American Academy of Dermatology advice on budget haircare

[Kuchen]

Have a look (http://www.aad.org/media/background/news/Releases/Hair_Care_on_a_Budget/), it's an interesting read for LHCers! ;)

[little_acorn]

That was an interesting article :D, thanks for sharing

[RancheroTheBee]

Wow. Four for you, American Academy of Dermatology, for being so hair-friendly.

[getoffmyskittle]

Oh, that was an interesting bit of advice - use a 2-in-1 S/C for the shampoo, and then a regular conditioner. I never even thought of doing that. Has anyone tried it? I might try it.

[SpinDance]

Thank you for sharing an interesting article. I found the recommendation to use 2-in-1 shampoo & conditioner then follow by conditioner interesting. I've not had good experiences with 2-in-1, but never tried them followed by another conditioner. Seems similar in concept to CWC, which has been working so well for me.

[florenonite]

While I agree with much of what was said, I wonder why a dermatologist was giving advice on haircare. Scalp I can see, but haircare isn't skin. I suppose that's what to expect of a dermatology association, though :shrug: I was also a bit surprised at this quotation (bolding mine):


Dr. Mirmirani noted that African Americans should wash their hair no more than once a week, because their hair and scalp tend to be much dryer than lighter-skinned individuals. Over-shampooing can further dry out the hair and scalp of African Americans.

The darkness (or lack thereof) of a person's skin isn't particularly related to the dryness of their hair. Yes, people of sub-Saharan descent tend to have drier hair, but take this hypothetical situation. Person A is of mixed race, with an African father and European mother. Person B is from India. Person A's skin is fairer than Person B, but Person A has the typical dry African while Person B does not. See the issue? By comparing African Americans to lighter-skinned people, the implication is a comparison between Europeans and African Americans, which is funny because I totally thought she was Indian based on her name :p

I also had a thought about BBBs reading this article. A lot of LHCers, when seeing poor articles that, amongst other things, recommend using cheap plastic brushes rather than BBBs, smugly say that their BBBs work beautifully for them. I've done this myself in the past. However, we are using BBBs to move the oil down. The average person doesn't brush much simply to move the oil down the hair, but to detangle, and for detangling it's quite possible that those cheap plastic brushes do work better than a BBB.

[Lamb]

Huhhh?

“Boar bristle brushes, which are quite expensive, put a lot of friction on the hair because the bristles come into contact with hair against its natural grain,” explained Dr. Mirmirani. “This can cause a considerable amount of damage, and consumers can save money and keep hair healthier at the same time by buying inexpensive plastic brushes with wide-spaced needles, which are widely available.”
I call :bs: on this one, sorry. How could the bristles, provided you move the brush the right way, go against the hair's natural grain?
And we all know what those "widely available" plastic brushes can do to hair, now, don't we. Granted, BBBs are not for everyone (certainly not for me with my 2c/3a hair) and they should not be used for detangling knots. But how a plastic brush could be better for smoothing down the hair, I don't know.

[Anje]

I think the comment about washing minimally was less based on skin tone and more directed specifically at people of sub-Saharan African descent, since many of them don't produce as much skin oil or sebum and usually have extremely curly hair. Curly hair usually seems prone to dryness relative to straighter hair, after all, because the cuticle is not as tight.

I also found the 2-in-1 plus conditioner suggestion to be interesting, though I thought 2-in-1s were mostly just shampoos with silicones added. I imagine you'd have to clarify regularly if you followed that advice.

Kudos on the avoiding BBBs, at least from me. In my experience, they cause more wear on hair than the oil moving is worth, and tend to just make me need to wash my scalp more often.

[JamieLeigh]

I've never had great experiences with 2-in-1s....but then again, I wasn't aware of the benefits of oiling back in those days. I wonder if that would be a good alternative for those who CWC??

And since going CO and using oil on my ends, I haven't really needed my BBB for "oil distribution" as much as I used to. And I think my hair is thanking me for it...I still have fine hairs in places, though most of them are medium on the LHC scale, and I think that's what might have been causing some of my breakage. I do still use my BBB for smoothing the tops of my updos though. :p

I don't think I'd ever bring myself to use a plastic brush or comb. I prefer wood - that way if a seam or other snagging develops, I can sand it down, oil it and continue to use it.

[florenonite]

I think the comment about washing minimally was less based on skin tone and more directed specifically at people of sub-Saharan African descent, since many of them don't produce as much skin oil or sebum and usually have extremely curly hair. Curly hair usually seems prone to dryness relative to straighter hair, after all, because the cuticle is not as tight.


Oh, I know it was directed at people of sub-Saharan descent, whom I know have a tendency to drier hair. I just thought the reference to skin tone was really out of place there. I dunno, it just hit me as 'off' when I read that, like it didn't belong.

[ladycatpurrs]

Thanks for sharing this article! Like others before me on this thread, I agree with some of it and not so much with other parts but that is just for my own hair type. I hope others find it helpful also!

[Lamb]

Oh, I know it was directed at people of sub-Saharan descent, whom I know have a tendency to drier hair. I just thought the reference to skin tone was really out of place there. I dunno, it just hit me as 'off' when I read that, like it didn't belong.
I don't know why, but the dermatologist's words do sound outlandish, strange, ill-chosen in some cases. I'd risk the suggestion that English is not her first language. :flower:
The phrase "lighter skinned individuals" is very much off - she probably wanted to point out the obvious general difference between AA hair and, say, Caucasian or Asian hair.

[SurprisingWoman]

I have used 2&1 then conditioner for years. Not always but when I can get it I would rather buy a 2&1 and condition separately. Garnier has a 2&1 but it hasn't been on sale yet. ;)

Anyone old enough to remember Milk +6? That was my favorite about ummmm 1977. I miss it.

I use a cheap plastic brush that is so old the bottom half of the handle is broken off. I can't get a BBB through my hair and the friction it caused from trying was unreal. I think we all have what works for us.

I thought the tone was fine. Keep in mind that it is print and hard to show tone. The info in the article is good and that's what I chose to take away from it.

[frodolaughs]

I found this article very interesting. It brought up a question for me about BBB's. I know they work very well for a lot of people, but I've found for myself that using one causes increased splits and breaks--even shreds within the length of a hair. Of course I brush with the length of my hair, but I'm thinking about the scales which make up the outer sheath of individual hairs, and wondering how those scales interlock with the scales I assume must also exist in individual boar bristles. Before giving up on brushing entirely I noticed that my hair was more damaged by brushing when it was drier (unmoisturized, not dry vs wet). Isn't the surface of your hair rougher with more raised scales when it's too dry? Maybe when hair scales are raised they're more prone to get caught and damaged by the scales of the boar bristles.

Sorry if this is hard to follow. I'm thinking while I write.

[getoffmyskittle]

I found this article very interesting. It brought up a question for me about BBB's. I know they work very well for a lot of people, but I've found for myself that using one causes increased splits and breaks--even shreds within the length of a hair. Of course I brush with the length of my hair, but I'm thinking about the scales which make up the outer sheath of individual hairs, and wondering how those scales interlock with the scales I assume must also exist in individual boar bristles. Before giving up on brushing entirely I noticed that my hair was more damaged by brushing when it was drier (unmoisturized, not dry vs wet). Isn't the surface of your hair rougher with more raised scales when it's too dry? Maybe when hair scales are raised they're more prone to get caught and damaged by the scales of the boar bristles.

Sorry if this is hard to follow. I'm thinking while I write.

Yep, that's certainly true. Heidi W. has written a lot about BBBing and I remember she said something about not using one if your hair is not in good shape - get it moisturized before, because it will damage dry hair.

However, I can't use a BBB at all, because it gives me static and breakage no matter how moisturized my hair is. :shrug:

[frodolaughs]

I can't use a BBB at all, because it gives me static and breakage no matter how moisturized my hair is. :shrug:
That's what I've decided, too. It's too fine and easily damaged. Such a pity, since I enjoy the activity of brushing.