weak. You know a healthy black hair when it does not easily break but rather, shrinks back after you comb 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; instead, it stretches and goes back to its original state.
3. Curly hair
Shrinkage is one way to know your black hair is healthy, so 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. Splitting hair at the end, is just a sign that that part is dead and needs to be cut off.
4. Shiny
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 says your hair is unhealthy. This is one you 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 especially after adding water. We don’t like the shrinkage to its natural stage but that is one way to know your hair is healthy. The hair can straighten under heat, but water takes it back to its natural shrinking stage. Shrinkage means the curl structure of your hair is still in place which also means your hair is properly hydrated.