If you want to enjoy natural hair, then you need to start off by knowing what the idea of ‘natural hair’ is all about.
The specific term has a number of different definitions. However, I’m going to illustrate a natural hair definition that is used more frequently than most, which is also the specific one we usually discuss.
Natural hair means relaxer-free hair. It’s not the same as chemical-free hair. At first glance, many chemicals are assumed to be hazardous, and yet this is frequently not at all what happens. The majority of chemicals that you interact with every day are actually inert and no danger to you. For instance, H20, also known as water, is technically a chemical. It’s certainly safe for human contact.
Starting Off Your Natural Hair Story
Starting Off your Natural Hair Story
The Basics Of Natural Hair
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African-American natural hair is also known as black natural hair. It’s also sometimes called ‘nappy’ hair which needs relaxer correction.
We know of circumstances where women suffer workplace discrimination because of their natural hairstyles. Unfortunately, certain employers deem these to be unprofessional.
Other women have been denied promotions or even employment itself due to their natural hair. Sadly, natural hair has even resulted in relationship problems for quite a few couples.
We’re here to help you learn about the natural hair you have and give you the resources and knowledge you need to get healthy natural hair.
We frequently talk to many naturals through our blog since we want anyone who wants to have the chance to share their personal natural hair experiences. We frequently learn quite a bit from other people and their experiences.
We’re also encouraged when we see images of women who have natural hair and see them share positive experiences and advice from their own success with natural hair.
Such stories often remind us that anyone can be successful when they’re willing to put the time and energy necessary into finding out what proper natural hair care involves.
The Big Reason Why You Struggle With Natural Hair
The Big Reason Why You Struggle With Natural Hair
Unfortunately, there are issues with much of the advice usually provided on the Internet.
A good number of product makers and natural hair experts tell people online that they need to find perfect products, commonly known as holy grail products, or just master particular techniques, including the baggy method or protective styling, so they can have success in dealing with natural hair.
If these techniques are things you’ve tried and have yet to find success with, then you likely have become aware of the fact that you need a lot more than just regurgitated general advice. That’s a big reason behind our building our own blog and website.
The hair care method we used is centered on a thorough roadmap you can use to enjoy natural hair successfully.
Not only can it bring you short-term results, but you can also create a solid base that leads to lifelong success with natural hair.
Opportunities Available To You
We love emphasizing actionable steps you can take towards natural hair success. The things we talk about are steps you can implement towards improvement with your hair.
If you really want to take advantage of our work, then taking specific actions is the way to go. We strive to explain ideas in detail so you have specific steps you can take.
We also love seeing people leave their comments on our articles, as well as respond to questions and comments from others with natural hair.
Understanding Your Current Hair Type
We usually don’t focus on specific hair types in the content we do for a very particular reason. Regardless of what kind of hair type you have, there are a number of common things everyone should look into for healthy and natural hair.
There are times that we do content focusing on specific kinds of hair, although you should remember several basics at all times: drink lots of water, manage your stress levels, use protective styles, make sure your hair is washed regularly, restrict how much heat you apply to your hair, and live a generally healthy lifestyle. These all apply, no matter what kind of hair you have.
On top of that, quite a few people actually have more than one kind of hair category on their head. That’s another reason why we focus on the previously mentioned things rather than just hair type.
Get Great At Natural Hair Care With This Advice
Going natural really is a thing onto itself. There’s no right way to do it, nor is there a wrong way. If you have chosen to transition to having natural hair, then you should know where natural hair intersects with relaxed hair.
You are certainly going to notice a textural difference between natural and relaxed hair. Relaxers make your hair weak, meaning it gets dull and takes damage over time. Given that, the difference between these makes itself rather evident.
You will learn how your hair actually signals its needs to you, so it’s crucial that you are mindful of what your hair tells you.
Choosing your first set of products for natural hair is essential. Quite a few naturals put a lot of time in buying and trying out new products while looking for the holy grail products perfect for their hair. You need to learn about your hair in order to find the products that work well for you.
My suggestion to you at this point is to start keeping a natural hair journal so you can document everything you are doing to your hair. This will let you learn over time the things that work and don’t work.
The whole point is focusing on what works well for your hair and start eliminating the things which obviously don’t serve you. This process will guide you towards the best hair products so you can finalize your own natural hair regimen.
A number of women have witnessed personal success by documenting their own natural hair stories via a blog about natural hair.
The Real Truth Behind Hair Shedding
Many experts estimate that an average person sheds over 100 hairs every day, and that this is normal.
Approximately 90 percent of all your hair is growing most of the time. However, the other 10 percent is in a resting phase known as telogen. After a few months, these hairs then move to exogen and shed.
Hair growth usually goes through a four-phase cycle. It starts with the growth phase of anagen, followed by the transitional phase of catagen. The resting phase of telogen comes third followed by the shedding phase of exogen.
Everyone’s hair grows at various rates. The collective average is about half an inch every month. Given a short phase of active growth, there those who have trouble growing hair past a particular length.
My suggestion to you at this time is not to fret too much about shedding hair unless you think it’s particularly excessive. If your shedding hair seems like a lot, then look into potential issues like hormonal change, alopecia areata, nervous habits, illnesses, stress, diet/nutrition, tight hairstyles, and your current medication.
You should know that women account for 4 in 10 of all Americans currently experiencing hair loss.
Not too long ago, we wrote content about great shampoos in terms of hair loss. You should know that some of these issues could require a professional diagnosis from a physician to ascertain the actual reason for shedding hair.
Preventing Split-Ends And Breakage
Your hair is actually dead material. That’s why you’re able to treat it using strong chemicals, have it cut with scissors, or even apply heat there without feeling anything. The issue with this is that hair can’t repair itself since it’s not technically alive.
Damaged hair has to be grown out or trimmed away. For instance, there simply isn’t a permanent cure for your split ends.
Some conditioners are able to patch split-ends to the point of less visibility, but only for a while. Those split-ends are going to show back up.
The only permanent solution for split-ends is trimming them away. Never, ever burn your split-ends away.
The most common culprit for hair loss is hair breakage. Braids, tight ponytails, and other tight hairstyles can break your hair off, damaging the follicles in the process.
If you have hair that is constantly breaking on you, then you need to ascertain just what the breakage cause is and then deal with it in order to prevent more breakage in the future. Common culprits leading to breakage include rough treatment, tight hairstyles, harsh chemicals, and heat.
My suggestion to you: The popularity of hot appliances, including pressing combs, curling irons, hair steamers, hairdryers, and flat irons, is undeniable. However, they frequently hurt your hair too.
If you choose to apply heat, then you need to also utilize steps that decrease the odds of any irreparable heat damage. On the other hand, you should also know that you simply can’t protect your hair from all heat damage.
Any appliance hot enough to actually burn your skin has a reasonable chance of doing substantial damage to hair cells too.
Be sure you don’t go overly tight on hairstyles, and avoid any chemical process that would change your hair’s structure. Always handle your head’s hair with serious care. Increased breakage can happen from manipulating it too often, including things like pulling, tugging, brushing, and combing
Vitamins, Supplements, And Nutrition For Hair Health
Anything that is nutritious as a food for your body is also likely to build up strong healthy hair too. An unhealthy diet can mean unhealthy hair.
It’s crucial that you know your hair does not have vitamins in it, because it’s not actually living material. If you eat a diet that is balanced and nutritious, then supplements and vitamins aren’t likely to help your hair that much.
If you just focus on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and low-fat proteins, then you can help your hair grow its best without using supplements.
Americans can follow the dietary guidelines laid out by the USDA. Having said that, research shows typical Americans don’t know these guidelines or follow that.
If you’re not eating a proper diet, or you have a medical imbalance or condition, then you might need to think about hair supplements and vitamins for your hair. Consult your physician about whether or not a multivitamin is a good move.
My suggestion to you: Eat a diet that is nutritious, healthy, and well-balanced so you can skip shelling out bucks for supplements and vitamins for your hair, except in cases of imbalance or medical condition.
We suggest the NutriBullet high-speed blender from Magic Bullet. It can let you easily incorporate more fruits and veggies into your regular diet.
I begin every day with a delicious smoothie by using the NutriBullet in my own home.
Shampooing
Shampoo is easily the most-bought natural hair product. The main issue with shampoos is how there are so many kinds, covering all kinds of hair and scalp conditions. The choices make it confusing.
My suggestion to you: Pick products intended to go easy and gentle on your hair. A lot of industry experts suggest using pH-balanced shampoo in order to avoid excessive dryness or hair damage from the process of shampooing.
Great Shampoos For Natural Hair
Jamaican Black Castor Oil shampoo from Shea Moisture has shea butter, as well as apple cider vinegar. It seems to work well for heat-styled hair, natural hair, hair treated with color, and hair processed with chemicals.
Jamaican Black Castor Oil shampoo from Tropic Isle Living is another good choice. It’s actually a four-piece combo incorporating shea butter, black castor oil, rosemary, red pimento, conditioner with shea, and hair growth oil.
Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo from PURA D’OR works for thinning hair. It’s gluten-free and hypoallergenic and has certified organic ingredients without parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate.
Coconut Co-Wash Cleansing COndition from As I Am. If you’re new to natural hair, co-washing is the process of washing hair using a conditioner instead of a normal shampoo. Quite a few naturals love how wonderful this product smells to them.
Argan Oil shampoo from Art Naturals is a product free of parabens intended to reduce shedding and hair thinning.
How frequently should you actually wash your hair?
Every head is different, as its hair. Given that, there’s no general answer for everyone. Having said that, if your hair is getting dull, you might need to dial back on your shampooing.
When you wash your hair too much, then you wash out the natural moisture that keeps it looking great. If you don’t wash it frequently enough, then product build-up can have a negative influence on your hair.
My suggestion to you: Use lukewarm water to wash your hair. Hot water can rid the scalp of sebum, a protective oil that is a natural conditioner and makes hair shine.
When you establish your starting hair care regimen for natural hair, start by washing your hair only once a week. Journal how your hair responds each day for several weeks, and then adjust as need be.
Read this content for a more thorough look about how often you should wash your hair along with co-washes, shampoo, and other techniques.
Conditioning
Conditioners are supposed to deposit moisture and proteins into your hair strands to keep the strength of the strands up, giving your hair more body and protection against potential breakage.
The impact of conditioners is temporary at best. Also, the term ‘ conditioner’ can be used in describing quite a few different things.
For instance, you can find leave-in conditioners, cream rinses, rice water rinse, protein conditioners, deep conditioners, hot oil treatments….I could go on, but you get the point.
My suggestion to you: Start conditioning your hair on a regular basis after you shampoo, and use a deeply penetrating conditioner once a month. Document your results in your natural hair care journal to make the necessary adjustments along the way.
Also, you don’t have to buy the really pricy stuff. Just watch out for products very cheap compared to their competing products.
The Best Conditioners For Natural Hair
Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner from Shea Moisture has sea kelp, shea butter, and argan oil for damaged and dry hair. Keep in mind that the natural ingredients of this product can vary in their consistency and color.
3 Minute Miracle from Aussie is a moist and deep conditioning treatment with mostly but not all-natural ingredients from the land down under. Women who have natural hair consistently rate this product well, noting the jojoba and aloe specifically.
It’s also got a coconut smell that many women seem to like. The three-minute miracle name alludes to how fast the product works.
Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner has coconut and olive oil to condition your natural hair without going heavily on your strands. It’s free of sulfates, silicone, and glycerin. Use it many ways, including leaving it in as a conditioner or co-washing. This product is sadly getting harder to find. If you find some, buy it.
Tips For Hair Styling
Protective styling is crucial to your natural hair success story. When we talk about protective styling, we talk about putting more ‘protection’ overall into your total natural hair care regimen.
Women that don’t focus on protecting their hair lead to lots of breakages and even failing to get their hair to a length they want.
Using protective hairstyles is a good way to protect your natural hair more. These protective hairstyles often use less upkeep, meaning you can moisturize as necessary. They also safely tuck away hair ends for safety.
Doing things right will help you grow your hair as long as you want, so long as you style properly, handle your hair with care, maintain the upkeep, and choose the right products.
My suggestion for you is to always be open to new ways to work protection into the care regimen you use for your natural hair. In short, be as gentle as you can with your hair all the time.
I also suggest figuring out several protective hairstyles that you prefer and work them regularly into your regimen, even if just to protect those fragile ends of your natural hair.
A substantial part about growing your hair long, or just keeping what you have grown already, is the mitigation of hair breakage. This helps you retain your current hair. Protective styling can help you in accomplishing this.