10 Hair Growth Myths That Thinned Our Crowns (And the Kitchen Fixes That Actually Work)

Does an itchy scalp mean your hair is growing? That's the first of ten hair growth myths Black women were raised on in kitchen chairs and beauty shops, and Janet takes every one of them apart, gently, with the fix that actually works for a thinning crown. -- Here's How To Go From Hair Coming Out Everywhere To Long Hair Again, With 3 Things From Your Kitchen: https://www.janetmercer.cc/kitchen -- You'll hear why the itch is really a sore scalp letting hair go, and the plain honey rinse a small 2001 study used to calm it. Then the old sayings about our hair keep falling: plucking a gray, keeping water off your head, hair that's "tough as wire," edges tied down tight every night, braids that are supposed to give your hair a rest, and covering a shed with a sew-in. Each hair growth myth comes with its kitchen fix, from coconut oil before the wash to a little hair grease on the ends instead of the scalp. She's honest about the one that isn't a kitchen matter, a widening part, and about the signs that need a doctor. And she tells how Madam C.J. Walker's own hair loss started the whole idea of a hair "grower," and why the washing behind it got left off the label. If you're a Black woman watching your crown thin after 50 or 60, these hair growth tips are for you. Sources: Al-Waili, European Journal of Medical Research (2001). Diluted raw honey every other day for four weeks cleared itching and scaling in seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff; weekly use prevented relapse over six months. Khumalo et al., Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2000). African hair showed knots in 10 to 16 percent of shafts versus 0.15 percent in other hair, with damage linked to grooming. Loussouarn, British Journal of Dermatology (2001). African hair grew about 256 micrometers a day. Rele and Mohile, Journal of Cosmetic Science (2003). Coconut oil reduced protein loss from hair; mineral and sunflower oil did not. American Academy of Dermatology. Black hair care tips (weekly or biweekly washing, hot oil twice a month, pressing no more than once a week); female pattern hair loss and minoxidil; postpartum shedding.