Natural Hair Care

How do you care for natural African-American hair?

I’ve been trying to go natural for years, but every time I try I feel like I can’t handle it and end up running to the nearest hair salon. Without a relaxer, my hair is an absolute NIGHTMARE! I can’t do ANYTHING with it. It gets very kinky, so much to the point where I just give up on combing it. And when I do comb it, I hear tons of snapping, which just brings me to tears. It could be that I don’t know how to moisturize it well (it’s almost always dry). Please tell me how to make natural African American hair manageable. The current status of my hair is pretty bad: some split ends, kinky, couple of knots here and there, and impossible to comb out. Any tips on how to make all this bad stuff go away would be greatly appreciated.

There’s nothing you can do for the kinkiness of your hair – that’s what you were born with and it’s not a problem that needs to be solved. The curlier your hair, the kinkier it’ll be. You can’t stop split ends. Splits happenen whenever you style, comb, or brush your hair.

There are a few general rules for taking care of natural hair: 1) Don’t try to comb it every day and don’t comb it unless it’s soaking wet and has conditioner in it. It you try to comb it while it’s dry you’ll find that your hair frizzes up and that it starts breaking. Conditioner gives your hair slip and makes it easier to comb. Search Youtube for some detangling videos to see effective ways to detangle 2) Be gentle with your hair. Blacks actually have fine hair, meaning it easily breaks and snaps. This is why it’s harder for blacks to grow very long hair (mid-back to waist-length). Don’t try to rip a comb or brush through it like you would relaxed hair. 3) Relaxed hair and natural hair are completely different. You need to completely change the way you handle your hair when you’re natural, because the same techniques and products that work on relaxed hair will not work on natural hair. 4) It’s common for curly hair to form knots or become very tangled; the curls wind around each other and that’s what causes it. You can try twisting your hair and wearing twist outs to cut down on the knots and tangles. I’ve found that not playing in my hair significantly reduces my knots. Depending on your hair, you might have to start wearing stretched hairstyles or protective styles like twists and braids most of the time. 5) Keep your hair moisturized and conditioned to keep it healthy. You can keep natural hair moisturized by sealing with an oil like olive oil. Just add a moisturizer and add an oil on top of it and this will keep your hair moisturized longer. Experiment with different oils and moisturizers or leave-in conditioners.

It depends on what you mean by “manageable,” so I can’t really comment on that. The products you use are everything. Become acquainted with the ingredients they put in products and you also have to learn what your hair needs. Everyone’s hair is different and everyone’s hair will not respond the same to the same products. There will be so-called moisturizing conditioners that might make your hair dryer. You might be using products that turn your hair into a frizz ball. And, there are products that will make your hair hard. The only thing you can do is start experimenting with different products. It might take you a few months to find the right products for your hair or it might take you over a year. You might end up experimenting with dozens upon dozens of hair products.

Personally, I like the Wen because it makes my hair manageable – which might not be your definition of “manageable.” Usually, when I see people say “manageable” they mean hair that’s easy to comb to like straight hair – you’re not going to get that with curly hair. I suggest you stop trying to manage your hair every day until you’re ready to cut off the relaxed ends. Start wearing braids, weave, or extensions – anything that will keep your hands out of your hair for prolonged periods of time. It might be easier to just do the big chop if you’re comfortable with it, then you can worry about your natural hair without the relaxed ends. If not, then try getting braids installed.

I also suggest you visit some hair care forums. THere are many on the net. I personally like http://forum.blackhairmedia.com . There are also websites for natural hair like motowngirl.com and tightlycurly.com . You can see how other girls transition and take care of their natural hair by looking at some youtube videos. GL with your journey.

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