Growing And Maintaining An Afro!

Taking Care Of Natural/Chemical Free Hair

I am a big fan of natural hair, by natural I mean Afro hair that is free from relaxers. I have kept my hair natural for a long time now and I absolutely love it. Have no intentions whatsoever to put relaxer in the hair. I have people within my circles who often wonder how I take care of my hair and how I have managed to maintain my hair natural and chemical free for such a long time now. So to answer some of the questions and also reach out to other people I don’t get to interact with on a daily basis, I am going to share with you some of my Hair-Care tips. On this entry I am going to focus on natural hair tips for those with hair that is chemical free or are considering going that route.

First and foremost I want to dismiss the allegory that black people’s hair doesn’t grow. Black people’s hair does grow but the growth varies depending on how one takes care of the hair, and it is usually very curly. This is just a personal observation, based on personal experience. While considering hair-care products, it is very important to understand your hair type and learn what works best for your hair. Different people have different experiences and different products that work best for them. So know what works for you!

For now, I am going to focus on the general hair care, oils, shampoos, conditioners...I will touch on other issues on hair care in my next entries!

After moisturizing with Easy Waves Pink Oil Moisturizer with Mineral Oil

 General Hair Care

Moisturizers: Try to avoid products that mineral oils and petro oils as they have a tendency of drying your hair and they do block moisture from penetrating into the hair shafts. Instead, do try more organic oils such as Coconut, Jojoba and Almond oils. I have also found natural Shea Butter to be very good to my hair, so it is another option. Petro oils or petroleum do not moisturize the hair but they make the hair greasy instead. What you need is a moisturizer or oil that seals in the moisture and ensures the hair stays healthy.

If you can afford you can try using Moroccan Oil, Grape Seed, Olive Oil or Jojoba oil straight from the bottles, there are very good to the hair. It is important to keep the ends of the hair moisturized to avoid split ends.

Deep Conditioning from the Roots using Easy Waves Biological Conditioner with Jojoba Oil

Shampooing: Some shampoos are very harsh to the hair and sculp. Instead of leaving the hair moisturized (which is very essential) they do strip off all the natural hair oils, leaving the hair supper dry. When shampooing the hair, try to use mild hair shampoos, sulfate-free or organic ones. Also, diluting the shampoo with water (ratio of 1:4), 1 shampoo and 4 water does help. If your hair is not really dirty, you could alternatively use Hair Conditioner in place of shampoo.

While washing the hair, try avoiding rubbing the hair vigorously as that will make your hair very tangled. And when drying the hair with a towel, do not rub but pat-dry it. Rubbing the hair with a towel will cause friction between the hair strands and that can result in split ends and the hair breaking.

Easy Waves Hair Care Range that I use

I have used a wide range of products for my hair and sometimes I do a lot of mix and matching. But at the moment, I have been loyal to Easy Waves products. I really like their Pink Moisturizing lotion. It really leaves my hair soft and shiny but not greasy!

My hair length (in February '14) after blow drying; (I do not recommend frequent use of heat)

Heat: Heat is very bad for the hair, even if you are to use serum/heat protector, excess heat damages the hair. After shampooing your hair, consider air drying instead of blow drying.

Showing hair length after air drying (left) and after blow-drying (right)

Combing/Brushing the hair:  A comb with wide tooth is usually more preferable. Small tooth combs do pull and break your hair, and makes it snap off. You don’t want that to happen to your hair. The goal is to make the hair grow as much as possible without a lot of breaking. 

Trims: Try having a trim every other 4 months, especially if you leave your hair out for most of the time. do not confuse a trim and a cut. A cut is chopping off a huge chunk of the hair (you certainly do not want to go that way) and a trim is just clipping off the end of the hair to remove damaged/dead ends. A trim leaves your hair more healthier. 

Head scarf: when you are going to bed, I recommend that you make use of silk scarves and also consider investing in silk and satin pillows. They not only protect provide a peaceful atmosphere for your hair but they are also known for preventing acne as they tend to carry less bacteria.

An up-do! This was in November '13, the Afro has grown bigger

Hair Clips/Rubber Bands: In general rubber bands are not good for hair, especially those very tiny and thin bands that usually pull some of your hair out when you try removing them. Instead, using thicker cotton/velvet bands or non metal hair clips to pin up your hair. Avoid pulling your hair too tight as this will result in your hair being pulled off the roots and can damage your hair line.

In the next blog, I will be talking about different weave hairstyles, and the focus will be on the ones that I have worn, (synthetics, protein, fiber, human hair etc)…and will try to give you detailed feedback. If you have your own hair tips to share feel free to give feedback.