Hair care practices and structural evaluation of scalp and hair shaft parameters in African American and Caucasian women.

How African American hair fragility relates to hair care practices and biologic differences between races is not well understood. To assess the differences between perceptions of hair health, hair care practices, and several biologic hair parameters between Caucasian and African American women. A questionnaire on perceptions of hair health and hair care practices was administered.

Hair care practices as a barrier to physical activity in African American women.

Objective: To characterize the influence of hair style maintenance on exercise behavior in African American women.

Design: A 40-item survey with questions concerning hair care practices, physical activity, and the relationship between the two.

Setting: University-affiliated dermatology department at an academic medical center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.