Sharing some tips for caring for natural hair. These tips are especially helpful if you are just starting to transition from relaxed hair to natural. If you have been natural for a while now, these tips are a great refresher! Let’s dive in.
Curly Hair Care Tips
1. Ditch the towel
Contrary to popular belief, towels should not be used for drying hair. Towels are notorious for causing frizz and breakage. Towels can also cause damage to the hair cuticle. Replace your towel with a cotton t-shirt to achieve damage-free, frizz-free hair. Cotton t-shirts are a kinder option for your hair, and surprisingly just as absorbent as a towel.
2. Silk/Satin Pillowcases are BAE
Okay, I am not fond of the word BAE, but I couldn’t resist using it to emphasize how essential silk and satin pillowcases are. Cotton pillow cases rob the hair of its moisture and can cause breakage from its rough texture. Unlike cotton, silk and satin pillowcases help the hair retain moisture. Additionally, sleeping on silk or satin helps reduce hair breakage and split ends.
*Same thing applies for silk or satin hair scarves and bonnets.
3. Adopt the LOC or LCO method
LOC stands for liquid, oil, cream. LCO stands for liquid, cream, oil. For both methods, liquid means water or a water-based leave in conditioner. This is needed to hydrate and moisturize the hair. Cream means a cream based product, such as a curl milk or curl cream. This can act as a styling product, while also providing and locking in moisture. Oil means any natural oil, such as jojoba, coconut, or grapeseed oil. Oil is used to seal the hair shaft and retain all of the just applied moisture. Different oils can be categorized as moisturizing oils, sealing oils, or penetrating/sealing oils. Click here to learn about the different oils.
*Depending on your hair type, one method might work better than the other. I personally prefer the LCO method.
4. Make a date with your deep conditioner
Deep conditioning weekly is an important step for any hair routine. Deep conditioning is so beneficial. It provides our hair with essential nutrients, helps with length retention, adds extra moisture, prevents frizz, and strengthens. Try to deep condition regularly to ensure your hair is receiving the nourishment it needs.
5. Avoid heat
To really see the results you’re looking for, try to remove heat from your routine. That means no flat irons and no blow dryers. I know this is hard at first, but your hair thrives when you don’t manipulate it with heat. Give your hair a break from the hot tools, and I promise you’ll see results. Try setting mini goals for yourself, like 1 month without heat, then 3-months without heat, then 6-months. Keep seeing these goals until you feel comfortable with rarely using heat on your hair.
*Remember heat is okay on occasions. It becomes a problem when it begins to cause heat damage from too much usage.
*If you do decide to use heat, always keep the flat iron and blow dryer on the lowest settings. This may make the process longer, but it will cause less damage. Plus, your hair will thank you!
What are some more natural hair tips?
