As a Black woman, growing up with thick and coarse natural hair and learning how to take care of it can be daunting. In a society where we are taught to tame and “control” our hair in a way that is acceptable, it can be confusing navigating how you want to take care of your hair and how to do it in a way that is not mentally and physically exhausting.
Natural hair is incredibly diverse and the possibilities are endless when it comes to styles, yet under it all you must be taking the correct steps to manage the health of your hair. For many, the process of building a natural hair care routine can be very intimidating. Hearing horror stories of “wash days” that leave you worn out with wrinkly fingers from detangling and twisting for hours, sitting over six hours in a hair braiding chair and even heat damage deter people from wanting to take care of their hair.
Contrary to what many think, taking care of your natural hair can be simple and doesn’t need to take 8 to12 hours. A horror scene of shed hair and conditioner all over your bathroom doesn’t need to be your routine. Creating a routine that works for your hair type can not only improve the health of your hair but also mend your relationship with your hair and make you fall in love with your beautiful kinks and curls.
Identifying your hair type
When researching what products to use on your natural hair, many people turn to social media to find the most trendy products. When these products don’t work it can be discouraging, but it may just be that they don’t work for your hair type. Trying to identify your hair type can become stressful, especially when there are so many variations. The most important things when trying to find your hair type is whether you have high or low porosity hair and whether you have dense or fine strands. These factors determine how well products and moisture can be absorbed into your hair and what styles will help you maintain and manage the health of your hair.
Finding your hair porosity is incredibly simple. By taking a loose strand of hair and placing it in a glass with water you can determine porosity by whether the strand floats at the top, lingers in the middle or sinks.
Low porosity hair will float at the top of your water meaning your hair is moisture resistant but will hold on to moisture and products for longer periods of time. Low porosity works best with lighter, water-based products to help avoid product build-up and moisture-rich oils to seal it in like jojoba oil, coconut oil or shea butter.
Medium porosity hair will float in the middle of your cup. This hair type allows for a moderate flow of moisture in and out of your hair. If you have medium porosity hair you should avoid products with protein in your daily hair regimen and stick to deep conditioners periodically with a product that does contain protein
Lastly, high porosity hair will sink to the bottom of your water cup. Hair with high porosity has gaps and holes in the cuticle layer of strands and allows moisture to enter and leave the hair quickly. High porosity hair not only needs moisture but a sealant to make sure you can stay moisturized. Using products with anti-humectants that mean they do not pull moisture from their hair is your best option. Thick butters and oils like coconut oil and shea butter will help your hair thrive. Avoid products like aloe vera and stick to leave-in conditioners and moisturizers that are on the thicker side but can be used every day being sure to seal all of that moisture with an oil or butter after.
Pre-Wash
When we think of wash days we often think of hopping right in the shower and getting to it, which turns into a two-hour shower filled with detangling, overheating from steam and sometimes even tears. There are a few easy steps you can take to make this step easier and it all starts before you even get to the washing process. Pre-pooing in the process of using conditioner to detangle your hair right before a shower can not only help with detangling but can help create a moisture barrier from any stripping shampoo you may be using. Split your hair into an appropriate amount of sections and using water, a very slippery conditioner and a good detangling brush detangle each section and twist or braid it up. Make sure you take your time, natural hair is incredibly delicate, and fine strands can break with tension especially when wet. Taking your time pre-pooing and detangling your hair before your shampoo will save you hours in your wash days and hopefully some unneeded stress.
Recommended products:
African Pride Moisture Miracle Detangle & Condition Pre-Shampoo
AS I AM Rice Water Conditioner
Alba Botanica More Moisture Conditioner
Washing your hair
Getting in the shower and tackling your washing days can already be a feat in itself so let’s not make it any harder. If your hair is long or thick enough you can make the twist from your pre-pooing process small enough that you don’t need to remove them when washing. This eliminates tangles and knots that may come from washing. If you prefer to wash your hair outside of the twist make sure to do it in at least two sections and wash your hair in a downward motion so you don’t waste the time you spent outside of the shower detangling before. Wash your hair twice, the first with a cleansing shampoo and then a moisture-rich shampoo to continue cleansing your hair, not strip it of its natural oils.
Recommended products:
Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Strengthening Shampoo
Tgin Moisture Rich Sulfate Free Shampoo
The Mane Choice Tropical Moringa Sweet Oil & Honey Endless Moisture Shampoo
Deep conditioning
Before you run out of the shower you can’t forget the most important step of your wash day routine. Deep conditioning can help prevent damage to your strands, healing damaged ends and promoting overall hair health. By restoring natural shine and promoting elasticity your deep conditioner can help bring your natural hair back to life. To get the full effects you should be deep conditioning every wash day. Apply your deep conditioner to your hair in sections. If you decide to keep your twists or braids in from pre-pooing you can take them out during this step but you can also leave them in, for a stress-free process do this step in sections. You can also lightly finger detangle if you remove the twist or braids to ensure proper distribution of the product. Put on a shower cap and sit for at least 15 minutes but ideally 30 minutes trapping in all of that steam and moisture. To make the process easier you can wash your hair and deep cognition when you first enter the shower then continue with your normal shower routine while you let the deep conditioner sit and rinse thoroughly afterward.
Recommended products:
Mielle Organics Babassu & Mint Deep Conditioner
Tgin Honey Miracle Hair Mask
Camille Rose Algae Renew Hair Mask
Post- Wash
Once you’re out of the shower you determine how you’d like to wear your hair. The options are endless. You can wear your curls out and do a wash and go, or choose a protective style like twists, or braids that you can turn into a braid out/ twist out later on in the week. You can blow dry your hair or straighten it or choose to have a long-term protective style like knotless braids or faux locs. Whatever you choose your hair still needs to be taken care of and the foundation of healthy hair is a good moisture routine that locks in moisture while in your style.
The easiest way to be certain you are moisturizing your hair the proper way is the LCO method. The LCO method uses a leave-in conditioner, cream or moisturizer and oil in that order. FInd products for this step that work with your hair type and porosity to ensure adequate moisture retention.
Recommended Leave-Ins:
Mielle Organics Pomegranate & Honey Leave-In Conditioner
Aunt Jackie’s Curls and Coils Quench Moisture Intensive Leave In
Moroccanoil All in One Leave In Conditioner
Recommended Creams:
Tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer
Aunt Jackie’s Curl La La Curl Defining Custard
AS I AM Double Butter Cream
Recommended Oils:
Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil
African Pride Black Castor Miracle Hair & Scalp Sealing Oil
Carol’s Daughter Goddess Strength 7 Oil Blend
Natural Hair Tips
- Keep your hands out of your hair!
Natural hair thrives when it isn’t being manipulated as much. Find styles that protect your hair and work for your daily routine. Mini twists are a perfect long-term style that you can keep in your hair and still wash and moisturize when needed
- Regular Trims
Trim your hair to get rid of split and damaged ends. Split ends can unfortunately not be repaired and when they are not trimmed the split ends can run up the rest of the strand causing it to break off. Stop this by trimming your ends which not only protects the health of your hair but can make your ends fuller and easier to detangle
- Satin, satin, satin
If you wake up with your hair feeling dry or looking frizzy it could be because you are not protecting your hair with a satin scarf or bonnet while lying on your pillows. By protecting your hair against your cotton pillows and sheets you will retain more moisture and shine and prevent any lint build-up or snags.
- Avoid heat
Avoiding unnecessary heat on natural hair can be a major turning point in your natural hair care journey. Even though seeing your shrinkage all stretched out in a silk press can be an invigorating feeling it is incredibly damaging to natural hair and can result in permanent heat damage. You don’t need to avoid straightening and blow drying your hair forever, but be mindful of how often you use it to heat and when you take the proper steps to prevent damage like using a heat protectant and deep conditioning before any heat is applied. Being mindful of the temperature settings of your straightener and blow dryer can greatly reduce the risk of heat damage.
It can be difficult for many Black women to accept and value their natural hair texture. As children, we are constantly exposed to pictures of straight hair as the pinnacle of beauty. We are continuously told by society that our natural curls are unprofessional or unattractive. As a result of these Eurocentric beauty standards, our self-esteem suffers making it challenging to genuinely love and value our natural hair.
Learning how to properly take care of our natural hair is one of the major obstacles to accepting it. Compared to other hair kinds, natural hair is distinct and needs a different kind of love and maintenance routine. Determining which items and practices are most effective for your natural hair can be a daunting task but learning what works for you will allow your natural hair journey to thrive and build a positive relationship with your kinks and curls.
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