Your first few months of being natural can be the most stressful. You spend hours trying new styles, finding new staple products and figuring out what works best for your hair but what we don’t realize is the the most simple things can affect our hair without us really knowing. Check out some Do’s and Don’ts about being a curly girl in the natural hair community!
DO!
MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE! Now that you’re natural, you can’t get away with not putting any moisture to your hair. Natural hair should be moisturized OFTEN depending on the amount of product you use and how thick or thin your hair may be. Lack of moisture to natural hair can cause breakage and dry hair, which no one wants. Simple things such as coconut oil, olive oil, and your favorite moisturizer will do the trick!
DE-TANGLE! Whether you detangle with a wide tooth comb or your fingers, detangling is essential for your hair routine. It helps remove the tangles and shed hairs that you have throughout your head. You should also remember to be gentle while detangling. Detangling your hair roughly will cause breakage and just overall pain!
ESTABLISH A ROUTINE. One of the hardest parts of becoming natural is establishing a hair routine. A hair routine basically consists of your weekly or biweekly shampoo and conditioning, co washing, as well as your styling process and nightly routines
PROTECT YOUR HAIR AT NIGHT. Protecting your hair at night is a must! Simply wrap or cover your hair with a satin bonnet or lay on silk pillow cases. Sleeping on cotton pillowcases without anything on your head draws the moisture and oils out of your head and into the pillow cases. It leaves your hair feeling dry and your pillowcases oily and gross. (The left over oil in the pillow cases can essentially cause breakouts on your face, and nobody wants that.)
DON’T!
USE TOO MUCH HEAT Honestly, what’s the point of going natural if you’re going to constantly straighten and put heat onto you’re beautiful curls? Using too much heat on your hair causes breakage, dryness and it can potentially alter your curl pattern.
DRY YOUR HAIR WITH A TOWEL drying your drenched hair in a big cotton towel sucks out moisture from our hair and can potentially cause frizz. By swapping that towel for a T-shirt you are keeping your hair from lacking that essential moisture that out coils need.
BUY JUST ANY HAIR PRODUCTS While searching for your go to products or just new things to try. Be careful and aware of the ingredients inside. Of course, the more natural the better but while looking at other products beware of bad alcohols such as:
SD Alcohol 40
Ethanol
SD Alcohol
Propyl
Propanol
Isopropyl