Naturalistas understand just how hard it can be to get the routine for natural hair care down right. There is a proliferation of information about natural hair online. The intentions behind most of these informative videos and articles are pure and wholesome, but a lot of them leave most of scratching our heads and saying, what?” Simply put, there is an endless stream of videos, each touting the amazingness of yet another product or yet another routine.
As a hair care expert, I am always very careful of products that I recommend, because I know that what works for one person does not always work for the other. I am very aware of the fact that most of us will arrive at our perfect, personal hair care routine through trial and error.
Your journey may seem endless, highly experimental, and somewhat expensive. You may journey through mountains of techniques and products. And I want to assure you, that this is perfectly okay.
Although there are basics to natural hair care that we all must know, your hair care regimen has to be adapted to your commitment level, curl pattern, and budget. Not all techniques will work for you. Not all products will work for you. Understand this now and save yourself a whole lot of grief and discontent.
So, what to do
The thing to do is to begin with the basics. Even though your hair type and specific goals will in some ways alter your hair care routine, I am sharing below a few basic steps that we can all benefit from.
Cleanse: This is a balancing act between removing product residue and dead skin from the scalp without stripping the hair of its natural oils. If you don’t wash your hair as often as is needed, your scalp will develop a sebum build up and this will leave unwanted oiliness and retention of dead skin. You don’t want that.
Condition: Conditioners moisturize, detangle, add shine, and reduce frizz. The main ingredient in conditioners is a cationic surfactant, and this sticks to wet hair, coating the hair strands and helping to replenish any moisture shampoo may have removed.
Moisturize and seal: This involves using a hydrating product and sealing oil to seal in moisture.
Detangle: This could be done on a daily basis or less often, depending on your hair type. It is a step that is essential to combat breakage and make your hair journey a lot less stressful. It is, however, important that you use the right detangling tools i.e. a wide-tooth comb is always preferable to a fine comb.
Spot-treat: This means focusing on a particular area of your hair that is bothering you and working to remedy that. For example, you may want to concentrate on dandruff treatments if you are dealing with dandruff. Another example is trying a protein treatment for frizzy hair.
In conclusion
At the end of the day, all I can advise is that you follow the basics, and do proper research when you decide to try out a new routine or product.
I also advise that you start any new product or routine in small starts. Never do anything drastic because you might not be able to reverse any negative consequences as quickly. If you like the results you are getting, you can then deep dive into it.
And I always say; expect some disappointment. You might not get it right the first time, or the second, or the third, but with a little tenacity and determination, you will get to the other side of beautiful hair.