Hair Care Tips.

Back around November, Blue and I made a little pact to start taking our hair care seriously lol. I had already been obsessed but I was just too lazy to actually apply the healthy methods and actually stick to it. Now that I had a partner [Blue] it has become a lot more funner--cause let's be real no one wants to depend on weave forever. So today I've decided to post about some healthy hair care tips from time to time to help black girls take better care of their hair and let go some of the common misconceptions about black hair.

1. Washing.

Black people can't wash their hair often because your "perm will rinse out" or your hair will break. THIS IS FALSE. A relaxer is PERMANENT it cannot be rinsed out of your hair. When you get a relaxer the chemicals break down the bonds that make up your hair shaft, which in turn leaves you with a more relaxed "curl" or straighter texture. Those bonds ain't coming back SO you cannot rinse the relaxer out. Water is moisture it will not by itself cause your hair to break. Dirt does not make your hair grow either, it's just disgusting. Give your scalp a good environment to grow in; that means removing dirt and muck away to keep it from clogging your hair follicles. If you wash your hair frequently you must place products in your hair that will keep the moisture in it after you have washed it, so that it will not dry out and break.

2. Trimming.

Trimming makes your hair grow. FALSE. First of all that doesn't even make sense. Your hair will always grow regardless of how bad you treat it. It's about retaining all of the hair that is coming out of your scalp. It may seem like your hair is not growing because it has remained the same length for 3546457 years, but what is really happening is your hair is breaking off at the same rate that it's growing. Trimming can HELP retain the length if you have split ends because cutting off those split ends will keep your hair from breaking off. Once you have cut those split ends off however, you must baby your ends so that you don't have to keep trimming your hair so often. Keep in mind that the average person's hair grows 1/2 an inch a month [some more and some less] so if you're trimming every two seconds your ends will probably be great but you'll be stuck at the same length. Once you get to know your hair you'll know when to trim [ends may be fuzzy, hair doesn't curl well, dry ends, visible split ends, etc.].

3. Moisturizing.

There are a lot of black products out there that are reeeeeeally not good for your hair. A lot of black hair products have things like mineral oil, petrolatum, lanolin, etc. and these ingredients actually block moisture out. You may have shiny, greasy hair but your hair will be drying out later. You can recognize a lot of these products by their texture [thick, waxy, greasy, etc.]; go for products that are water-based, meaning the first ingredient is WATER. A very, very helpful tip is to seal your hair after you moisturize it. What's sealing? This is when you apply a moisturizer to your hair and then go over it with a light oil to keep the moisture in. This keeps your hair moisturized because oil is a lubricant not a moisturizer and the hair does not absorb oil it just sits on top of the hair. The oil is like a thin barrier that keeps the moisturizer in [which the hair does absorb]. You can seal with oils like extra virgin olive oil, castor oil [this helps thicken hair], almond oil, coconut oil, etc.

The Basics.

I think these are the basic hair products that everyone should have at LEAST so that you can start getting your hair back on track. -- You need a good shampoo. Suggestion: Cream of Nature Moisturizing Shampoo (green label).
--You need conditioners. There are 4 types you need: A moisturizing one like Cream of Nature Moisturizing Conditioner; a protein one like Mane N' Tail Shampoo [you don't reeeeally need this though] ; a moisturizing leave-in like Neutrogena Triple Moisture (I’m still looking for this one lol); and a protein leave-in like Infusium 23.
--You need deep conditioners. One moisturizing conditioner and one protein conditioner. The difference between a deep conditioner and a regular conditioner is that a deep conditioner is left on longer than 5 minutes normally and most people sit under the dryer with it in their hair. A regular conditioner is normally rinsed out in 2 minutes and you don't normally use this with heat [but you can if you want].
--You need moisturizers. Creams like Organic Roots Stimulator Carrot Oil Cream and Olive Oil [they have a no mineral oil version]. You can also use leave-ins to moisturize too. What's with the Protein this and the Moisture that? The key [in my opinion] to healthy hair is to balance the protein and moisture content your hair. You'll know you need moisture if your hair feels rough, snaps easily when combed, and has no elasticity to it [tug it and it breaks at once]. You need protein if your hair feels extremely mushy when wet, is very elastic[ tug it and it stretches very far out before it breaks], etc. It's important to keep your hair in between.

Since this entry is so0o long already I'll continue with more hair care tips next time. There's a lot to know and I'm not trying to overwhelm people that are just trying to start on their healthy hair journeys lol.I hope this helps someone, 'till next time!

Cocoa.Berry [xoxo].
=)