When you are used to keeping your natural hair, especially those with an afro or those who shave regularly, you will notice your hair, at some point, changes colour. In most cases, African hair is supposed to be black and thick, but after some time you will start noticing the strands are looking brown and not as healthy as they were.
There are a number of factors that could lead to browning of hair even genetics, some people are naturally born with brown and weak hair. Anyway, here are the most common causes of browning hair:
Sunlight
Sunlight is the biggest factor, this is because it will bleach and decolorize the melanin elements found in hair follicles making it lighter. It is the same as on your skin, when you walk in the sun and it hits your skin it destroys the melanin on the surface as well that is why people are advised to apply sunscreen.
Hair is mainly made of dead cells and the areas affected by sunlight will remain lighter. Hence the dull brown looking colour.
Hard water minerals
Another thing that causes browning of hair are the minerals in the water you use to wash your hair, mainly hard water. These minerals and metals get deposited and accumulated on your hair surface, overtime they begin to distort your hair colour and even roughen the hair texture.
Furthermore, these deposits on your hair will prevent moisture from penetrating through your hair hence preventing it from looking healthy and having density. When your hair is dry and dull it becomes brittle faster which leads to hair breakage.
What to do
Ensure you wash your hair with soft water or rather filter the hard water before washing your hair. Direct water from shower heads contain a lot of minerals and metals like calcium and sulphur hence the cause of the deposits on your hair. That trip to the salon wouldn’t hurt after all.
For sunlight, avoid walking with your natural hair in direct and intense sunlight. Always put on a hat or scarf when walking. That is why most ladies put protective hairstyles to protect their hair from damage.
In the case that you have naturally brown hair (genetic reasons) or your hair may have been affected by any of the afromentioned factors, you can consider dyeing your hair black with natural products like henna. Dyeing your hair will make it look darker and shiny.
Tip: Mix coconut oil to your regular hair care to give it thicker and dark hair. Always ensure your hair is moisturized to prevent it from growing brittle and unnecessary breakage.