All About Curly Hair
Hellloooo my coily/curly haired babies!! It’s been so long gosh, how’s everybody doing?? I know I know I have not been active but guys, I am back again and HERE TO LAST. And hey, guess what? Back in my final year in school, a group of friends and myself focused on natural hair care for our final project and I am proud to say My partner Grace and myself are Co-Founders of a new hair care business called Natural Space. Yes guys! I am so excited to have come this far and safe to say I have brought the hair care to you! No more stress with finding out what your hair type is and what it needs. Natural Space has got you with all the customised handmade organic products that your hair needs as well as all the routines and regimens that you need to follow towards achieving the best healthiest hair with very easy to follow remedies. Anywaysss, all excitement behind lets get down to business.
Today’s topic is all about Moisture 💦GOOD HAIR IS MOISTURISED 🌿
We’re about to open a new chapter in managing natural hair; moisture retention, what it is, what tips you need, and whether it varies in hair types? And so on. Moisture Retention is simply learning how to keep your hair moisturised and prevent it from going dry. Sometimes we think we are doing all the right things and using the right products, but still, in some way, our hair continues to feel so dry that we think it could snap! Well, sometimes it’s not always the obvious reasons why our hair is so dry. Now let’s look into what some of the common causes of dry hair are:
• Nutritional Deficiencies – this just means that you’re not providing yourself with the necessary nutrients that your hair uses to promotes its health. Some nutrients to look out for in food are Vitamin A, D, B5, C Zinc, Iron, Omega 3 Fats & Biotin. Some foods that help keep the hair healthy and strong are eggs, carrots, avocados, salmon, greek yoghurt among others.
• Excessive sun exposure – just like getting a tan from staying in the sun for too long, your hair can also be exposed to excess sunlight which causes the hair to feel very dry and brittle. If you tend to be out in the sun a lot then it is advisable to stay away from the use of coconut oil because this will speed up the drying process.
• Excessive Hair Wash – yessir you read right! Excessive washing of your hair ends up stripping away so much moisture from your hair that your basic moisturizing regimen could become useless against how much moisture is lost in the first place.
• Heat Damage – it is very true that when you keep using heat products such as blow dryers, straighteners etc. for your hair all the time it tends to damage the texture of your hair and as time goes on your coils find it hard to warp back to its natural goodness. It’s best to keep heat tools on a low unless entirely necessary.
• The use of harsh ingredients in products – I’m sure you’ve used products on your hair that say they’ll do something good but just ends up leaving your hair feeling dry and brittle. Most of the times it comes from the harsh chemicals that are being put in these products. Here are some harsh chemicals you should avoid in hair products: parabens, silicones, sulfates, sodium chloride, some alcohols like SD alcohol, Denatured alcohol, Alcohol Denat and SD Alcohols 40, 40B, 38B, 39B, & 40-2 among many more. In another post, we would delve deeper into these harsh chemicals to avoid and why.
The factors mentioned above are more or less the most common factors you could find out there as to why your hair feels so dry, but have a look at these other factors and see if any may apply to you:
• Am I moisturising enough? – sometimes we feel like we are giving our hair the right amount of moisture it needs. It’s good to play around with moisture levels till you find the right balance that your hair needs. Also, look at the ingredients to make sure there are moisturizing ingredients in the product.
• Am I Deep Conditioning Right? – I’m sure some of us feel like shampooing and conditioning is enough to retain healthy hair. Well, folks, that’s not always the case. Deep conditioning improves product penetration and reduces breakage. When we deep condition, our other products tend to penetrate the hair shaft more effectively. It also promotes curl definition and elongates the strands hence reducing the opportunity for tangles and knots leading to breakage. And again deep conditioning techniques and types also depend on your hair type. But that’s a story for another post :).
• Am I using the right sealing oils for my hair type? – yes some sealing oils are not necessarily good for all hair types so it is good to research and try your hands on different kinds to see which one works best for you. A universal sealing oil that I would personally recommend to all my naturalistas is castor oil. If you have really thick hair or are in Hair Type 3B going down to Type 1, stick to normal castor oil and if your hair is thin or you want for volume, stick to Jamaican Black Castor oil.
• Am I staying hydrated? – Believe it or not, well-moisturized hair starts from within. Drinking plenty of water will feed those follicles and work along with your external moisturizing regimen to help you maintain a healthy, soft, and manageable crown of curls
Here are some extremely moisturising organic ingredients that you can acquire or look out for in your hair products:
Note that not all oils mentioned here are for all natural hair types. Some are specific to each hair type.
So now you know what moisture retention is, some of the common and not so common reasons why your hair feels dry, as well as some organic ingredients that are amazing for moisture retention. Good job you’ve come this far and honestly I am so proud of you for showing such interest in your hair. Kudos to you fellow naturalista🌱 you climbed up one step towards attaining healthy lustrous curls/coils.
I hope this article was helpful and you learned some new thing s about your hair. Join me next week as we explore the various moisturising types and learn which one works best for you to add to your hair regimen 🌿. Don’t forget to head over to Natural Space: http://bit.ly/3f8HVy6NaturalSpaceGh to book a consultation and get to know your hair properties or simply just message if you want to get some products customized to your hair type. If you have any questions hit me up in the comments or message me on Twitter @Nickiiii_B Always happy to chat!!!