One thing to remember when dealing with different hair types is the susceptibility to carry electrostatic charges. Generally speaking, untreated African descent hair develops a highly negative electrostatic charge (-25.4 KV/m), but in contrast, Caucasian hair develops a very low positive electrostatic charge (+6.6 KV/m).
The relatively high negative charge acquired by dry African descent hair during combing may be due to the extraordinarily high degree of pulling force required to pass the comb through the mass of entangled hair fibers. This relatively high electrostatic charge produces a "balloon effect" and contributes to a higher degree of hair unmanageability.
Sources:
Syed, A.N., Kuhajda, A., Ayoub, H., Ahmad, K., and Frank, E. (1995). African American Hair: Its physical properties and differences relative to Caucasian hair. Cosmetics & Toiletries Magazine. 110:46
Robbins, C.R. (1994). The physical properties and cosmetic behavior of hair. In Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair. New York: Springer-Verlag, p.348
