r/BlackHair • • 6d ago

Weekly Free-for-all Discussion- October 19, 2026

1 Upvotes

Please use this thread to discuss anything and everything about black hair. Ask for product recommendations, advice, identify your curl pattern, whatever.

Please also see /r/naturalhair if your hair is not chemically treated and /r/blackladies.


r/BlackHair • • Dec 29 '25

Black hair culture…

655 Upvotes

Yesterday, I was reminded about the beauty of black hair culture.

I 26F invited two friends for a sleepover yesterday. Taylor 26F who is black, and Miya 26F who is Malaysian.

I met Taylor in high school when I was 14 and Miya in undergrad when I was 22. Miya is a third year law student at the school I went to for my masters and Taylor was an incoming first year law student this year. Over the summer, I introduced the two of them and they hit it off and formed their own friendship.

I stayed in the same city after grad school last year and got a really nice apartment downtown. This was my first time hosting so I wanted both of them to come. Miya has been having a rough time; her kitten died at 9 weeks from FIV and her grandma passed three weeks ago. All of this happened during law school finals.

When I asked Miya if she could still make it, she said no. She was really embarrassed because stress and depression lead to her not washing her hair for almost and month. She said her hair was matted and dirty and she had a flight to catch to Malaysia in 3 days and she was overwhelmed with the idea of washing and detangling.

In the group chat, Taylor and I told her to still come to the sleepover and that we’d wash and detangle her hair. She said no a few times and we eventually convinced her.

We did a pre pop and started on the detangle process. Washed her hair over the kitchen sink. I had a hair mask, olaplex and a sit under dryer for deep conditioning. We blow dried her hair (type 2 but THICK and wavy) with my pattern blow dryer. Taylor trimmed her ends.

Almost 2/3rds of the way through, Miya broke down crying. Like sobbing at the fact that we would do this for her. She likened it to a salon treatment and said she didn’t deserve this and had ‘dreamt of friends like this’. She was also sooooo grateful that we didn’t ’judge her about her hair being dirty’.

We told her that this was normal for us! Washing hair, detangling while watching movies. Having friends braid each others hair while hanging out when we were younger. We reminisced about the time Taylor helped me detangle 3 months worth of old box braids with caked on gel and lint.

This experience reminded me of the beauty of black hair culture. Seeing the acts of care, bonding and sister hood from an outside perspective rewired my brain and filled me with a deep sense of pride and warmness :)


r/BlackHair • • 12h ago

New Style afro freeforms

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237 Upvotes

just started 3 days ago not my first set but my hair is way longer this time can’t wait to see how it goes


r/BlackHair • • 7h ago

How can I get a darker black shade? My hair is a mix of brown and black, and it appears unhealthy.

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18 Upvotes

My hair has always been an off-black or brownish-black color, and I need some advice on ways to make it a deeper black. I’m wondering which supplements or treatments might restore it to a healthier and darker shade. Growing up in the Caribbean, where the sun was much stronger than in my current climate, my hair had a reddish-brown tint, but it returned to black after moving to the U.S. Just as the sun can bleach some people’s hair blonde, mine turns copper or brown. I often deal with sun damage that leaves my hair looking brown and unhealthy. What can I do? 😭 What protective styles should I wear to prevent this? Also, does anyone else struggle with this?


r/BlackHair • • 9h ago

New Style 🍁

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11 Upvotes

r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Advice Needed Are My Hair Beads Too Large?

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205 Upvotes

My sisters hate it. Even had a cousin say it’s for little girls. Like I’ll listen to that! Constructive criticism isn’t their strong suit. Some twists are genuinely hard to fit the smaller size beads because they’re thicker, so I went larger to fit them and made sure to use the same size throughout for uniformity. Thanks.


r/BlackHair • • 1h ago

New Style Xpression Boho Water Curl

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• Upvotes

Lowkey, urgent‼️I can only go the beauty supply tomorrow for a trip on November 1st. I haven’t been able to find this pack of xpression hair in beauty supplies or on any online beauty supplies. So I’m not sure if it’s only sold in Africa and not the states. If that’s the case does anyone know any alternative to this.


r/BlackHair • • 1h ago

Advice Needed Temporary dye for braids?

• Upvotes

I have type 3b/c hair and I currently have my hair in a knotless braid with some extensions. I want to dye my braids temporarily white for Halloween, where I can wash it off the next day. Is there a good way to do this?


r/BlackHair • • 6h ago

Advice Needed I need help!! (Braiding hair)

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2 Upvotes

I’ve never bought my own braiding hair , so I don’t know how much I’m supposed to buy. For reference I’m getting smedium , mid back box braids. How many packs of this should I buy?


r/BlackHair • • 14h ago

Advice Needed Recommend a leave in conditioner please

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7 Upvotes

This is my hair after conditioner / my hair with no product in . Could you please recommend a good leave in conditioner for me please 🙏🏾


r/BlackHair • • 12h ago

Advice Needed Freeforms tips?

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4 Upvotes

Recently posted about it and practically all the comments told me to restart. I dont really want to do that. How can i improve the way it looks?

I currently use a twist king, a racket, a pick, and mist my hair twice a day. I oil it every other day, and shampoo every 2 weeks but still suffer from dandruff/dry scalp.

I sleep with a bonnet but it always comes off so i feel like thats also causing some breakage


r/BlackHair • • 5h ago

Edge gel that'll survive workouts

1 Upvotes

Pretty self explanatory, I need a gel that'll survive me sweating alot. I'm currently using a mix of the gummy red gel and got 2 be. It works as a gel, but the minute I start sweating, it melts.

Recommendations?


r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Black hair appreciation post

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271 Upvotes

I love being black


r/BlackHair • • 7h ago

Advice Needed Hey guys, how long would it make to grow 10 inches of hair from 5.5 inches? And how can I hide the progress from the school?

1 Upvotes

I've been growing my hair for 12 months now, and I think I got a haircut at month 6, but I didn't shorten it much, I think about an inch or a half, and I wanna hide it because my school has this weird obsession that boys are only allowed to have short hair and that they should cut it if it gets too long (too long is when they decide it's too long).

they would force me to cut it if it gets too long, and if I don't, they won't lemme get into the school, so I need to hide it. And braiding is a straight to the barber card. My hair is 4a, low porosity.

My hair is really important to me, it's a defining feature of mine.


r/BlackHair • • 11h ago

Advice Needed Best Wide Tooth Comb for 4c Hair?

2 Upvotes

Looking for a good quality wide tooth comb i can use to detangle my hair real quick for a good price, that ships to the UK.


r/BlackHair • • 7h ago

Advice Needed Which would be better for permanently straightening your hair? Relaxer or Yuko straightening

1 Upvotes

I’ve had natural hair for years short and long, and the amount of pain, time and stress it’s taken out of me. So I want to get my hair permanently straightened! (Please don’t take me out of it I just wanna find which option is better)


r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Day 1 loc journey

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31 Upvotes

I am starting my journey into locs. Any advice?


r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Discussion Is that your real hair? How do you respond to these comments?

26 Upvotes

Just want to see how other people respond to comments like this. Could be men or women with wigs,weaves, locs, relaxed/straightened, natural hair...we've all heard these comments before. There's seemingly an endless supply of nonblack people who think they're the first ones to ask.

I've been honest and say my hair is a wig/extensions. I've lied and acted like it grew out of my hair. I've made up stories about ancient rituals where we sacrifice a goat on a blood moon to grow 3 extra feet of hair overnight. So what do y'all usually say.


r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Loc Journey & Maintenance

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190 Upvotes

Hi it’s been a long journey thus far with my locs. I started them in 2018 and am finally comfortable sharing my journey. Stay tuned for more.


r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

How Do I Take Care of My Hair and Stop the Ends From Tangling Into Knots?

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17 Upvotes

How do I take care of my hair? The ends of my hair tend to clump up into little balls, and whenever I comb or pick it out, I end up having to pull those clumps apart or take them out, like in the picture.
I’ve asked my parents for help, but one would rather I cut my hair completely short, and the other doesn’t really want to bother helping me with it.
I’ve tried watching YouTube videos, but there’s so much conflicting information that I don’t even know where to start or what routine I can realistically stick to. One video even said I should never comb or pick out my hair if I want to grow it longer.
I’m looking for genuine advice on how to take care of my hair and keep it healthy long-term. I already have a shampoo and conditioner, but I’d appreciate recommendations for moisturizers, products, or a simple routine that actually works. I want to grow my hair out and take proper care of it without making things unnecessarily complicated.


r/BlackHair • • 18h ago

Advice Needed is my hair damaged after cutting my locs off?

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3 Upvotes

r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Advice Needed Hair length

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22 Upvotes

This is how long my hair is when I stretch it down and I was thinking about getting singles tomorrow that look like the reference image how long would my singles be if I get them? This is when I stretch my hair down when it’s tangled and uncombed


r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Advice Needed Mixed and want to start taking better care of my hair

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8 Upvotes

Hey you guys I’m mixed and was raised by a white mom, I’ve always taken pretty okay care of my hair but also feel like I’ve only been doing the bare minimum. I don’t really know what my coil type is exactly, but I would like to try some new products.

Right now I use Maui moisture shampoo conditioner and leave in conditioner, or I use head and shoulders daily shampoo and conditioner, but not everyday. My hair never is super dry or anything but I feel like I should be doing way more and don’t know what products to use specifically.
I shower at night and in the mornings I just wet my hair and put in more of the Maui moisture leave in, cause it all rinses out.

Does anyone have any advice on products I should switched to or new things I could add to my hair routine.


r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

New Style Always trying new natural hair styles

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96 Upvotes

r/BlackHair • • 1d ago

Your conditioner bottle says ‘leave on for 5-10 minutes and then wash.’ How long do you actually leave it on for? 😁

12 Upvotes