How To Create A Healthy Hair Regimen

For those new to the natural scene as well as old time curlies who just haven’t gotten the hang of it, there’s nothing more overwhelming (and time consuming) than figuring out a healthy hair regimen! Returning or transitioning to natural hair is usually a time of education and experimentation. To avoid wasting products, money and energy, here is a starting point for creating and maintaining a healthy hair regimen.
The object of a hair regimen (in our case) is to maintain healthy, curly hair. The regimen will change depending on the qualities of your own hair (thick/thin, fine/course, curly/kinky, long/short just to name a few!) but we all need to achieve certain things with hair maintenance and hygiene.
Now, based on the qualities of your hair, the products you use for each category will accomplish these steps in different ways.

1. Cleanse
Shampoo is meant to lift the hair cuticle, break up oil and dirt, and suspend it so it can be rinsed away. The goal is to remove environmental debris, product buildup, and production of sebum—the oil our skin naturally secretes. Our straight-haired counterparts probably can’t go one day without cleansing the hair because it is very easy for oil to travel down a straight strand. But in our case, oil has a harder time traveling down a loose wave, a tight curl, or a fro that sticks up & out! This is why the more textured your hair is, the dryer it feels. Our scalps are creating oil normally—it just cannot reach our hair!
So when we use shampoo, the focus should be on our scalps, since that’s where the dirt’s at. Apply the product to your roots and scalp, scrub with the fingertips, and the lather will make its way down your hair. Don’t toussle or scrunch the hair when shampooing. That could result in tangles! When you slather shampoo all over your HAIR instead of the scalp, you can expect a rough, “squeaky clean” feeling. Use shampoos that don’t contain sodium laurel (or laureth) sulfate. These ingredients are much too harsh for hair that isn’t that dirty, and have been known to cause irritation.

2. Condition/Detangle
Conditioning and detangling are an essential part of a healthy hair regimen since one task helps the other out. Conditioning the hair closes the cuticle, making it smooth, slippery and easier to comb through. Conditioner is supposed to coat the hair.
Remember: conditioner can also be used to gently cleanse the hair! Often times, conditioners have enough cleaning agents to remove dirt, especially if there’s little build up in the hair. If you exercise every day, for example, use a conditioner to wash your hair. Note that if you use conditioners containing silicones, eventually you will have to use a clarifying shampoo to remove the buildup from your hair. If you don’t, the hair will be dull and lose body.

3. Moisturize
As described in the first step, naturally curly hair has a tendency to be dry. Fitting a moisturizer into your healthy hair regimen is as simple as a morning spritz or mid-day pick me up! First and foremost, nothing will replace water. Not all curlies have to completely soak their hair every morning—thick curls or a ‘fro will take forever to air dry! You can simply put the water in a spray bottle and dampen the hair. When searching for a moisturizing product, water must be pretty high up in the ingredients list. Many moisturizers also contain vitamins and oils that can be soaked into the hair and scalp.

4. Seal
Sealing ensures that the moisture you put into your hair stays there. Moisture is lost when the cuticle is raised and water leaves the hair. By laying a sealant on top of the hair, moisture is locked in, keeping your hair soft and shiny all day! There are a variety of oils to choose from. Many popular ingredients in natural hair products are great for adding moisture to your hair. You can even add your favorite oil to the spray bottle of water and knock out steps 3 and 4 at the same time!

5. Deep Treat/Repair
Nobody’s hair is perfect! We all get breakage, lack moisture, and need help! Treat your hair to something nice! Whether it’s henna to strengthen, or avocado to moisturize, curly hair will benefit from extended exposure to certain ingredients. Natural hair that has not been processed (color, relaxer, etc) usually doesn’t lack protein, but the curlier the hair, the more moisture it needs. So to start off, try one of these tasty deep conditioning treatments. This step of your healthy regimen should always be done to clean hair, so all the nutrients and benefits of the treatment are received.

How Often Should You Do Your Healthy Hair Regimen?
Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Only you know your hair and habits best. The weather, your exercise routine, your styling options, will all effect how frequently you do a certain step in your regimen. If you go to the gym every day, steps 2, 3, & 4 will happen daily. If you live in a cold environment, step 4 is vital to keeping moisture in your hair during the cold, dry months. What you need to achieve in your regimen will probably change depending on the season. Give yourself at least one month to test it out. Stick with the same products to see true results!
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Good luck on your naturally curly hair journey! We’re here to help every step of the way. What’s YOUR healthy hair regimen? Let us know with a comment!
Brought to you by http://www.naturallycurly.com/

Natural Beauties with a TWA: Do not let your heart be troubled........Be Encouraged!

1. Be patient.
2. Remember that during your natural hair journey every stage will have it's challenges and benefits.
3. Think outside the box and try different styles, products, and hair accessories.
4. Remember that for some natural's it takes time for your curl pattern to be revealed so don't get frustrated when curl defining products do not work on your hair, it may take a little longer.  In my research I polled some other Natural Beauties who told me that it took up to 6 months in some cases for their curls to come alive.
5. Find the products that work for you.
6. Do not get hair envy :)  God blessed you with natural tresses that are beautiful and JUST FOR YOU!

Stay Encouraged!
Sincerely, Abena Sereese, Natural Beauties page, Originator and Facilitator

Written by Natural Beauties/ Abena Sereese.

Deep Down With In {Deep Conditioning}

A deep conditioning regimen should be a part of any naturals hair care routine.  To deep condition means to get moisture deep within the hair shaft giving it much needed extra moisture.  To get the most out of your routine here a few tips that may be helpful to use.

1.If you have used a lot of product before hand, use of a clarifying shampoo is warranted.  This allows the deep conditioner to perform at its best

2. Use of saran wrap or a plastic cap is highly recommended.  The plastic traps moisture as well as body heat, opening up your cuticles for deep penetration,

3.  If you have one, use a hood dryer.  The hood dryer provides extra heat, further opening up your cuticles

4.  You may invest any cheap co wash conditioner that you want, but you should spend more time and invest in a really good deep conditioner specific to your hair needs.

5.  Remove any excess water from your shampoo or co wash before applying your deep conditioning.  The excess will only dilute out your conditioner.

6.  Allow your conditioner to sit on your hair for at least 20 to 30 minutes.  The longer the better for your hair.

7.  Make sure you distribute the conditioner evenly thru your hair, focusing on your tips.  Be generous

8.  If you plan on de tangling your hair, the time to do it is AFTER you allow the conditioner to sit on your hair for a specified amount of time.  The conditioner should help the strands glide over one another,

9.  Deep condition on a regular schedule, the drier  or more damaged your hair the more often you should do it.

These are just some quick and easy rules of thumb that should make your deep conditioning process more rewarding.

Compliments of I Love My Kinky Curly Natural Hair

Written by Natural Beauties/ Abene Sereese

First Natural Hair Meetup: Mississippi

Saturday, September 3rd was Jackson, MS first natural hair meetup. It was sponsor by Tangles & Beyond, Shea Moisture, Huetiful hair Steamer, & Curls. It was a nice little meetup. I was so excited about the event. I had my little girl in her little green and yellow dress with her bows on pigtalls. I worn a orange dress shirt and black pants. I must say we looked cute. I invited my mother and she talked about how nice I look.

She always gets on me about my appears, how I look and dress and hair, oh everything. I must say going natural has made me put more effort into myself. I really didnt care how I look (That is another story).

Okay, back to the meetup. I learn about drying my hair with a t-shirt or a mircofiber towel. Which cutdown on our hair becoming frizzy. Something I already know but I just need some confirmation.

1.) When you shampoo your hair with a sulfur free shampoo, always deep condition hair.

2.) Most naturals deep condition there hair once a week.

3.) Then after the deep conditioner, there is a leave in conditioner.

4.) Always used some type of sealer (moisture) such as an oil or shea butter (unrefined).

Things kind be confusing which I am new to been natural so we will do a step by step. I love those myself.

1.) Wash natural hair with sulfure free shampoo (I used Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Shampoo)

2.) Deep condition hair ( I used mayo, honey, and 2 eggs), then I used a plastic hair bag, I put a   towel around the bag. It is messy and will drip everywhere. I sit with it on my hair for about 35-45 minutes. Then, wash it out.

3.) AVC: Apple cider vinger mixture with water (naptural85 recipe). You can find her on Youtube

4.) Rinse out

5.) I used my homemade mixture of shea butter. I put this all over my hair. Rub in good like a massage to your hair.

6.) Leave in Conditioner (Shea Moisture Organic Curl & Style Hair Milk)

7.) Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Hold Smoothie ($9.99 at Walgreens).

8.) Style and go or tie your hair up with satin band and go to sleep.

Well, I hope this helps. I am still on my journey to healthy, happy hair. Always an struggle with natural hair. Be strong, be kind, be true to you.

Peace,

Gurl

 

Coils and TWA

Hey Everyone,

Its 4 weeks post "BC" my hair has grown a little. I found a technique (Youtube: Toliahi) to make it curly afro. The title is "Quick, Finger Coils, Define you TWA",  but some of my relaxed hair is still present. My hair was okay. It was culy in some parts where the relaxed hair is gone.

I have a natural hair event that I am going to this coming weekend. I hope that I can "rock" a nice little TWA. It will be me and my little girl. I will try and take some pics of my hair.

Have a nice, healthy, happy hair day.

SheaMoisture

I went to Walgreens to purchase "Shea Moisture" for my natural hair. I have been using it for two days now. My hair feel softer. I plan on using it and sticking to one product at a time to see what works best for my hair.

I guess I wanted my hair to be like naptural85 but we are totally different. We have different genetic make up. I look at all these natural women on youtube and I think that my hair would look like that. No way man, it does not happen. We are unique in every way.

                                             This picture above is two weeks post "BC".

I have been feeling depressed about my hair. I look like a "chica pet". I was not looking cute, not feeling cute and my heart was not into it. But I promise myself I would stay with it. I do not want to be a "quiter".

Hair Encouragement

Yesterday, I had a bad hair day. I co-wash my hair and left the conditioner on my hair for about an hour (I worked last nite 12 hours). I fell asleep with conditioning cap on. I washed the conditioner out and tried my hair up.

First mistake I did was, I did not put an oil on my hair. ( I was so sleepy). Tonite I put so H2O on my hair, follow by shea butter, then flaxseed gel. I always tie my hair up at nite which I never do.

It is so amazing that our hair has so many emotions attached to it. I have been depressed for about a week. I thought I would have curls automatically. I am trying to find my own haircare regimen. I want to have healthy happy hair.

Until next time, Kitay Girl