I'm having an argument with my mom who thinks I'm not using common sense when it comes to natural hair. She just gave me the speech about "our hair is not like white and mixed people's hair and washing it every day is bad for you. Why do you think we use grease and oil in our hair?" Got it. I'm not slow, shampoo-washing your hair every day does rob your hair of its natural oils, which I'm well aware of. However, in my research I have been seeing that regular black people (not of mixed race or anything like that) recommend rinsing the hair everyday and co-washing the hair several times a week, as this helps moisturize the hair. I have followed many people's natural hair journeys from their big chop to their present out of control long and healthy hair. Her: "Putting plain water on our hair dries it out and strips our hair of its natural oils." Me: Most oils don't even penetrate the hair shaft with the exception of coconut oil...the rest of the oil merely coats the shaft and keeps the moisture (i.e. water) in. And yes, there is a difference between "soft" water and "hard water" but water itself isn't bad (I didn't even get to say anything on this because she went off on a rant about my lack of common sense.) For one thing, you can't get oil off of a greasy dish without using dish detergent, you must use soap of some kind. Her: "Our hair was never meant to be long and sweeping the ground because it is too hot in Africa, but relaxers stop the breakage and that's why our hair gets long with relaxers. Also, not combing the hair by wearing  braids and wigs helps our hair grow." Me: All of the Youtube natural hair journey and etc are of regular black people and our hair grows upward, not downward, reducing the problem of it being like a woooly sweater. By the time you get finished twisting your hair and braiding it...it's miles shorter than it was if you were to straighten it. Basically, my mom and I are at odds with this hair issue. She believes that water is drying to African American hair and that we can only grow long hair with wigs, braids, and weaves that don't require us to do anything to our hair. She also says that the cause of my breakage and unhealthy hair is the fact that I was a vegetarian for the first nine years of my life...and that it's because I wasn't getting enough protein.I'd just like to know your opinion of this matter. Thank you,