To steer you in the right direction, here are some basic natural hair tips.
Do:
- Research ingredients found in your products
- Avoid potentially drying, damaging, irritating or pore clogging ingredients such as mineral oil, lanolin oil, propylene glycol, PEG (polyethylene glycol) sodium lauryl sulfate & sodium laureth sulfate, alcohol (isopropyl alcohol), petroleum, chlorine, FD&C coloring, DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (momoethnanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine), fragrance, Imidazolidinyl urea and DMDM hydantoin
- Use a wide-toothed comb
- Use a shower filter if you have hard water
- Wear a silk or satin scarf/bonnet to bed or sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase
- Prevent your ends from rubbing on harsh fabrics like sweaters and thick cottony garments
- Keep a hair journal noting what works for you and what does not and how your hair is doing
- Drink lots of water
- Use a heat protectant before heat styling
- Deep condition once a week, after a severely drying or stripping process, coloring or when you feel you need it
- Regularly clean your hairstyling tools
- Moisturize daily, sealing in moisture after wards with oil (extra virgin olive oil is one option)
- Wash, de-tangle, apply product and style in sections
- Massage your scalp alone or with a natural oil nightly or as often as you like
- Take pictures to document your growth and health progress
- Love your hair and it will reward you
Don’ts:
- Be impatient with your hair
- Take your stress and frustrations out on your hair, be gentle
- Excessively use heat styling tools such as curling irons, flat irons hair spa and blow dryers
- Wear ponytails in the same spot daily
- Use elastic bands or ponytail holders with metal pieces, as they can rip out your hair
- Be afraid of failure, it’s a part of life and a part haircare
- Be afraid to speak up when a stylist or other person is trying to do something to your hair that you know to be damaging
- Use a clarifying shampoo like a normal shampoo, it is for removing buildup of products or deposits from water or after swimming, not regular cleansing
- Overuse any chemical such as hair dye
- Neglect your hair or get lazy with your regimen
- Obsess over your hair type or texture, work with what you have
- Manipulate your hair excessively, give it a break and try styles that will last a few days to a week
- Apply undue stress to your hair, especially while it’s wet
- Assume that an expensive product must be great or an inexpensive one will not work
- Jump on every bandwagon that you see
- Wear styles that are too tight and cause stress at the hairline (braids, twists etc..)
- Get discouraged, It takes time and practice to become a “master of mane”, no one is born an expert
- Go bankrupt because of overspending on hair products
- Let anyone become a roadblock on your healthy hair journey