Hair Terms

This is not a comprehensive dictionary of hair terms. These are abbreviations and hair terms that I know newbies to the world of hair care online may not recognize.

APL– arm pit length hair

BSL– bra strap length hair

BC– big chop, used to describe the act of cutting off relaxed hair to reveal the natural hair grown out

DC– deep conditioner or the act of deep conditioning

Elasticity-the hair ability to stretch and return to original length

Growth aid– a product applied to the scalp with the intention of improving hair growth

Hair Journey– a phrase often used by naturals to describe their experience of going from relaxed to natural

Hair Type– a system used to describe the hair’s curl pattern

Hard Press– using heat to remove almost 100% of the curl/kink from the hair

Keratin– a protein that is the main component of the hair

pH– potential hydrogen, describes how acidic or akaline something is

Porosity– the ability of hair to retain moisture

Poo– abbreviation for shampoo or shampooing

SL– shoulder length hair

Soft press– using heat to remove about 50% of the curl/kink from the hair

TBL– tail bone length hair

Thermal Straightening– the use of heat to straighten the hair including a flat iron or hot comb

Transition– a period of time where relaxed hair is being grown out and usually trimmed off slowly

Trichology- the study of hair

TWA– teeny weeny afro

Virgin hair– hair that has not been chemically processed with chemicals i.e. color, relaxer, etc…

WL or WSL– waist length hair, hair falls to natural waist line