Moisture
All hair needs moisture in order to survive. If you are not moisturizing your hair correctly, it will feel dry and coarse to the touch, and will most likely break. If it is difficult and hurts to comb the hair, and breaks when you do comb it, this is also a sign that the hair needs moisture. Healthy hair is not dry or coarse-feeling. Many people think that kinky hair is supposed to feel rough, but this is not the case. Moisturized kinky hair will feel soft to the touch. Here is how to ensure that your natural hair is moisturized.
- Create a moisturizing spritz for your hair
Water is the best moisturizer for your hair. Invest in a spray bottle and create a mixture of distilled or filtered water and about a tablespoon or so of conditioner. Shake it up and you've got yourself a moisturizing spritz for your hair! I like to use my moisturizing spritz every day.
- Seal in your moisture
Sealing in moisture is an important step in moisturizing the hair. Water can easily evaporate from your hair strands and leave it unmoisturized again. Sealing in your moisture will ensure that the water does not evaporate as quickly and leaves your strands moist.
Sealing in moisture is an important step in moisturizing the hair. Water can easily evaporate from your hair strands and leave it unmoisturized again. Sealing in your moisture will ensure that the water does not evaporate as quickly and leaves your strands moist.
Sealing in moisture simply means using an oil, a butter, or both after moisturizing. Since oil molecules are larger than water molecules and cannot penetrate the hair strands (butters are just solidified oils), the water will be unable to easily get through the barrier that the oil creates and will leave your hair moisturized longer. If you choose to seal with both, use the oil before the butter.
- Use moisturizing creams and lotions
Instead of using a moisturizing spray and sealing, you can opt to use a hair cream or lotion. If water is the first ingredient and an oil or butter is one of the next five ingredients, then it can both moisturize and seal at the same time. If water is not the first ingredient the product will most likely not moisturize properly, and if the butter or oil is too far down on the ingredients list, it is probably not enough to seal the hair. I like to spray my hair with my moisturizing spritz before I apply a cream or lotion because my hair absorbs it better. My favorite is SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.
Detangling
Detangling is a crucial part of natural hair care. The purpose of detangling is to get rid of shed hairs and tangles. Here is how to keep your hair detangled without ripping it out.
- Don’t comb your hair dry
- Don’t comb your hair dry
Our strands are tightly wound and they like to wind around each other sometimes, causing tangles and mats. You need to ensure that your hair is wet and lubricated as this will make detangling it go smoothly. Wet the hair and add some conditioner or oil for slip. The more slippery the hair is, the easier the comb or brush will go through. Dry strands can break and snap under the tension of the comb or brush.
- Get rid of the tiny combs and boar bristle brushes
Combs with tiny teeth that are close together have a hard time getting through naturally kinky and curly hair. The strands can easily get caught and break right off. Boar bristle brushes are not good for detangling curls and kinks. They can put too much tension on the hair, weakening it and ultimately snapping it. However, they are great for smoothing the hair for a sleek updo.
Invest in a wide-toothed comb or a brush with a rubber base and wide bristles. The Denman and the Tangle Teezer are some good examples of these types of brushes. Avoid brushes with balls at the end of them as the hair can easily wrap around them.
- Detangle the hair in sections
- Detangle the hair in sections
Detangling the hair in sections can ensure that the maximum amount of shed hairs has been removed and that there are minimum tangles left. The smaller the sections of hair you detangle, the more tangles and shed hairs you're likely to get rid of.
Separate the hair into four or six sections and detangle each section separately. Separate the sections into smaller sections if necessary. Clip up or twist the other sections so that they do not get in the way. Work on one section at a time and be patient! Rushing with your hair can cause unnecessary breakage.
- Comb or brush from the ends of the hair and work your way up.
Don’t ever start combing the hair from the root or from the middle. Start by detangling the ends with a comb or brush, gently of course, because the ends of the hair are the oldest and most fragile part. Then detangle starting an inch above that. Keep continuously combing from a point higher than the point before, until the section of hair is detangled.
- Comb or brush from the ends of the hair and work your way up.
Don’t ever start combing the hair from the root or from the middle. Start by detangling the ends with a comb or brush, gently of course, because the ends of the hair are the oldest and most fragile part. Then detangle starting an inch above that. Keep continuously combing from a point higher than the point before, until the section of hair is detangled.
- Always detangle the hair before and after shampooing.
Shampoo tends to make the hairs stick together, so mats and tangles already in the hair plus shed hairs plus all of those tangles sticking with each other equals hair horror! You must ensure that the hairs are as separated as possible and have the least amount of shed hairs possible. This will minimize the amount of tangles you will experience from shampooing. You will also want to re-separate the hair after shampooing. After rinsing out the shampoo, add conditioner to your hair and detangle.
- Try finger detangling before using a comb or brush
Finger detangling is when you use your fingers as though they were the teeth of a comb. Finger detangling can really save your hair because you can feel when you have a knot or a tangle. A comb or brush can’t. When you feel the knot you can easily work out the knot. A comb or brush will continue through the knot and can break the hair off. So finger detangling can help you with breakage. However, finger detangling isn't very thorough, especially when it comes to removing shed hairs. That’s why I first detangle with my fingers, separating the strands one little bit at a time, then using my fingers as a comb (starting from the ends and working my way up of course), and then I use a brush or comb.
- Focus on the scalp
- Stretch The Hair
- Blow dryers and towels
Washing and Conditioning
- Frequency
- Frequency
I wash my hair once a week. Naturally curly and kinky hair does not need to be washed as often as straighter hair types because with straighter hair, the sebum (oil that the scalp produces) can easily run down the hair strand. With our type of hair, the sebum cannot run down as easily because of the curl pattern. So our hair does not feel “greasy” as quickly. It is necessary to wash the hair often enough, though, because it is easy to get product build-up on your strands. Build-up can prevent the hair from absorbing moisture properly. It takes some trial-and-error to figure out how often you need to wash your hair, but start off with washing every week (with a sulfate-free shampoo of course.)
- Co-Washing
- Co-Washing
Co-washing is simply washing the hair with conditioner as though the conditioner was a shampoo. This is done to boost the hair with moisture throughout the week and is also done if using a shampoo more often is not desired. Co-washing should not replace shampooing because conditioner does not clean in the same way as shampoo does and can cause build-up on the hair over time. Co-washing is totally fine, but the hair should be shampooed and clarified at some point.
- Wash the hair in sections
- Wash the hair in sections
If you have medium length or long hair, you should wash the hair in sections. Longer strands can cross over and easily tangle with other strands. Washing the hair in sections can ensure that the hair is washed properly because you are able to focus on smaller sections at a time, rather than one big section. I like to wash in six sections. I use hair clamps to separate each section from the rest as I wash.
- Focus on the scalp
Your hair will tangle much more easily if shampoo is applied directly on the hair. Apply shampoo to your hands and apply the shampoo to the scalp and the hair closest to the scalp. Wash by rubbing your scalp with the pads of your fingers and never your nails. Always focus the shampoo on the scalp. When you rinse, the shampoo and water will run down your hair strands and will clean them that way.
- Condition immediately after shampooing
The job of a conditioner is to replenish the moisture that the shampoo may have stripped away. It is also supposed to restore the pH of the hair. Read more about pH here. A conditioner with a low pH will cause your hair cuticles to lay flat, resulting in hair with more shine and sheen. Flat cuticles are also ideal for detangling, which should be done with the conditioner in the hair. Rinse the conditioner out if desired. I like to leave my conditioner in.
- Try baggying
Baggying is when you cover your conditioned hair with a plastic shower cap. Baggying ensures that the water and conditioner do not evaporate too quickly and fully penetrate your hair. Read my post about baggying here. I like to baggy my hair for a couple of hours. My hair is so soft afterward!
- Condition immediately after shampooing
The job of a conditioner is to replenish the moisture that the shampoo may have stripped away. It is also supposed to restore the pH of the hair. Read more about pH here. A conditioner with a low pH will cause your hair cuticles to lay flat, resulting in hair with more shine and sheen. Flat cuticles are also ideal for detangling, which should be done with the conditioner in the hair. Rinse the conditioner out if desired. I like to leave my conditioner in.
- Try baggying
Baggying is when you cover your conditioned hair with a plastic shower cap. Baggying ensures that the water and conditioner do not evaporate too quickly and fully penetrate your hair. Read my post about baggying here. I like to baggy my hair for a couple of hours. My hair is so soft afterward!
- Stretch The Hair
Stretch the hair after washing and conditioning. This will ensure that the strands don’t shrink back up and wind around each other again, causing more dreaded tangles. Some ways to stretch the hair are by:
- Banding the hair
- Banding the hair
- Twisting sections of hair (braiding works too)
- Blow dryers and towels
Blow dryers can cause heat damage. Instead of blow drying, let the hair air dry. Read more about air drying here. You should be stretching the hair while it is drying. I find that banded hair dries faster than twisted or braided hair. If you absolutely must use a blow dryer, use the coolest setting.
Don't use a towel to dry the hair. The rough fibers of the towel can cause serious damage to the hair, especially the ends. Instead, try using an old T-shirt. The texture of the T-shirt is much gentler on your tresses. Don't rub the hair around. Just gently dab and squeeze the excess water out.
Do not style too tightly, as this can cause tension in the hair and ultimately, breakage. If you cannot squeeze your eyes shut or open them widely, or if you can see tiny bumps between the braids or twists, then the style is too tight. Learn more about the damages of tight styling here.
- Moisturize the hair while it is in a style
- Moisturize the hair while it is in a style
Use your moisturizing spritz to moisturize your styled hair. Add some oil to the spritz to ensure that the moisture is being sealed in.
- Detangle the hair after removing a style
- Detangle the hair after removing a style
Detangle the hair after taking out a style, especially if the style has been left in the hair longer. You shed 50-100 hairs a day, so multiply that by however many days you left the style in and that is how much trapped shed hair there is in your hair. Remember that shed hairs have the potential of wrapping around hairs that are attached to your scalp, and can cause tangles. So you want to make sure you get all those shed hairs out!
- Soak your rubber bands
- Soak your rubber bands
If your style requires rubber bands, try pre-soaking the bands in oil overnight. This will give the rubber bands more elasticity and will make the rubber band less drying to the hair. Also do not take the rubber bands out by dragging it down the ends of the hair. Just try to unwind them or cut them out.
- Use "ouchless" hair elastics
- Use "ouchless" hair elastics
Try to use ouchless elastics – elastics that do not have metal attachers.
Avoiding Damaging Practices
- Lay off on the heat
Heat fries the much-needed moisture out of the hair. It can also cause permanent damage to the hair. The thing about heat is that you will never know when the hair decides to be damaged to the point of no return (a.k.a. not revert back and stay straight.) Heat damaged hair is weak because the cuticle of the hair has been burned and permanently destroyed. The cuticle protects the inner structures of the hair, so when this layer of protection is gone, the hair will most likely break off.
You do not need to straighten your hair to trim it and you can curl your hair without any curling irons. There are many alternatives to straightening the hair. Read about these alternatives here.
If you do decide to straighten, do not use heat higher than 350 degrees. Try to use the heat alternatives to avoid subjecting your hair to permanent heat damage.
- Don’t use harsh chemicals.
- Don’t use harsh chemicals.
Relaxers, texturizers, keratin treatments – these are all harsh chemicals. Think about why would you use something in your hair that has the potential of burning your skin and leaving ugly and permanent scars and scabs. Also think about why you would use something that contains cancer-causing agents. Is it really worth risking your health or your child's health just to make the hair something it was not meant to be?
- Do not comb or brush the hair harshly.
- Do not comb or brush the hair harshly.
Curly and kinky hair is fragile! You need to be very gentle. Combing or brushing should never hurt. Learn more about proper detangling here.
- Be careful with weaves, wigs, hair extensions, styling, and using hair tools.
- Be careful with weaves, wigs, hair extensions, styling, and using hair tools.
These have the potential of pulling at your hair, especially at the edges of your hair, causing thinning and even bald patches. Read more about the damage that weaves, wigs, relaxing, brushing, and styling can do to your hair here.
Developing a hair care routine.
- Daily routine
- Daily routine
It takes some trial-and-error to figure out how often you need to moisturize your hair in a day. I find that with my loose hair, I need to moisturize at least twice a day, once in the morning and once before I go to bed. If the weather is dry or cold, I moisturize more often. With styles like twists that retain moisture longer, I can go without moisturizing for at least three days. For some, it might be different. It all depends on your hair and the products you use.
- Night time routine
You should cover your hair at night using a satin scarf, bonnet, or hair cap. This will protect the hair, especially the ends, from rubbing on the pillow. You can also invest in a satin pillowcase, in case the scarf, bonnet, or cap slips off at night, or in case you would rather not cover your hair. Cotton pillowcases can suck the moisture out of your hair.
- Night time routine
You should cover your hair at night using a satin scarf, bonnet, or hair cap. This will protect the hair, especially the ends, from rubbing on the pillow. You can also invest in a satin pillowcase, in case the scarf, bonnet, or cap slips off at night, or in case you would rather not cover your hair. Cotton pillowcases can suck the moisture out of your hair.
- Stretching the hair at night
I like to twist my hair into six sections, clip those sections up, and cover my hair with a satin scarf. The twists stretch my hair and makes it easier to style the next day. Twists are also the easiest to take out. You can also try banding your hair or braiding it, perhaps into two large cornrows or braiding them in sections. Stretching the hair at night also keeps it from tangling.
Natural hair is glorious! Take care of it in the right way and it will grow healthy and strong.
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