Why is African American hair so fragile?

You are at higher risk for fragile hair if:
Hair follicles in most people of African descent are shaped like an oval, giving way to many possible breaking points along the hair shaft. This results in hair curling and twisting when coming out of the scalp.
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Why does African American hair break so easily?

The twists and turns in your afro hair make it more difficult for the natural oils on your scalp to travel down to your ends. This causes your ends to be more prone to damage. Eventually, if not fixed, this damage can travel up your strands and cause breakage for the rest of your natural hair too.
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Why is African American hair so hard to maintain?

Black hair, because it's curly, can be weaker than straighter hair. Each bend in the strand represents a weak point in the hair shaft, which makes it more prone to breakage. All this means is that it takes a little more TLC to avoid breakage.
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Why are black people's hair texture different?

Compared to silkier hair African-American hair contains more lipids, or fats, but the lipids are less bonded which is why the hair loves oils so much. Along with that, the follicle size is much thicker and it has a flattened elliptical cross section causing it to be curlier than other hair types.
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How do I stop my African American hair from breaking?

Here are 5 things you can do to keep afro hair from breaking.
  1. Cleanse and Condition Weekly. It's long been believed that water is like kryptonite to afro hair. ...
  2. LOC in Moisture. ...
  3. Protective Styling. ...
  4. Avoid Tight Styles. ...
  5. Ditch Damaging Tools.
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This is the story of Black hair



How can I strengthen my weak African American hair?

To help keep Black hair healthy, dermatologists recommend the following tips:
  1. Wash your hair once a week or every other week. ...
  2. Use conditioner. ...
  3. Use a hot oil treatment twice a month. ...
  4. Use a heat protecting product before styling. ...
  5. Use caution with relaxers. ...
  6. Use ceramic combs or irons to press hair.
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Why is African hair so rough?

In fact, African hair actually produces more oils than Caucasian and Asian hair. However, due to the tight curls, the oil doesn't spread evenly along the hair fiber. Without lubrication, the fibers can become dry. This causes the strands to become more brittle, which contributes to the hair's texture.
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Which race has the thickest hair?

The average diameter, or thickness, of Asian hair is from 80 to 120 µm, compared to 65 µm in Caucasian hair and 55 µm in Black hair. The average diameter of Hispanic/Latino hair tends to fall between that of Asian and Caucasian. Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied.
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What ethnicity has thick black hair?

Generally, the East Asian and Native American population has straight, black hair with a very thick cuticle layer and South Asians have thick, wavy or curly hair, while the general hair type seen in black African hair is thick, curly and dense with more hair growing from the head.
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Why does African hair grow the slowest?

The African hair is generally curly or frizzy, and grows almost parallel to the scalp. It has the slowest growth rate of 0.9 centimeters per month due to its spiral structure which causes it to twist on itself as it grows.
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What race has the slowest hair growth?

African hair has the lowest growth rate. Hair growth rate and hair diameter were reported to be associated with cuticle interscale distance. Hairs with larger cross-sectional area grow faster and have a shorter cuticle interscale distance, and vice versa.
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What strengthens African hair?

“Jojoba oil is an all-rounder that makes hair stronger as well as helping to prevent a dry scalp and dandruff,” says Smith. So you'll understand now why you see this oil in so many afro hair products. It not only works for keeping a healthy, dandruff-free scalp, the vitamin B, C and E keep coils nourished.
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What is unique about African hair?

Our individual hair strands are much thicker than other types of hair, and the strands are very flat in appearance. The flatness of the strands is what makes African-American hair prone to curling and kinking. Curls happen when chemical bonds form in the hair attracting one part of the strand to the next.
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Why is African hair so dominant?

There are two reasons why we believe African hair texture is genetic. Firstly, the texture is universal in Africans, while nearly absent from other ethnic groups. Secondly, it is consistently passed down to the children in each new generation.
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Which hair type breaks the most?

Fine hair is the most fragile hair texture. Each individual hair is thin and only has two hair layers; cortex and cuticle. If you have this hair type, you might find it hard to keep your hair in a style, or it might get oily easily.
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Does African hair grow the slowest?

Growing afro hair can sometimes seem like an impossible task. One thing is for certain, however, and that's that it requires dedication and a whole heap of patience. Scientifically, black hair is the slowest growing hair type due to its elliptical shape and only grows about one third of an inch per month.
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Which race has the most muscle mass?

Ethnicity effects

African American (AA) males and females tended to have higher values of SM mass across the lifespan, while Asian females and Hispanic males had the smaller absolute SM mass compared to the other groups (Fig.
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What ethnicity has the healthiest hair?

According to a global study based on 4 characteristics that determine healthy hair – thickness, tensile strength, shine, and smoothness – Indian women have the best hair in the world.
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Which ethnic group has the thinnest hair?

African Americans have the lowest hair density, averaging around 130 hairs per square centimeter and about 60,000 hair follicles on an adult scalp. Hair growth.
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What race gets gray hair first?

Your Genes

If your parents developed gray hair at a young age, chances are you will, too — and there's not much you can do about it. Race also plays a role in how early your hair turns gray. For instance, gray hair tends to occur earlier in Caucasians but later in Asians.
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Does African American hair texture change with age?

By default, your tresses undergo several changes as you age that may be related to diet, hormonal fluctuations or any medications you take. And as textured hair tends to be drier, these changes, coupled with improper care, can weaken your strands.
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Why is African hair short?

Black hair, because it's curly, can be weaker than straighter hair. Each bend in the strand represents a weak point in the hair shaft, which makes it more prone to breakage. All this means is that it takes a little more TLC to avoid breakage. So we tend to have shorter hair, but that doesn't mean it doesn't grow.
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Why African hair is not shiny?

Tightly coiled and afro hair is often more varied in shape and doesn't reflect light as well. When you define or straighten the hair, the surface becomes more uniform and shiny, giving the illusion of healthy hair.
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Why is African hair so frizzy?

Frizz occurs on afro hair and curly hair more than any other types. Afro hair produces plenty of protective oils called sebum, but the oil struggles to spread evenly along the hair fibre due to the curly nature of afro hair.
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What is black people's hair texture called?

Afro-textured hair is a human hair texture originally prevalent in many regions with hot climates, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape.
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