Whether transitioning back to natural or having been natural for some time, life as a “Naturalista” can get very confusing very fast. There are so many products to choose from and so many “Do” and “Don’t” rules that it can take forever to find what truly what works for you! Talk about exhausting and overwhelming! I would like to share my regime in hopes of helping you find yours. You may have to tweak as you go due to everyone’s hair being different, but it is my hope to give you a very good regime to help add moisture to your hair and prevent breakage so that you can achieve your natural hair goals whether they be length or health!
Pre-shampoo (pre-poo). I do not always do this step but I make an effort to do it if my hair is tangled or super dry. To pre-poo, you simply apply your favorite conditioner or polar oil (coconut, avocado, or jojoba) to your hair and leave it on for about 30 minutes (or sometimes I may leave it on for an hour or two). Pre-pooing helps with restoring moisture, helps restore natural oils, and helps to make detangling process easier. My go to pre-poo is coconut oil. It is the only oil that conditions the hair and it helps prevent too much water from being absorbed in the hair when washing (which leads to hygral fatigue: Damage that occurs from the shrinking and swelling of hair when it is wet).
Shampoo. As a “Naturalista”, we have to be EXTRA careful to not dry our hair out. Because our hair is curly, it is harder for moisture to travel to the tips of our hair which causes breakage. Because of this, it is imperative that we do not dry our hair out with shampoo. There are two big no’s when it comes to shampooing: No sulfate and no washing daily. Sulfates are cleansing agents that can dry your hair out. In this age of the natural takeover, there are so many shampoos catering to every kind of natural hair that are made without sulfate. If you have a favorite shampoo that you do not want to toss out, you can increase the moisture by either adding water, conditioner, or a moisturizing oil (tea tree, Aloe Vera, coconut oil) to your shampoo. You also do not want to wash daily due to that stripping your hair of natural oils. I personally only wash once a week unless my hair needs to be styled. If that is the case, I may just run water over it in the shower. My go to shampoo is Trader Joe's which I purchase from amazon.com since there is no Trader Joe's where I live. It definitely makes my hair more manageable than any other shampoo I have tried.
Deep condition. This step is incredibly crucial. I NEVER skip a deep condition and I do it every time I wash. Because this step is so crucial to moisture in hair, I will elaborate a little more in depth on this session.
The first thing you need to know about deep conditioning is the added benefit of heat. It helps the conditioner to penetrate the hair shaft to provide extra moisture. I understand that this can be mega time consuming, so what I recommend is using your body heat! My beauty supply store has conditioning caps that have a metallic liner on the inside so that your body temperature serves as a dryer. I typically put my conditioner in, put my cap on, and cleanup for an hour or two in order to get my body heat up.
The second thing I want to share is there is a thing such as too much moisture. It is not recommended that you sleep with conditioner in your hair as that adds to over moisturizing. When your hair is over moisturized, it becomes mushy and gummy and can lead to breakage. One time I even had my hair matte and almost lock into one huge dread!
Thirdly, you have to create balance. It is not always about adding moisture, but sometimes you need to add protein. There are several deep conditions that you can buy that have protein in them or you can do a protein treatment with products like ORS or Aphogee. You do not want to do protein treatments too often as they can lead to dry and brittle hair which causes…you guessed it. Breakage. I generally do protein treatments once every three months or after straightening my hair (which I basically do once every three months).
The next tip I would like to share about deep conditioning is the power of the steamer. Steamers increase moisture, enhances curls, opens cuticles, and promotes growth. I do not always steam, but I try to at least once a month. If you are like me and do not have money to dish out on a steamer (or just do not want to buy one), you can make your own! Simply put your conditioner in your hair, put on your conditioner cap, place a towel in a bowl of water and microwave it to warm it, then put that on your head, add a plastic bag over that, and sit under your hooded dryer. Ta da! You have a homemade steamer!
My last tip is to rinse out your conditioner with cool water. This closes the hair cuticle which makes for smoother less frizzy curls.
Tired yet? Now you understand why it is called “Wash Day”. But the good news is we are almost done! After rinsing out our deep conditioner, we now have to apply our leave in conditioner. I prefer to use leave-ins in which water is the first ingredient. These add moisture. I also like leave in conditioners with silicone in them because they provide great “slip” which helps me with detangling my fluffy mane. Make sure that when you detangle you are gentle to prevent breakage and then you are ready to either style your hair or work that wash and go!
For further reading, if you are just curious or want more knowledge to add to assist you with your natural hair journey, I highly recommend Nikki Walton's "Better than Good Hair", Lorraine Massey's "Curly Girl Handbook", and Dr. Phoenyx Austin’s “If you Love it, It will Grow”.
So many times in life, I have modified myself. I modify myself to present myself to get a job when I pretend I want what the company wants. I have modified myself for relationships to get and or keep the man. I have even modified myself in friendships and in my family to fit in. And it has never been worth it.
Keep reading to see how I learned the importance of being unapologetically me.