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Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!

The key to healthy Black hair and growth is moisture.  I just recently changed my moisturizing regiment, because while I religiously moisturized my hair, it was still very dry.  I found that although I was frequenting African hair care vlogs and blogs like Curly Nikki, I wasn't truly paying attention to what contributors were writing about.  I think because my hair had grown 5 inches in 6 months (when previously I hadn't achieved any growth due to breakage) and I completely repaired the damaged sections of my hair, I thought my moisture regiment was on point.  Boy was I wrong!

First,  I would mixed around three tablespoons of coconut oil and one table spoon of olive oil together and heated it up in the microwave (not too hot).  I would then wet my hair, soaked it with the hot oil and put on a heat cap for about 30 minutes.  Next, I would co-wash the oil out of my hair, spray in Hawaiian Silky leave-in conditioner and let my hair air dry.  Once it was dry, I would moisturized my scalp with my Jojoba mix, which consists of 5 drops of Rosemary, 2 drops of Lavender to one tablespoon of Jojoba oil.  I then separate my hair into 11 big sections, twist each section, put on a satin bonnet and I'm done.

With this regiment, I didn't comb my hair much, once a month at best.  I found that detangling with my fingers while co-washing worked just fine.  Its common knowledge in the natural African hair care community that our hair isn't supposed to be combed or brushed too much and not combing worked for me when I grew my hair out over the winter.

My hair would only remain supple for ONE day on this regiment.  It would literally be dried out on the second day even after re-spritzing with the leave-in.  I do co-wash two to three times a week, one because I can't stand that frowsy hair smell and two, washing allows me to get some moisture.  Although some may consider 3 co-washes a week a bit much for dry hair, its the only way I can get that suppleness back.

My hair had always been super, duper dry and I just thought I had to live with that fact and do whatever I could to keep it moist for as long as possible.  After sticking with this treatment for eight months I realized there should be something I could do to stay moisturized, so I started researching again.  I spent a couple of hours on Curly Nikki as opposed to just browsing for a few minutes and low and behold, I came across a post from a sista with baddest Afro I have ever seen in my life!  One of the first things she talked about was how dry her hair is and she went on to outline her moisture regiment.

When she co-washes, she uses around five different types of conditioner together and she doesn't rinse it out!  Further, if she feels her hair was getting a little dry between co-washes, she'll spritz in more conditioner!  I first thought that all of that conditioner would cause a lot of build-up and eventually be damaging, but the truth is everything the mainstream teaches us about natural African hair care is backward.  We can basically do the opposite of what other people do with their hair, especially in the case of conditioning.  After all, look at her hair!  She's maintained this regiment for the better part of six years and her hair is gorgeous, so all of that conditioning must be working! 

As I researched on, I came across a post about sealing with oil.  The post described how sealing locks in what ever type of moisturizer you are using and aids in keeping your hair moisturized.  I've never sealed my hair.  I figured since I hot oil treated my hair, oiled my scalp and used a very rich leave-in, I didn't need to put in any more oil.  However, it was still very dry between co-washes, even when I added more leave-in, so whatever I was doing wasn't working and my hair was telling me it was time for something new.

So, when co-wash day rolled around, I dove right into this sista's moisture regiment.  I co-washed with Garnier Fruictis Triple Nutrition and Suave Almond and Shea conditioner.  I repeated  the co-wash three times and on the third time, I didn't rinse it out.  To seal it, I mixed Shea butter and coconut oil together until the consistency was a little thinner than normal Shea butter, but not too oily.  After my hair dried, I coated it liberally with the mix, but I didn't saturate it.  I didn't use the Jojoba oil mix this time, because I wanted this regiment to be completely different to see what the results would be.  I twisted my hair up as usually and put on my satin cap.

For this regiment, I combed and brushed my hair!  I used a wide-tooth comb and a Con Air vented brush with the balls at the tips of the bristles.  Although natural African hair care science doesn't condone too much combing and brushing, a lot of sistas comb and brush on a regular basis and their hair is fine.  So, with this new regiment, I combed my hair out while co-washing and brushed it after putting in the Shea butter/coconut oil seal.  Again, trying something new!

I must say, my hair is so dry, I didn't expect much difference.  I actually felt my hair might be a bit too greasy and I would have to modify my hair style.  LET ME TELL YOU!!  When I took my twists out, I couldn't believe it!  My hair wasn't greasy AT ALL and it was completely stretched out (shrinkage is a problem for naturals).  Usually, when I take out my twists and style my hair, it poofs out into an Afro.  This time, my hair laid straight down curly, as if it was being weighed down, but without the greasy, heavy feeling.  I can't believe it!  My hair literally drank the Shea Butter and coconut oil seal and I think for the first time in a long time its truly happy!

I went to a festival that day and literally, the first sista I passed by stopped me to ask me about my hair - Shout Out to Lovita! - and needless to say I was a little excited to tell her all about my new conditioning method!  I've only done it twice and my hair looks so good, I'm not worried about build up.  I'll probably shampoo my hair a couple times per month just to clarify it.

From now on, I'm going to follow natural African hair care science to the letter - Shout out to Curly Nikki!  Sistas that take the time to post information about natural African hair care REALLY know what they're talking about, just look at their hair!  I had to learn that if my hair doesn't look good, its not getting what it wants and needs and instead of figuring I know everything there is to know, I should take some advice and do something different.
Now go 'head and Grow Your Natural!



  
 

          

Zinja Hlungwani - Nwa Gezani My Love

My Journey in Natural African Hair Care

 In 1993, I transitioned directly from permed hair to wearing Dreadlocks.  Getting your hair to lock is a long, arduous process that requires a tremendous amount of patience and attention.  I had to constantly re-twist and cut my hair.  As well, I had to apply natural products like the cactus plant Rachette and Indian Hemp that were very strange and exotic to me at the time.  After a short while of this natural processing, my hair emerged and it was beautiful!   I had this big, twisted-up Afro that was so unique, everywhere I went people would stare and gasp in amazement at how tight my hair looked!  Between 6 months and a year later, I finally achieved real Dreadlocks.  I must say however, that when that time came, I didn't think my hair looked as good.  I was happy that I finally had my locks, but they weren't as unique looking as my curly fro.

My locks grew long and naturally (like Bob Marley's), because I didn't believe in going to lockticians to get my hair groomed.  To me, wearing your hair Dreadlocked isn't a hairstyle, its a state of mind and I wanted to wear my hair as nappy as possible to demonstrate my love for natural African hair.  Overtime however, although I loved my locks, I began to fantasize about that funky Afro I had when I first started locking and I realized that I didn't have to wear Dreadlocks to represent.  So, on New Year's day 2002, I cut my locks off!  It wasn't hard at all and I was ecstatic! 

My first non-locked, natural style was a TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro).  I was self-conscious and apprehensive about wearing my hair so short after all, I went from Dreadlocks almost down to my knees to really short hair.  From that point on, my hair grew out to around 5-6 inches long, but it wouldn't grow any longer!  I started trying different products and braiding my hair in extensions to get it to grow out , but I never achieved any real length.  In fact, one of the last times I braided my hair, half of the length of my hair broke off in the back of my head!  It took a terribly long time, but I finally realized I didn't know how to take care of my hair!   I was so confused.  Why did my Dreadlocks grow so long and so fast, but not my Afro?  So i jumped on the computer and started researching.  Soon enough, I stumbled upon the natural African hair care videos on YouTube and my mind was blown!

I was doing EVERYTHING wrong!  I learned that everybody's hair grows about 1 1/2 inches a month, but if your hair is breaking you will never see the growth.  I thought my God, every time I wash my hair, I blow dry it and the sink is always full of hair.  I also learned we aren't supposed to comb, brush or manipulate our hair too much, as this causes breakage as well.  Again I thought to myself, my hair grew so long when I had locks, because I basically left it alone. 

I gained such a wealth of knowledge from the online, natural African hair care community, that I was completely overwhelmed.  Everything we are taught as Black women about hair care is wrong!  EVERYTHING!  No wonder so many of us seem to be relegated to the same short hairstyles and result to wearing weaves or wigs to know what it looks and feels like to have long hair.

I have nothing but respect and great admiration for Madame CJ Walker for innovating in hair care for Black women, but that was 100 years ago.  While some of her inventions served us well in the past, others do nothing for the true health and growth of natural African hair today.  It's time for Black women around the world to step into the 21st century and get educated in the Science of Natural African Hair Care.  Now get with the program and Grow Your Natural!

The Natural Black Hair Revolution is Here!

Calling all Black women!  Calling all Black women!  Join the Natural Black Hair Revolution now!  You no longer have to hide your glory under wigs and weaves or mutilate it with creamy crack!  Calling all Black women!  Calling all Black women!  The time to free yourself is now!  Free yourself from the stigma that says our hair isn't as manageable, versatile or beautiful as anyone else's!

Sistas, take off those wigs and cut out that weave.  Throw out the creamy crack (perm) and put down the flat iron!  The science for natural African hair care is upon us and in full affect.  Unlike the not too distant past, the knowledge and information concerning the maintainence, care and upkeep for natural African hair is everywhere, in fact there are many hair care lines that have gone commercial.  We now have no excuse for hiding under wigs and weaves, because we don't "know how to deal with our hair" or worse, we think other textures of hair is more beautiful than our own.

The notion that black hair doesn't grow or that its unmanageable is a fallacy.  Granted, there's no faster hair care than just throwing a wig on, but where is the pride in that?  Why do we want to continue to announce to the world that we don't think we look good unless we are wearing the White woman look? If we continue to buy into what the world thinks of us then we will continue to pass on the legacy of self hatred to our future generations, its as simple as that.  Granted, fake hair isn't the only manifestation of self hatred in the Black community, but it is certainly a strong example.  We've been protesting and marching for damn near 100 years for the world to grant us equal footing in all aspects of life, isn't it time we attribute the same fairness to the hair that grows out of our head?  Indeed, the stigma that society has placed on the Black female characteristic is deep rooted and goes back centuries, but is time for sistas to step into the 21st century and FREE OURSELVES! 

Truth be told, transitioning from chemically treated hair, wigs and weaves is the BIGGEST step.  If you've never worn your hair natural and don't know anyone that wears their hair naturally, you may be wondering how in the world do you make the change.  My advice is to first get educated.  There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of YouTube videos of sistas demonstrating natural hair care.  There are also many excellent websites and blogs like CurlyNikki.com that are the best guides you could ask for on natural African hair care.
 
The second step would be to just stop creamy crackin' (perming)!  Let your new growth come in.  Some sistas decide to go all in and BC (BC = Big Chop) their permed hair right away and rock a TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro).  Others would prefer to have more length before they cut of their perm and continue wearing a wig or weave.  I would suggest however, if you are going to wear a weave while you transition, get the old school weave where your hair is corn rowed first and then the weave is sewn in.  Just make sure your beautician doesn't pull the thread too tight and maintain a weekly deep conditioning regiment.  Its also good to transition with braids.  Simple box braid styles are easy to care for and help you maintain a professional look at work.  Again, however, if you use synthetic hair, make sure its not braided too tight, deep condition regularly and don't keep them in longer than one month.      

Natural African hair care is actually pretty straight forward, moisturize, moisturize and moisturize.  Although there are many retail products out there, we can actually care for our hair pretty well with everyday household items or things we might find in the kitchen.  For instance, I use coconut and olive oil to give myself a hot oil treatment before I co-wash (co-wash = wash w/ conditioner).  My hair loves coconut and olive oil and reveals beautiful, soft and shiny curls from a two-strand twist out.  Many natural African hair conditioning methods contain other  household items such as, avocado, castor oil, shea butter or honey.  Add one leave in conditioner and you can create your own deep conditioning regiment.

One very key thing to remember as you are becoming the natural you, keep the heat to a very low minimum.  Nothing breaks off our hair like heat.  If you want to wear a blow out, make sure you only do it once a month and that may even be a bit much.  As well, dust (trim) your hair RELIGIOUSLY every eight weeks.  The key word here is dust, don't give yourself a haircut, just trim enough off to get most of your crunchy ends. 

In order for the world to respect us, we must first love and respect ourselves, as we are.  Yes, YOU ARE YOUR HAIR!  We are Black women.  We are our color, our lips and our hips!  If we weren't we would be someone else.  It is up to us to conquer that fear and stigma, no one else can do it for us.  If we don't stop wearing the stigma, then the stigma remains. 

This is my first blog on natural African hair care and there's much more to come.  You don't have to go it alone, there is so much information on the Internet, in the blogosphere and in the community, I don't know why every sista isn't natural.  Black hair is beautiful and Black women are beautiful when we wear our hair naturally.  Now go 'head and Grow Your Natural!