Knowing how to grow black childrens' hair and keep it growing is a legacy in itself. Because when you use good products and you practice good habits, you have the opportunity to pass them on from generation to generation. Many of the tips I have written about for adult black hair will apply to children and adolescents. In today's world where beauty is defined as having straight hair, adolescents suddenly feel the pressure of trying to emulate that type of beauty standard. In order to keep up with these beauty standards, they will often throw caution to the wind all in the pursuit of the straight look.
The straight look is fine, but when the means to get the straight look become excessive like using a curling iron or flat iron every single day, then the teen's self-image becomes distorted causing her to hate her natural curls, and this will have a devastating and destructive effect not only on the hair, but on the teen's self-image, self-esteem and confidence.
I personally have witnessed many black adolescent girls subjecting their hair to the damaging effects of the flat iron on a daily basis. For your hair to be subjected to such intense heat on a daily basis is like killing the hair and setting the stage for a point of no return where nothing can be done to save your hair except to cut it off due to extensive damage.
When you compare the two utensils, the flat iron and the curling iron, the flat iron is far more dangerous to the hair as it produces heat in such an intensity, that more damage is done. If you are going to allow your teen to use heat, make it a minimal occurrence (once or twice weekly) instead of everyday. Minimizing heat to black hair will aid in growing the hair, reducing dryness and breakage.
The blow dryer is another utensil that if used often will cause dryness and breakage. The one mistake that is often made is that the heat is usually turned up too high on the blower in order to speed up the drying process. Using a medium or moderate setting may take longer, but in the long run, if you absolutely have to use the blow dryer, medium setting is recommended. Better yet, using an old-fashioned bonnet hair dryer or simply air drying is often recommended for the healthiest mode of drying.
A good guide that will be of great help in the management of black hair care for adults as well as children is the book entitled, Secrets to Growing Black Hair Long by Donna Hanover. Lots of common sense techniques and tips and good habits to follow for hair growth can be applied to our children's hair. When you learn the secrets of how to take care of your hair as an adult, you will learn how to grow black children's hair and apply the same principles. Go to http://www.squidoo.com/best-products-for-african-american-hair-growth