Dying to junk the chemicals and keep your afro hair natural? Leading Trichologist, Noon Etienne, tackles some of the myths around keeping natural afro hair.

Dying to junk the chemicals and keep your afro hair natural? Leading Trichologist, Noon Etienne, tackles some of the myths around keeping your natural afro hair.

Myth No.1: 'Natural hair does not look professional!'

Noon Etienne: Natural hair can look very professional; it all depends on the style. There are so many beautiful hair styling options for natural hair. These include sister locks, brother locks, double strand twist, single strand twist, comb twist for short hair, twist and roll.

Use rods all over to achieve a soft textured afro, flat twist the front and leave the back out as afro, if hair is long enough you can put it up into a French roll or be creative with the updo. Or simply blow dry for a blow out effect! All this coupled with a nice make-up application will finish the effect nicely. Make-up plays an important role in looking professional, along with your clothing. So let's get all the pieces together for the total look!

Myth No. 2: 'Natural hair is difficult to look after'

Noon Etienne: It seems very daunting going from a straight relaxed look to being natural again. But natural hair does not take any longer to look after than relaxed hair.

You have to maintain it with regular trims every 6 to 8 weeks and use moisturising conditioners every time the hair is shampooed. But once natural hair is styled, it stays that way until you change it or are ready to shampoo it. You don't have to look after it yourself; find a salon that has experience in natural hair care and just sit down and enjoy.

Myth No. 3: 'Natural hair is hard to style'

Noon Etienne: Natural hair allows you to be you! It allows you to be creative and be true to yourself and developing your own style makes you unique and helps you stand out from the crowd.

There are numerous styling options, as mentioned above, and there are others like Bantu knots - a tribal style - where hair is arranged in twisted balls all over the head. When your hair dries, open them out and, wow, to your surprise, you have a soft textured look that can do anything you want.

There are regular locks which are made from palm rolling or a double strand twist. Not everyone likes the dreadlocked look but, if you begin to experiment with some of the suggestions above, so many combinations can be achieved. Be creative; do not fight your hair. Be positive, and remember "positive changes in your hair will bring positive changes in your spirit and, subsequently, your life".

Myth No.4: 'You cannot colour natural hair'

Noon Etienne: Hair colouring is the knowledge, skill and art of changing the natural pigment of hair to an artificial color. I recommend you leave the colouring to a professional. But yes, natural hair can be coloured correctly and evenly by a professional, be it a temporary colour, semi permanent, permanent colour, highlighted or double processes. Some people like the do-it-yourself approach, but be warned, you will have some challenges!

Myth No.5: 'You don't have to condition natural hair'

I was dumbstruck when a new customer said that to me one day! Sure, you can say that the natural sebum in the scalp will lubricate the hair. If the hair is short, it is easy to comb and brush the sebum along the strands; but if the hair is medium to long, the sebum will not be sufficient to lubricate the hair. Therefore it will look very dry or brittle and difficult to comb.

There are five types of conditioners: moisturising, protein, balsam, acid rinse, and oil conditioners. Moisturising conditioners penetrate the hair shaft and provide moisture to the hair. Protein conditioners penetrate the hair shaft and strengthen the hair. These are used for dry, weak, breaking or brittle hair. Protein conditioners should always be followed with a moisturising conditioner to detangle the hair and soften the cuticle and use balsam rinse to detangle the hair. Acid based conditioners tend to be detangling conditioners which allow the hair to go back to its normal pH after shampooing. Of course, last but not least are the hot oil conditioners which used as a treatment, adds moisture and sheen to the hair. Even if the hair is not suffering from any particular ailment, I recommend a deep or reconstructive treatment at least once a month to prevent hair damage.