Natural hair is catching the world by storm.
Everywhere you turn, there's a kink, curl, coil or wave.
Though many of us have long been on our respective hair journeys, there are transitioners who are new to the game. Here are a few hair tips for those who want to embrace their natural hair, but don't quite know how.
Change your hair perceptions. For many HairNistas, permed hair is all we know or all that we remember. Because we had relaxers beginning at a very young age, many of us many not know or remember how to take care of our natural tresses. Just as learning how to care for your natural hair is a process, so, too, is our perceptions of the hair growing from our scalps. This is a total change from the days when the first sign of a crinkle, curl or wave sent us running to the hair salon for a touchup or to the drugstore for a fresh box of relaxer.
Your hair isn't the same, so it's going to look a lot different than what it used to. It's going to take a certain amount of "embracing" your hair -- all parts of it -- to avoid you from going transition crazy or running back to get that box of relaxer. If you are struggling with blending your straight and natural hair, styles like flat ironing, flexirods/curlformers and even wigging it are your friends.
Find motivation. Keep natural hair sites like HairNista.blogspot.com, CurlyNikki.com and BGLHOnline.com --- all great resources. Accept that some days, your hair game may not be on point. When you are having bad hair days, go to sites like BlkGirlsRock.com and YouTube.com for inspiration and motivation to continue your journey.
Avoid the urge to go product crazy. The temptation is so there for you to try every product under the sun, especially when you're new to this. Develop your staple regimen, but don't go broke doing it. What works at the TWA stage may not work when your hair is shoulder length. Find a few good products and stick to them. I like to stick with basics and go from there. If you know your hair hates shea butter, products with shea butter probably aren't going to work for you. And, if you do experiment, make sure you give your product enough time to work (at least a month without mixing too many other new products) and capture the results in a journal or by picture.
Avoid hair comparison. When you're new to natural hair, it's easy to obsess over things like hair type or have illusions about what our hair will do based on that YouTubers hair or maybe our friends' hair. You think: Her hair grew eight inches that first year, mine will, too. Maybe it will; maybe it won't. But don't set yourself up for disappointment. Your hair is your hair; no amount of YouTube vids will make your hair like HER hair.
Get the basics down. It's easy to go hair crazy when you first go natural. But no matter the length, the basics are the same -- detangling, washing, conditioning, deep conditioning, and sealing and moisturizing. Get these routines down -- ESPECIALLY moisturizing and sealing -- and the products and and your hair will thank you for it.
What was your experience during your transition? What helped and what didn't help?
No comments:
Post a Comment