The aunt who swears that cutting makes it grow, the saleswoman who recommends an oil for hydration, the hairdresser who forbids detangling dry, the video that says the opposite. No one is lying. Everyone repeats something different.
The problem is not that these phrases are false: it's that they dictate actions, and that these actions show on the fiber after a few months. Here are six, taken one by one, with what needs to be remembered instead and, when a fact is requested, its source. To replace common misconceptions with a method, our step-by-step tutorial details the six steps of the Rituel Texture®, in order.
For years, we told ourselves that what we did at home had no value, and that the real value was in what we bought in stores. We did not see the richness we had around us, in our kitchens and in our gardens.
Ghana Elin, founderMyth 1« Coily hair cannot be long »
It is the most persistent, because it turns a matter of care into a fatality. Coily hair grows. What blocks visible length are two phenomena that we confuse with an absence of growth.
The first is breakage. Under the microscope, the coily fiber presents knots on 10 to 16 % of the studied hairs, compared to 0.15 % on other textures, and many strands bear characteristic breaks (Khumalo et al., Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2000). They often occur at the same rate as growth, so that the hairstyle seems frozen for years.
The second is shrinkage: the same strand appears much shorter dry than stretched. It is a normal behavior of the fiber, not a defect. Everything depends on length retention, and not on a speed that we cannot control: this is the whole subject of our article on long coily hair.
Myth 2« Never detangle dry »
This one spread very quickly, even among professionals, and it is the most costly, because it leads to removing the step that protects the rest. Yet it is based on an accurate observation: yes, coily hair breaks when we detangle it dry. But it is not the fact of being dry that breaks it. It is the comb.
The same electron microscope study shows it: the strands bear traces of repeated breaks, consistent with the passage of the comb. On a dry fiber without product, the comb does not undo the knots: it pulls them, tightens them, then tears off what resists. The fingers, on the other hand, feel the knot before forcing it.
This is why the Chadian Finger Detangling is step 01 of the Rituel Texture®, on dry hair, in at least six sections, the root held in one hand while the other smooths the strand. The Man Dol' Comb comes at step 04, when the fiber is coated with the Repair Mask and it slides. Detangling in the shower, on water-soaked hair, is not a precaution: it is the moment when the fiber stretches the most. Our method of detangling without breakage details the gesture.
What breaks it is not the dry hair. It is the comb on a dry hair without product.
Myth 3« Oil hydrates the hair »
What hydrates is water. An oil is a fat body: it lubricates the fiber, limits friction and slows down the evaporation of what is already in it. Placed on dehydrated hair, it only seals in the dryness, hence this familiar impression of greasy hair to the touch and rough deep down.
In the Rituel Texture®, water arrives with washing then with The Repair Mask, which is left on for ten minutes, under a shower cap if possible. The Styling Cream then helps maintain the hydration provided. A drop of light oil can complete on the ends, between two routines: it is a supplement, never a step. The oil bath remains exceptional, once or twice a year at most. See how to hydrate your coily hair and the oils and their uses.
Myth 4« It must be relaxed to be styled »
It is the oldest, and the heaviest, because it does not really talk about technique. For decades, many women relaxed their hair for lack of an alternative: no suitable products on the shelves, no trained salons, no other method than the one passed from mother to daughter.
Technically, coily hair can be styled very well naturally: detangled with fingers on dry hair, washed, coated with care, dried in small sections after applying The Styling Cream, it can be worked like any other material. Relaxing, on the other hand, does not rearrange the fiber: it transforms it. Alkaline relaxers break the disulfide bonds of keratin and replace part of them in a stable way, through a process called lanthionization (Gavazzoni Dias, International Journal of Trichology, 2015). The texture never returns to the treated length, and the boundary between regrowth and relaxed hair becomes a breaking point.
We do not judge those who have relaxed their hair. We do not do it and direct towards a partner who masters it; we want the choice to be informed. See why knowing how to style coily hair should no longer be a specialty.
Myth 5« Coily hair is necessarily hard and rough »
What we touch, in this case, is not a texture: it is a state. The coily fiber grows in a tight spiral, and the strands cling to each other in their natural state (Khumalo et al., 2000). This geometry explains two things: sebum does not cross the turns, and the strand tangles much more than a straight fiber.
The perceived hardness therefore almost always comes from a dried fiber, poorly rinsed products, or lengths damaged by heat. A hairstyle hydrated during washing, coated by The Repair Mask then maintained by The Styling Cream is worked differently under the fingers. See how to have soft and supple coily hair.
Myth 6« It cannot be colored »
False, but with conditions that are not details. A coily fiber accepts coloring if it is in good condition at the start, cared for before and after, and entrusted to a professional who knows this texture. Bleaching remains the most aggressive gesture, because it opens the cuticle over the entire length, and it does not combine well with a previous relaxing.
Two precautions apply to all: a test on a small area forty-eight hours before, and a reasonable spacing between two passes. A reaction that swells the face or makes the skin ooze is a medical matter. See the plant-based coloring.
Other misconceptions to leave aside
- « Cutting the ends makes it grow faster. » Growth happens at the scalp. Cutting damaged ends prevents breakage from going up, which is already a lot. See when to cut your coily hair.
- « Drinking a lot of water makes hair grow. » No demonstrated effect on growth. See does water make hair grow.
- « The more products, the better. » Three well-used treatments do more than an entire shelf.
- « You must wash your coily hair as little as possible. » A complete routine every 7 to 10 days remains necessary, and The Repair Shampoo was designed for athletes, up to twice a week, without clarifying before.
- « A protective hairstyle always protects. » Not if it pulls, not if it stays too long. See the signs that a protective hairstyle damages your hair.
Why these myths are so persistent
For a long time, coily textures were little taught in hairdressing schools and little studied by brands. Women found themselves without reliable advice, with products designed for other hair. The void was filled with tips passed by word of mouth, many of which are poorly translated from one texture to another.
The vocabulary itself was built by successive borrowings from English, which adds confusion for those starting: we have gathered these terms in our coily hair glossary. To decide between two contradictory pieces of advice, a reflex is usually enough: go back to the fiber. Its porosity, its density and its condition say better than any general rule what it needs. See also why we have coily hair.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you detangle on dry hair or on wet hair?
Does coily hair grow slower?
Does castor oil make hair grow?
Is type 4C harder to maintain?
Go further
Sources
- Khumalo N. P., Doe P. T., Dawber R. P. R., Ferguson D. J. P., « What is normal black African hair? A light and scanning electron-microscopic study », Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 43, n° 5, 2000, p. 814-820.
- Gavazzoni Dias M. F. R., « Hair cosmetics: an overview », International Journal of Trichology, vol. 7, n° 1, 2015, p. 2-15.
