Y'all, I am sick to death of reading all these articles about “healthy, shiny hair” that are completely geared towards one particular hair type. And, when I say hair type, I mean...straight, shiny, oil-prone hair, typically found on the heads of white women (hey girl hey). No shade on those articles - everyone needs hair care tips - but where does that leave the rest of us?
What about the people with confusing curl patterns? Or the people who are prone to dry/itchy scalp? Or the people who absolutely CANNOT get away with dry shampoo and banana clips. What about the people with coily/kinky/curly hair, maybe the mixed race people who can’t get by using just one product for their multi-ethnic locks? What about the people who just want their hair to grow?
WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?!
Well, dear friends, I may not have all of the answers, but I have 5 pretty stellar tips that have truly REVOLUTIONIZED my hair game.
Full Disclaimer: I can only write from my own experience, but me and my hair go WAY back. Remember the early 2000s when natural hair products meant using Queen Helene Hair Cholesterol or mayonnaise?? Yeah, me too.
PSA: My Hair is MOODY!
Depending on the literal section of my head, my curls range from silky to frizzy to coarse. It gets MATTED like a beaver tail if I don’t wrap and detangle it between washes, and I also leave in a ton of conditioner (and bonus products) to keep it from turning into a cactus.
My curls pretty much live in the 3B/3C world (please refer to NaturallyCurly Hair Types page to discover your hair type, if you don't know wtf I'm talking about).
I’m a multi-ethnic black woman, so I’ve done my fair share of natural-product-hair-experimentation. And - alas, dear readers - my hair can’t handle a lot of branded “natural” products. Heavy oils like castor and coconut weigh me down and cause excess buildup. PLUS, remember my super-fun-autoimmune-diseases (Re: Gluten Attacks and How to Stave Them)? Well, they’ve made certain products a firm NO-GO. Goodbye, hydrogenated wheat protein (which is in pretty much everything), so-long fragrances and dyes. My hair and scalp ain’t havin' it.
That being said, this blog post pertains (mostly) to the natural-haired peeps who have trouble maintaining length, shine, and moisture. I hear you, I see you, I got you.
Black Winter Hair That's Healthy AF
(Photo Credit: Pinterest)
Alright. Winter is brutal for us natural-haired peeps.
The wind chill, the low temp, the dark depressing days that make us want to throw our hair in a bun for a week...it’s horrible. But, don’t let this winter chill bring you down, dear readers. Spring is coming (in two months...ugh), and you’ll want your bouncy, shiny curls back in the habit.
1. Get Dirty
Counterintuitive, I know.
But, hear me out.
When I was washing/wetting/conditioning my hair 3x per week, my hair was cute, but damaged, especially during the winter months.
My hair was brittle, knotty, and dull. I didn’t even know my hair could GET shiny; I always thought that was a luxury reserved for white women on Pantene Pro-V commercials.
Turns out, my hair LOVES when I leave her alone. The biggest, most shocking growth spurts I’ve ever had have come from times of moisture, protective styles, and spaced out wash days. (I use the term “wash day” loosely, since I only shampoo maybe 2-3x per month, but I rinse and re-apply conditioner more frequently.)
The thing about natural hair that rocks is our natural oils do a lot of the work for us. If I can make a wash’n’go last for 3-5 days, I’ll know I’ve done well. After that, my hair turns into Tangle Town. If your hair is prone to snarling or knots, it’s time to adjust your sleep routine, change your detangling process, or it’s time for a trim.
In conclusion, Let your hair do her thang, guys - I’m serious. Just keep her (or him or they or whatever pronoun you use for your hair) moisturized, oiled up, and then LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE.
2. Trim Your Ends More Often
Gasp! I know, but shut up and listen.
Back in my I’m-scared-to-get-a-haircut days, my ends were incredibly snarly and knotty. When I finger combed in the shower, no matter how gently I detangled, I would always end up with broken fragments of hair on my shoulders. I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong - I was deep conditioning, moisturizing, using hot oil treatments - WHY wasn’t it growing? Because, readers, I was being a stubborn dummy.
Bottom Line: Everyone needs a haircut.
Scared of the salon? Too broke for a luxurious curly cut? Me too. Turns out, there’s this amazing resource called THE INTERNET. It’s chock full of reputable influencers of every curly hair kingdom.
The video that changed my ENTIRE trim game is by my girl (meaning an influencer I love) NaturalNiecey. Peep the video below!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Hair Scissors (REAL ones, don’t be that guy)
Conditioner
Spray bottle
Patience (ha)
If you’re like me, you already love a juicy twist hair tutorial. This is pretty much the same thing with the added bonus of a trim. Basically, follow your hair’s natural inclination. Let the twists curl up per usual, but trim where you see breakage, thinning, or knots. ALWAYS CUT ABOVE THE KNOT, YOU’LL THANK ME LATER. Wouldn’t you rather have even, healthy hair, rather than those weird sprigs you were too scared to cut?
Cut, cut, cut, dear readers. Cut, cut, cut.
3. Moiturize Between Washes
Now, I don’t necessarily mean spray your hair down with water every morning (which would turn my hair into a frizz explosion and destroy all my hard wash’n’go work, anyway).
Everyone’s hair has a different level of porosity. If you’re unsure of your hair’s porosity, take this super simple quiz:
Porosity Quiz!
Yank out 1 strand of hair from the root (don't be a baby)
Place the strand atop a cup or bowl of warm water
Wait 5-10 minutes and see how your hair responds.
Here’s how to decipher your results:
If your hair STAYS PUT on top of the water, you’re most like a low porosity hair type
If your hair SINKS to the bottom of the cup, you're most likely a high porosity hair type
If your hair BOBS IN THE MIDDLE like a weirdo, you’re a little of both hair types
I’m notoriously Low-Porosity, so I have to work doubly hard to penetrate my hair shaft with moisture.
Here’s how I do it:
Massage your favorite oil (or oil blend) into your scalp at night, using the pads of your fingers. This keeps your scalp moisturized, and invigorates your hair follicles, leading to GROWTH!
Moisturize your ends pretty much all the time. Do you want more haircuts?
On a particularly chilly day, mix conditioner with warm water and smooth over your hair. Especially during chillier months, your hair needs a layer of protection. If you’re rocking a twist out, wash’n’go, or even just a top knot, your hair needs to be coated with moisture before you stomp off into the night.
Basically, don’t let your hair dry out. Once it’s a dry, brittle mess, it’s basically time to wash it and try again. Keep your hair moisturized, scalp to tip, and you’ll notice your hairstyles lasting a LOT longer.
4. Protective Styles Are THE MOVE
Refresher: A protective style is any style that keeps your hair - what? - protected.
In other words, I would not recommend running out of the house with wet hair on a 30 degree morning. Our hair is more susceptible to damage when wet, especially when in harsher climates. And, don’t get me wrong, winter hats are cute and all, but the harsh fibers in a standard hat can cause additional frizz and damage.
In my mind, the safest way to preserve my curls long enough to thrive this spring?
LOCK IT UP.
For me, I’m all about the juicy twists.
They let my roots breathe, keep my ends boingy, and it’s basically a week-long nap for my curls. It took a few times before I found my twist niche, but now I can’t get enough. I basically rocked twists for the ENTIRE month of November (after regretting my cute-but-short haircut), and the growth spurt I had was insane.
HERE is a clip of my girl Amber Ansah's AMAZING juicy twists tutorial:
Use your favorite oils, gels, and conditioners. Think of it as hibernating your hair - she’ll need snacks to keep her warm, right? And, if you play your cards right, you’ll get a gorgeous, SHINY twist-out at the end of your week. Everyone wins. You’re welcome.
5. Be Nice To Your Hair
Embrace your curl pattern (or patterns), no matter how much of a moody bastard your hair can be.
Don’t forget factors like nutrition, sleep, and stress can affect our growth and luminosity. When I was going through my BAD BREAKUP (a mere four months ago), my hair was essentially a broomstick. No amount of oil or deep conditioner could help; I had to wait for time to do her thing.
Luckily, our hair is resilient (it’s protein...right?) and it always bounces back with more gusto than ever.
Treat your hair nice and she’ll give you all she’s got.
Final Thoughts
It took a few years (ahem, decades), but I love my hair! I really hope you love yours. It took me a LONG time to embrace my moody bastard curls, but now I couldn’t imagine not having them. I play with products, techniques, and haircuts because I love expressing myself through my 'do'!
Our hair LITERALLY grows out of our head, so we should probably treat it nicely, right?
(Or don’t. I can’t rock a buzz cut, but maybe you can?)
XOXO
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