Regimen Building for Natural Hair
Natural Hair Regimen
Since I have been showcasing natural styles for the last couple of months, many people have approached me with the questions – “What do you do to your hair?” “What do you put in it?” In short, these inquiries lead to the ultimate question – “Whats a good natural hair regimen?”
There is no magical hair regimen that will be a “one fits all”, however, there are certain things to include in your hair care routine that will be beneficial to your strands, especially when just starting out. Once your hair reaches optimal health, you will find that some of these steps can be significantly “dumbed down” if you will.
I started off with a template (found on bhp forum) similar to the following one and then modified it from there. Again, it is not set in stone; you may modify it to fit your hair needs as I have done.
The template reads like this
What’s needed for Regimen: Frequency
Example Product and/or Description
Clarifier/Shampoo: when needed
Dr. Bronner Pure Castile Magic Soaps, ACV/Baking Soda
Rids product build up
Co-Wash Cheapie Conditioner: 1x/week – daily
Vo5 Moisture Milks
sulfate-free, easier on your strands, cleanses w/o stripping the hair
Moisture Deep Conditioner: weekly
Aussie Moist, ORS Replenish Pak (light protein as well)
replenishes moisture, softens
Protein Conditioner/Treatment: every 4-8 weeks or so
Aphogee 2 Step
strengthens mushy hair, rebuilds keratin in the hair
Water Based Leave In Conditioner/Moisturizer: after washing/conditioning
Cantu Shea butter, Profectiv Healthy Ends, Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-in
lighter on the hair than a non-water based one
Oil For Sealing in Moisture: after moisturizing
EVOO, EVCO, Castor Oil
Wide Tooth/Seamless Comb
easier on strands, detangles
Brush
Denman (Highly Recommended)
for detangling
Satin/Silk Scarf or bonnet
for wrapping the hair up, protecting it at night
For those having difficulties with your hair routine, try this one out (or a variation of it) and track your results. I’ll post my regimen with pics in the near future (I know some of you love visuals as much as I do). I hope this helped!
Until Next Time, Happy Healthy Hair Growing!!!
Are You Really Natural?
Standing in front of my reflection I debate, “How should I wear my natural hair today?” My hair feels subtle. It’s been freshly co-washed and my wide-tooth comb moves through it like a knife through warm butter. I stand there in front of my reflection examining it; so wild and untamed. Boy has my hair grown, but I have no true curl definition. The little definition I do have has no pattern to it at all. I usually find some coils here and there, mostly its frizz. But once I comb it, the fro is born.
So why do I debate, why can’t I just wear my hair?
It dawned on me that I am still working through my natural journey. I still have more to overcome. I have a bathroom and closet full of numerous hair products that promise coveted curl definition; crèmes, gels, conditioners, leave-ins, oils, all of which promise to transform my tresses into a good head of hair. I love my natural threads, however I find myself hiding them behind products and flat twists. Why can’t I just wear my hair, just wash it and go?
Many natural sista’s find themselves in the same situation. A girl I know asked me one day why I went natural. I gave my usual explanation about the health of my hair, the alopecia I experience, and so on. Once I finished, she told me that she was natural too. She explained that her journey began five years ago. I was shocked. I had known her for three years and had no idea. This woman rocks weaves. Every time I see her she’s got a different texture, different color, and a different length. I began to question whether or not she can claim being natural when she never wears her hair natural. I soon started questioning my claim of napturality as I pondered hers.
I am trying so hard to except myself, but I am still suffering from a deeply rooted hate and I am not alone. Often I get comments from girls, who want to go natural, hesitant because they are worried about their natural texture. Even some of us “naturals” are still struggling with society’s poisoned ideology of good hair and bad hair in black culture. We want so desperately to fit into the American beauty mold and we are subconsciously willing to break our banks and/or destroy ourselves in the process. There is really little reason to search for the “why” behind our denial of our own unique beauty, the best thing to do is get pass it. Let’s embrace our Afro-centric beauty. Let’s continue to progress towards celebrating our own identity by recognized when we are hiding behind factitious images we pay lots of money to maintain. Let’s let go of it all: the unhealthy products, the weaves, and the chemicals. Let’s just be natural for real. We can’t stop there either, let’s let go of the idea behind the “good head of hair”. Let’s except our hair, love it, embrace it, appreciate it, and floss it.
Help: Why is my Hair so Tangled?
Help: My hair is tangled! I asked why my hair was so tangled in a thread on BHP. As of yesterday I am 25 weeks post relaxer, whooo Hooo, and I have noticed that my hair is getting extremely tangled. Most of the knots were occurring around the crown of my head, and the relaxed hair tangles more easily than the natural hair. Here is the question I asked on the forum,
“My hair is 5 months post relaxer, and I am having lots of trouble keeping my hair detangled after I wash and condition my hair. I haven’t had this problem until this month and I use a detangling comb by Goody. No matter how much I detangle my hair it somehow gets tangled towards the roots after I style it. Does anyone have any tips and know which combs or brushes are best?”
I got angry at my hair and consulted Black Hair Planet’s forum, and most of the women said that I needed to detangle while my hair had conditioner in it. Well I was detangling with conditioner in my hair with a detangling comb made by Goody. This is the link to the thread if you want more information about detangling transitioning hair. (Help: My Hair is Tangled )
These are the best responses that I received:
Naomimaxine replied, “You should try detangling hair while it still has conditioner in it, like if you are doing a cowash, use a denman brush, and detangle your hair when rinsing it out.”
Leentora replied, “I had this problem when I stretch for 6 months last year and even now that I am 7.5 months post, what you need to do is ensure that if you use a shampoo it is a detangling shampoo that is step one and the other thing that I discover is that the tangle occurs as there are two different hair types on your head now so you need a good moisturizer to keep the natural hair tamed and tangle free, the one find that helps and make the combing a breeze is Kids Organics Shea Butter.”
I did switch to a Conair detangling brush this week and I used VO5 Moisture Milks Moisturizing Conditioner which helped tremendously! The VO5 moisturizing conditioner is extremely moist and aids in the detangling process because of the moisture. The Conair brush will fill my needs till I get my Denman brush. Also I will be doing a review over my Denman in a couple of weeks after I order it. Detangling transitioning hair is the most tedious parts of going natural, in my opinion. If you do not want to lose your hair please detangle from ends to roots very carefully without applying tension. If you brush through your hair too fast you will end up seeing clumps of hair come out and a sore scalp will result. This YouTube video was my inspiration on detangling my hair because this woman lost hair at the crown of her head because she was not detangling properly. Detangling is a top priority in natural hair care and please take care of your hair like delicate lace.
CO-Washing For Natural Hair!
Co-Washing For Natural Hair!
As many of you may recognize, a great article on co-washing has already been published, however the author, Dena, focused on the technique from a relaxed perspective. In order to be fully informative about the subject, we cannot leave the naturals out of the equation, therefore, I’ll be offering my perspective on the process! The benefits of CO-washing (Conditioner Only Washing) on relaxed and natural heads do not differ significantly. Much will be reiterated in this post, but I think it is worth it in order to give all of the un-relaxed ladies a good idea of what co-washing really is.
The basics of co-washing is the same, as stated in the original post (co-washing for relaxed heads where u can read more on the basics of the this method), “Co-washing is simply washing the hair with conditioner only. Shampoo is eliminated from the process when co-washing.” Co-washing has been known to help with detangling, combing, and promoting overall growth of the hair by keeping the scalp clean and moisturized without stripping the hair of its natural oils like most sulfate-containing shampoos do. Many naturals have given co-washing two thumbs up, attributing the method of cleansing the scalp to: defining the curl pattern, softening the hair, and making it more manageable.
If you choose to try co-washing it is done best with the cheaper conditioners. For most naturals, moisturizing conditioners (I use Aussie Moist and love it: see review) work best, as moisture is imperative to our natural curls. All the while, we do not require as much protein as relaxed heads since we don’t have chemicals stripping our hair of the natural protein its infused with. Using a protein based conditioner will actually cause protein overload and result in unwanted breakage.
The conditioner is applied to the hair, slightly massaged into the scalp, left on for a few minutes, then it is rinsed out. You may choose to let the conditioner penetrate the hair shaft by letting it sit on a bit longer, or with a shower cap, however, with the cheap conditioners, you may find that you don’t want some of the ingredients sitting on your hair for too long. Most of us find it beneficial to leave that job to the Deep conditioners. You may repeat the process if you so desire. Naturals may co-wash daily or once a week; the frequency is very flexible, that’s a plus to being natural – the freedom! 
A couple of things that you don’t want to forget :
- You still will need to use a shampoo for clarification to remove any product buildup you may experience over time.
- Avoid heavy conditioners, esp those with petrolatum, mineral oil, etc.
- Avoid moisture overload and reduce the frequency of co-washing if you experience such.
- Just b/c you co-wash with a moisture conditioner, don’t totally cut out a heavy protein treatment every 4-6 weeks or light protein(1-2x a week), as it’s important for the hair to keep a healthy balance of both.
- You are at liberty to deep condition the same day if you want (although I prefer to do so on clarified hair)
Although some naturals (none that I’ve talked to might I add) may not like the co-washing process, when done correctly, co-washing has proven to be very helpful in cleansing and treating our tresses. If you decide to try this process, take heed to the way your hair responds and don’t hesitate to listen! As you will be able to adjust the frequency and overall co-washing routine to its optimal level for your tresses! I hope that I’ve helped someone out there in cyber-space…More info can be found over at the bhp forum in one of many co-washing threads.
Until next time…Happy Healthy Hair Growing!
The Going Natural Blues
Ok, so let’s say you have been going natural for a few months, and you’ve been trying different hair styles and testing different hair products, but nothing is working out for you. All you want to do is go to Wal-Mart and buy a no-lye relaxer of your choice. But wait!!! Think about this whole time you have been growing your hair out, and the little curls or kinky coils that have magically popped up. The few months that you have taken out of your life to commit to natural hair will be taken away in less than 15 minutes. Never again will the hair you grew out revert to its natural beautiful curls. Once you perm that hair you will be ready to get those curls back.
People can give you the “Going Natural Blues” also. If you live below the Mason-Dixon( the South) line like I do then you have most likely gotten ignorant comments from a few black people. (I will not say a lot of black people because all of us aren’t like that.) They probably say, ” Ohh your hair is going to be nappy because you don’t have that “good hair.” Some may say, ” You have to be mixed to have natural hair, and black people need to put perms on their hair.” If you let those comments stop you then going natural isn’t for you, and maybe it was just a phase you were going through. There will be people that do not know any better and you have to educate yourself enough about natural hair so you won’t get discouraged.
The best solutions to the “Going Natural Blues” is patience, confidence, and good hair care routines. Your patience will be tested by your hair and other people , your confidence may be put down by rude comments, and practicing good hair care routines will insure that you hair is healthy, neat ,and clean.
One Secret to Maintaining Healthy Natural Hair
Secrets to Maintaining Healthy Natural Hair
In my last blog titled, Is Natural Hair for Me?, I talked about the importance of understanding natural hair care for healthy natural hair. This time I want to share what I believe is the foundation for healthy natural hair. The two most important factors that influence our natural hair are nutrition and conditioning. I will discuss nutrition in another blog; this blog will focus on some mild science behind conditioning natural hair.
A fellow You Tuber once asked me, “What are the best leave-in products to use on my natural hair?” My reply was simple, “It really doesn’t matter as long as you listen to your hair and maintain a great balance of protein and moisture.” Now this statement alone is not entirely true. Most veteran naturals know it is important to stay away from products containing mineral oil and/or petroleum based ingredients. These two culprits will coat our threads producing a stubborn film that refuses to let any conditioning ingredients enter our strands due to the fact that it will not rinse away. They also understand that some leave-in products contain proteins. The inevitable result is the victimization of unwanted breakage. But for the most part, if your hair is well conditioned on a regular basis you don’t have to worry about how expensive your products are…..what name brand you use….etc.
When conditioning your natural hair, you must focus on two things: (1) protein, and (2) moisture. Healthy natural hair has a great balance of these two things.
Each individual strand of hair is roughly 90% protein. Whether your hair is relaxed or natural you must replenish it with protein. Where protein conditioning is important for achieving long relaxed hair, this same type of treatment helps achieve full, long, natural hair. Protein conditioning restores and maintains the strength of each hair strand internally. Conditioners that contain good quality amino acids (the building blocks of protein) penetrate into the strands to become a part of the strand’s protein structure. This rebuilds weak areas along, and within the strand to help prevent opportunities for breakage.
Moisture is also very important in obtaining and maintaining thick, long, natural hair. When I envision well-moisturized hair, I envision a beautiful leafy green twig. Think about it, moist leafy green twigs do not break easily when manipulated. These subtle sticks simply bend and go with the flow. This is what you want your own natural tresses to do. A great moisturizing conditioner (along with drinking 64 oz of water daily) will help you achieve this type of hair.
We all know that too much of anything can be bad, and protein/moisture is no different. Too much protein can leave your threads stiff and brittle, like brown dry twigs; and too much moisture can leave your hair weak. So the trick is to maintain a good balance of moisture and protein. To do this you must listen to your hair. Get to know it by learning its language. When your hair is dry brittle and unruly, it is probably telling you, “moisture please”…..when you hair seems limp and weak it is more than likely telling you it needs protein.
When choosing a good moisturizing conditioner make sure it has little to no protein. Natural hair does not need as much protein conditioning as relaxed hair does because its protein structure is not compromised by chemicals. Another thing to consider is that many leave-in products like crèmes and gels contain proteins too. These products add protein to your hair also, so watch out. Having a moisturizing conditioner that does not contain protein allows you to condition your hair when needed without protein overload. Natural hair should be protein-deep conditioned roughly once a month, but can be protein-deep conditioned as often as twice a month. The rest of the time it should be moisture-deep conditioned as often as possibly (once a week or more).
Finally, let’s discuss deep conditioning. Deep conditioning is much different from rinse conditioning. Rinse conditioning usually work externally only. Deep conditioning methods (for moisture or for protein) actually condition your hair internally. The treatment moves from the surface of your hair to inside it. These are the treatments that make the difference on a molecular level. Here’s how they work…
The conditioners in deep conditioning treatments actually penetrate the hair strand. When heat is applied to wet hair, the hair threads swell and expand. This process creates micro-openings that allow certain ingredients to soak into each hair internally. Once the hair is cooled it shrinks back, which in turn locks in those essential ingredients. This is the reason why most hair stylists rinse your hair with cool to luke-warm water after deep conditioning it.
Here is the common method of (protein or moisture) deep conditioning natural hair:
| Important Note: Do NOT rub and pile your hair on top of your head in bundles (like most commercials display in advertising). Apply conditioners in an organized manner. This prevents unnecessary tangling. Also, do not force a comb through your coiled hair; you must allow your hair to give-way to the comb on its own….so be patient and work with your hair not against it. |
Find a good quality protein conditioner.
- Select a good quality essential oil.
- Apply a bit of conditioner throughout your wet/damp hair; let it sit for a few minutes. This is important to give the conditioner time to soften your coiled threads.
- Carefully part your hair section-by-section, and then with your fingers apply a bit more conditioner while finger-combing to separate the threads of hair. Since natural hair is coiled they tend to wrap around each other. If you simply comb through your hair you will create tangles and rip through them which will cause unnecessary breakage. Next use a double wide tooth comb to comb through the section carefully. After combing apply roughly a dime to quarter size amount of essential oil over the conditioned hair section to optimize nutrients and moisture.
- Continue step 4 until your have combed through your entire head. If you are struggling then you might want to decrease to size of each section of hair. Be patient, it will be off in the end.
- Apply a plastic bag or cap.
- You may sit under a heat source for roughly 15-20 minutes or you may wear the bag/cap for 1-2 hours while working around the house or sitting in a hot bath. Your body will produce heat which will provide the right environment to obtain deep conditioning.
So as you shop around for the best products to maintain healthy natural hair, remember to take extra time to avoid mineral oil and petroleum, as well as finding the conditioners that work best for you. You want a good protein conditioner and a moisturizing conditioner that does not contain protein. If you are interested in a product, please try things out regardless of negative reviews before ruling them out. Everyone’s hair is different so what works well for me may not work well for you and vise versa. In the meantime, work on listening to your hair to maintain a good balance of protein and moisture.
Is Natural Hair for Me? That Is The Question….
Is Natural Hair for Me?
One of the most perplexing things about going natural is learning how to manage your tightly coiled tresses without damaging them. Even the simplest task of combing your hair can become a detangling nightmare if you don’t know what you are doing. Don’t get me wrong, going natural has been one of the most rewarding and enlightening experiences of my life. I love my natural threads and I will never, ever alter them again. But, if I had not taken the time to find help and resources, my successful transition to natural may have never happened.
The only thing I do regret about going natural is not doing it sooner. Because of the way my natural coils are flourishing, I find myself wishing my mother had never permanently straightened my hair as a child. Where would my hair be today if only we had embraced it (instead of changing it) from the beginning?
Let’s talk about embracing natural hair. Just a little over a year ago, I would have never left the house without my hair fleshly straighten with some type of hair piece or weave. My whole womanly identity depended on having the exact opposite of what God gave me. So how in the world am I natural today? When I think about how I transitioned from relaxed to natural hair one things comes to mind, You Tube.
Mentally I began to view full and kinky hair as healthy and beautiful. My hair had become thin and limp from repeated relaxing, gluing and weaving. I can recall sitting in front of my computer for hours just watching natural hair journey videos on youtube.com. These sisters had long, thick, fully natural hair. I got to watch their hair grow (through slideshows) from small mini-fros to long-coiled threads. I was so jealous of what those natural-haired sisters had, I wanted it for myself. These women possessed beautiful hair, and what they could do with it made it even more appealing. Where once I craved bone straight really long hair (which I could only achieve through weaves), I now desired my own thick full hair. This may sound strange, but I never realized that all natural hair has a curled/coiled texture. I hadn’t truly seen natural hair until I saw it on YouTube. Yes, I have seen those media provided images of the afros and braids; but honestly those images do not show us the true attributes of natural hair. I think back to my mother struggling to maintain the heads of four little girls. What resources did she have? What information was available to her to teach her how to care for her hair and ours? You guessed it…relaxers, texturizers, pressing combs, etc. So she did what most black women did; when her little girls were old enough for it, she relaxed it.
I want you to understand that I have nothing against sisters who choose to relax their hair. I believe in choice, as long as you are sincerely happy with your choice. But if you are having problems with your hair, and you’re relaxing it for all the wrong reasons, find help to change and improve your relationship with your hair.
Let me ask you a question, have you ever seen the recessing hairline? I am not talking about male-pattern baldness. I am talking about the hairline along the sides of the head (the temple) and down around the ears. This is a condition called Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia (CCCA). I learned that this condition is found only in women of color. A doctor explained this devastating fact to me after seeking dermatology help when I suffered from it myself a few years back. The doctor told me there are two main causes of this condition. The first is excessive pulling of the hair usually caused by tight braiding and twisting, and the second is chemical abuse of the scalp through improper use of relaxers and texturizers. Some of us out there are trying to unrealistically change our hair, and in the meantime we are also causing irreversible damage through cosmetic trauma. Why are some of us running from our natural hair?
I realize now that natural hair is not nappy, bothersome, or ugly. If cared for properly it will grow more wonderfully than it ever could in your wildest dreams!
My transition dealt largely with how I cared for my hair. Properly caring for your natural hair is essential to the happiness of your tresses and yourself. We have all seen (or can imagine) the “nappy-head”. This negative image haunts the minds of millions, but this is not a genuine image of our hair. This is an image of a confused “natural”, owned by someone who does not understand it. When going natural we must re-learn how to care for our hair. You cannot manage natural hair the same way you do relaxed hair. It is not more difficult, natural hair care is simply different. Unfortunately there aren’t very many resources for natural hair care available today; this is changing as the natural-hair positivity pandemic spreads across our nation.
If it weren’t for my loving natural-headed saviors on YouTube, I would still be spending hundreds of dollars on tracks at the hair store (and in the mean time damaging my own hair in the process). I want to strongly urge you take a minute or two to visit youtube.com; type in…natural hair journey…natural hair care…and any other ideas about natural hair that come to mind. Next open your heart and your mind, then ask yourself, is natural hair for me?
Transitioning to Natural Hair? Is this your 1st time, 2nd time, or 3rd time??
Transitioning to natural:
Transitioning from relaxed hair to natural hair can be some of the worst hair moments and the best hair moments. If you are thinking about going natural or if you are currently in the process please don’t give up. Yes, I have had more than one try at this, but you do not have to go through what I went through.
This is my third attempt at going natural, and it is also my last attempt because I broke the code. The first two times I tried going natural failed because I was uneducated about caring for curly hair. I wasn’t keeping my hair moisturized and I didnt know how to style my hair. I have successfully been transitioning since my last relaxer on February 12, 2009. My big helpers were YouTube and BlackHairPlanet’s forum. I figured out how to take care of both of my textures by educating myself on the two textures. I learned that our hair is made of three layers–the cuticle, cortex, and medulla. The cuticle is an outside layer that protects the cortex. Keeping the cuticle moisturized and conditioned is the best thing you can do to your hair. This is what will make your hair manageble while you are transitioning.
You will want to condition your hair at least once a week. This is called a Co-wash, and this is when you only apply conditioner to your hair. Use the conditioner like you would use shampoo. I did not say shampoo your hair every week because most shampoos contain sulfates as their main ingredient. They can tangle your hair and dry it out. Sulfates are what make the suds or lather that give you the clean feeling on your scalp. Most shampoos contain the following sulfates as the second or third ingredient: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lareth Sulphate (sulfate) and Myreth Sulphate (sulfate). There are shampoos that are Sulfate-Free, and I will talk about that in my shampoo review this week if you stay tuned. If you simply can not wait on me then go to Wal-mart, CVS, or Walgreen’s and start your own shampoo ingredient search. Conditioners have the same capabilities as shampoos except for the soapy part. Co-washing has been my most valuable hair tip so far. I wish I had known about co-washing in my first “going natural” attempt. It just makes my hair feel so silky and smooth. I also recommend using a sulfate-free shampoo if possible two or three time s a month to wash out product build up.
Transitioning to natural hair is a time to get to know your true hair texture. You will be amazed at all the little curls that will begin to pop up. In the meantime find styles that will blend the two textures such as perm rod sets ( very small rollers originally used for curly perms you can find them at beauty supply stores), roller sets, braid-outs, twist outs, bantu knot outs, micro braids, micro twists, and kinky twists. The worst style that you can do to your hair is to press or flat iron to blend the two textures. This will cause the hair to break at the demarcation line, which is the line where the relaxed hair meets the natural hair aka new growth. If you must have it straight do it once or twice a month because if you aren’t comfortable having short hair yet stay away from the straighteners. The demarcation line is the weakest part of your hair when you are transitioning.
You can transition as long as you like, but the longer your hair gets the more challenging it is to detangle. Detangling transitioning hair requires patience. First you will want to start from the ends of the hair while you have conditioner on your hair. Separate the hair into four sections, and apply conditioner to each section. Detangling your hair is very important!! Failing to detangle properly will lead to hair breakage and failing to detangle at all will cause the hair to matte.
Watch out for the silicones in conditioners because they can lead to build up on your hair and scalp and it will cause your hair to be dull. Conditioners that I found that do not contain these silicones are Suave, Vo5, and Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing conditioner. These are just a few that I have used, but just watch out for these two silicones: Dimethicone and Cyclomethicone these may cause your scalp to get unwanted build up. Don’t worry if you shampoo with a sulfate-free shampoo when you get build up you will be ok.
Here are tips if you get discouraged:
- Think about the freedom of natural hair.
- Look at pictures of other naturals and set real hair goals.
- There are ignorant people in the world that don’t understand natural hair, but don’t let that stop you.
Quick tips for a smooth transition:
- Use sulfate-free shampoos when shampooing
- Detangle from ends to roots.
- Minimal styling to prevent breakage.
- Do not flat iron or press the hair to match textures.
- Deep condition every other week especially right after a shampoo.
- Keep the hair moisturized with a water based product.
- Do not use products with petroleum or mineral oil as the first ingredient.
Stay strong my fellow transitioners and don’t fall into the trap again…until next time
