Hey Naturalistas,
Do you have a hair regimen? If you are new to the natural life business, you may want to figure out a suitable hair regimen for your hair and your lifestyle. What is a hair regimen you may ask, it Is simply a plan of actions that you adhere to which can enable you maintain a healthy hair and retain length as well. African hair need lots of TLC, whether relaxed or natural for you to see that growth you admire so much and a regimen is what will get you there.
A basic hair regimen must have hair cleansing, moisturizing, sealing, deep conditioning, protein treatment and styling options. Your hair care regimen is basically the things you do to your hair on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Here are some basic steps in a regimen
Moisturizing
African hair is usually dry, unlike its Caucasian counterparts. This is because even though sebum is produced, the oil doesn’t travel down curly/kinky hair as good as it does on straight hair. The hair needs added moisture. Water is the best moisturizer there is, you can either spritz your hair with water, using a spray bottle or look for a leave in conditioner that has its first ingredient as water listed on the bottle.
Sealing
After moisturizing the hair with water or a leave in condition, it is essential that you lock the moisture IN. This means you use and oil and butter (shea, cocoa, mango butter) to further seal in the moisture so it isn’t dried out quickly and it gets penetrate the hair strands. Some oils for sealing hair include coconut, olive, and jojoba oil. To reduce the steps, you can add the oil to the water in the spray bottle. Don’t drench your hair in oil and butter though.
Washing/Cleansing
It is important that you cleanse your hair as often as your hair needs it. Not everyone’s scalp can take weekly washing, it’s about knowing what works for you. Cleansing will help clear the scalp of oils and products. This prevents the hair from being weighed down. A good sulphate free shampoo is recommended for your shampooing needs. After washing the hair, always follow up with a good hair conditioner to add life to your hair. You can also decide to detangle your hair using a conditioner, if you didn’t do so before shampooing
Deep conditioning
We already discussed the benefits of deep conditioning in a previous post. Always deep condition on freshly cleaned hair (shampooed) so the hair can benefit from all the nutrients contained in the deep conditioner. Deep condition at least once a week, some people can go two weeks before deep conditioning. Just ensure that you listen to your hair.
Protein Treatment
This also was discussed Here. Strengthening your hair is also part of the regimen. This should always be followed by a deep conditioning treatment as protein tends to harden the hair.
Styling
I added styling to this because it is just as essential as any other step. Since it is necessary that one reduces manipulation of hair via combing as much as possible, pick a protective style that will enable you leave your hair without touching it apart from re-arrangement. This also is a key to letting it grow. If you have on weave or braids, do not neglect your hair under these either.
An example of a regimen would be
Daily
- Moisturize
- Seal
Weekly
- Deep condition
- Style
Monthly (depending on need)
Protein treatment
Listen to your hair, find products that work for it and stick to your regimen.
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