Healthy and Green Living

If you have ever been a little black girl or if you have ever cared for one, you know that dealing with hair can become a huge, unhappy issue. Growing up, I endured hot combs and relaxers to straighten, texturizers to kind-of straighten, grease and oils to give shine to my thick, sensitive locks. I’ve had a lye-burned scalp and ears, bumps from hair pulled too tightly, and shedding hair due to too much blow drying, curling irons and chemicals. I’ve bought fake hair to create beautiful braids going down to my mid-back and I’ve had my hair almost entirely buzzed off so I wouldn’t have to deal with it any more. It’s taken a long, long time for me to begin to feel “Happy to Be Nappy.”

African-American hair needs consistent moisturizing in order to prevent breakage and to maintain softness. Many traditional black hair care products (pomades, greases, oils) contain ingredients derived from petroleum (crude oil), including petrolatum or mineral oil, which clogs pores and interferes with the skin’s ability to eliminate toxins.

Here are a couple of products that I think are worth investigating. Both can be used on natural or relaxed hair.

Carol’s Daughter’s Healthy Hair Butter uses ingredients such as soybean oil, corn oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, jojoba seed oil, and wheat germ oil to moisturize, soften and condition hair. It contains no petroleum or mineral oil. It can be used on natural or relaxed hair. And I love the smell created by its mixture of essential oils.

Eden Body Works. I was first introduced to this line of products when its founder, Jasmine Lawrence, now 16, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Jasmine created her own natural hair care solutions after suffering the devastating effects of harsh chemical products. I haven’t tried these products yet, but the ingredients sound great.

JOJOBA All Natural Temple Balm contains shea butter, jojoba, and mango seed butter. JOJOBA All-Natural Hair Oil is made with sweet almond, jojoba, monoi and coconut oil and promises to prevent breakage and provide shine. These products contain no petroleum or mineral oils.

Terri Hall-Jackson lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and two young children. In addition to writing, Terri works with public television and radio stations/networks in the area of new media, and leads workshops on authentic and empowered living.

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