Most people want what they can’t have. If you have straight hair, you want curly hair and if your hair is curly, you want it straight. However, what matters the most is how you look after it. Whatever type of hair you have, if you look after it, everyone will certainly compliment you on it, be it curly or straight. I hope you identified your hair care regimen from my previous post. If you still have not, you can certainly feel free to check it out.
Like most people with afro hair, It took a long time for me to learn how to look after it just because I always thought that having it straight looked better. Now I know most individuals may disagree with me, but curly hair can actually be washed frequently if you have a wash and go style. That means not putting any heat on it. I remember the first year I decided to go heat free. It was a time of reckoning. You can imagine having this afro that decides on a certain day that it just doesn’t want to be shaped in any way. I had to really work with it all the time and I don’t resort to buns, I always end up braiding it some way either it’s a two strand twist or flat twist. It’s not that I don’t have the courage to have it out. Sometimes, I just didn’t want to keep being self-concious about it and it was easier to have it braided.
Looking after the afro
When I first learnt how to look after my hair, I experienced a lot of growth, however that was before I had a child. I used to spend hours on my hair without a tinge of guilt as I had time on my hands. The older I got though, I have become a little more strict with my time as I ask myself if I have had a productive day. Therefore I tend to limit time with my hair to less than 2 hours. That means, I just have to get any style done and the faster it’s done the better. Lately, I decided not to add any type of extension to my hair just to make sure that I am giving it the attention it deserves. I am making sure that it’s moisturised and if that means washing it twice a week, I will do that. If you want to have a better hair regimen, you always have to start with constant hair refreshment, It will make a difference to your hair, probably not immediately but after a period of time.
If you want more growth, you have to trim your hair and honestly, long hair may be hereditary, but as long as you are looking after your hair well, it makes a massive difference.
Having balance
Although it’s important to add moisture to your hair, you must have a good balance of protein and moisture. The good thing is that once you find the right products and the right balance, there is no limit to how long you want to grow your hair and you don’t have to take hair and nail pills, although they can really help.
So if you want to start a healthy hair care regimen, first make sure you diagnose your hair to see if there is any problem you need to address. If it’s dryness then it’s best to add moisturising shampoos. If it’s brittle and tends to break quite a bit then you will have to add protein shampoo to your regimen. Once you have identified the right regimen, you have to create a schedule that you must stick to. You have to have consistency in your hair regimen to see change, otherwise you will get back to square one.
Deep-conditioning
I never thought afro hair really needed deep conditioning, however after doing it a couple of times this year, it has really improved my hair condition. I think that if I do it every month, I will probably be even more pleased with the results, however I like to save my time so I may add that to my regimen.
Healthy body, healthy hair
When you are looking after you body and eating the right foods, it will reflect on your body. If you make sure that you are hydrated often and that you have increased your vegetable intake, it will really assist you in seeing a difference in your hair. Additionally, if you work on yourself, it will definitely reflect. Therefore, don’t neglect your body because you are trying to work on your hair only. Everything has to be improved.
Have you done anything to your hair lately that has assisted you in looking after it?
4 replies on “How to start looking after your hair”
Hey Michelle,
This is a great post! I remember when I was in college I had long hair for a guy. My hair is thick and grows out curly and wavy. Even though I didn’t spend much time on it every day, I made sure to use good shampoo for it, and the results showed.
It’s amazing how just a change in shampoo can make all the difference. That, and of course, brushing it once a day. How do you feel about brushing hair? Sometimes I did it, and sometimes I didn’t. I found that I liked it better when I did brush it.
I also have taken hair and nail vitamins in the past. I am a guitar player, and I like to use my hand and fingernails when I pluck the strings, so for a while it was vital for me to have strong nails.
But not only did I have strong nails, but I also had great looking hair that girls loved. Ahh.. College was a good time.
Anyways, thanks for the great post!
Cheers,
Max
Hi Max, Thank you that means alot. Yes the products you use have a way to affect our hair. In terms of brushing it’s good for the hair, however for curly hair you certainly need to use specific types of brushes, which I will certainly write about in the next topic. Thanks for bringing that up.
Hair care is so important. When I was working as a marketer for businesses, I had to attend as well as conduct many meetings. Having great looking hair is all part of great first impressions.
So I must thank you for this helpful article. I agree with you that we must have the right products and right balance. And somehow I always feel that I do not have that done well.
Do you have suggestions on how to diagnose our hair? And what would be the right products for each type of hair? Will be most grateful for your kind help on this.
Hi Timotheus, Thank you for your comment. In terms of self-diagnosis, you can always tell how your hair feels when you use a particular product, it’s best to be extremely attentive once you have used a product, sometimes it takes about 3 months to see significant change but to give a great example. If you feel like your hair is quite dry, then you should look to get products that add more moisture to it. Garnier products are good for this. If you hair feels really oily, then you need to get products that are more cleansing to your scalp. Klorane is an example of a product that helps with cleansing of product build up. There are many products in the market, but you can’t use all of them to find out which one works well for you. Depending on the health of your hair I would choose something that targets the issues I am facing, if I may ask, what sort of unusual or usual signs are problematic for you? that can help me point you in the right direction.