Black Hair Care

Being my ethnicity (I am full, dark-skinned black) one thing I am most proud of is my hair. It’s so versatile. I can wear it kinky or stick straight, go a week+ without washing it (and you’d never tell the difference), relax it, or ‘fro it and stick it straight up on top of my head with zero product or effort.

I won’t lie, though. There are too many times that my hair just doesn’t do what I want! It won’t stay down, it won’t stay straight, or it won’t grow out as fast as I’d like. That’s why hair care specific to black beauty is crucial. We need different products and tools to get the most out of out hair, no doubt to it.

As with any ethnicity, hair care starts from the inside. No matter how you wash your hair or who your stylist is, your hair’s not going to be healthy or retain any growth unless you’re feeding it from the inside as well.

• Drink plenty of water. This will rid your body of impurities and toxins that could be stripping the health of your hair and stunting its growth. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
• Eat a high-protein, low sugar diet. Hair is made of proteins, so naturally eating lots of it will contribute to the strength of your hair. Try to aim for up to 100 grams of lean protein a day (protein powders can help).
• Take your vitamins. Vitamins are great for so many reasons! The key ‘hair’ vitamins you may want to take are:
  • a multivitamin – contains all the basics
  • B-complex – B12 is great for hair growth
  • fish oil – moisturizes your hair and aids in growth
  • biotin – thickens your hair which aids in growth
  • there are many more options, but I would start with those

“Back to black.” Many would say that relaxing or adding extensions to our hair isn’t exactly showing ‘pride’ of it’s nature, but if we can modify or add to anywhere else on our bodies, it shouldn’t stop at our locks. You don’t need kinky hair to show that you care.

For those relaxed mavens who care about how to moisturize your hair, how to make your hair grow and glow, and other pampering techniques, these tips are for you.

Moisturize

Using quality hair care products that delivers to our main hair concerns (dryness, split ends) is crucial to the health of your hair.

I’ve found that my hair absolutely thrives on olive oil hair care treatments. Back when I was constantly wearing extensions and my hair was suffering as a result (you need to let it breathe!), olive oil quickly nursed my hair back to health.

I use:

• olive oil shampoo and conditioner (Nacidit brand)
• olive oil wrap lotion (read below)
• olive oil in its natural form to massage my scalp with three nights a week and use in my deep oil treatment concoctions.

You will need to exercise some personal trial and error to find what works for your hair. One thing I never do is ‘grease my scalp.’ That will only weigh down your hair and clog your pores. Plus, the base ingredients of hair grease are petrolatum and mineral oil which are not good for the hair in large amounts.

Deep conditioning treatments are great. They moisturize your hair thru and thru and keep it looking shiny and growing longer. You can either buy a pre-made treatment or mix your own. I like to have fun and mix my own, because I have found what my hair likes.

I throw in:

• Hair Mayonnaise (name brand)
• olive oil
• coconut oil
• a hair grease containing Sulfur (Super Gro is great and also contains lots of vitamins)

You can find all of the above at your local ethnic beauty supply. I use the mayonnaise as the base and squirt nickel-sized amounts of everything else. Rub between your hands and apply to your hair from root to tip. Throw on a shower cap or hair cap and do some pilates (or whatever you want) for about a half hour. Rinse all the gunk off in the shower, then use a conditioner (no shampoo). I use this treatment on the weekends.

After this, you can let your hair completely air dry. Use a flat iron when you want it straight again. Your hair will be shiny and well-moisturized. Gorgeous!

Relax

I recommend almost everyone to get their hair relaxed professionally. But if you are experienced with at-home relaxers as I am, go for it.

As you should know, do not shampoo the hair for a couple days before the relaxer. However, to protect your hair for the process, I like to do a deep conditioning treatment a couple days before my relaxer.

Do not over-process your hair! I know they say that you can re-relax after six weeks, but if you take care of your hair, use treatments, wrap your hair, and wash once a week then you really should not need a relaxer for up to 3 months.

To keep your relaxer looking salon-fresh, wrapping your hair every night is the key.

To wrap my hair, I will either coat it with a deep oil treatment (olive oil nuked in the microwave for 10 seconds…test it first!) or just coat it with some hair lotion. I part my hair from the crown down to my ear then comb that section around, taking all my hair around as I go. The oil/lotion and a comb aids the process. After I’m done, my hair has been wrapped completely around and it should be as flat as possible. To keep it tight, I might use Saran wrap then a scarf to keep it flat for the night. Once I wake up and take my hair down and comb it out, it is so soft and straight!

Retain

Probably the most asked question regarding black hair care is how to guard your hair against split ends and make it grow. To sum it up, you need to protect your ends and eat a healthy diet.

To make your hair grow longer and stronger, this tips are proven to help:

• Protect your ends at night. Two of my favorite ways to do this is to wrap my hair (described above) or ‘baggie’ my ends. To baggie your ends, pull your hair up to a ponytail and secure with a ponytail holder. Apply a bit of hair lotion or oil to the ends of this ponytail. Wrap the ponytail into a bun and cover with a large piece of Saran wrap. Twist and wrap the loose ends of the Saran wrap around your bun. Now, your ends are protected for the night.
• If your ends are brushing your shoulders or back, make a habit of wearing your hair up more often. If you love to wear your hair down, at least wear it up around the house and when running errands. You will have less split ends as a result.
• Comb/brush your hair sparingly. Notice that everytime you comb your hair it sheds? Some of this is natural, but you should only be shedding entire strands of hair. If tiny pieces of hair are coming out when you comb or brush, guess what? Those are ends breaking. Use a wide-tooth comb otherwise.
• Take your vitamins. Yes, I’m saying this again. They may say that nothing can ‘make your hair grow’ from the inside, but when I started taking GNC’s Hair, Skin, & Nails supplement (containing biotin and B vitamins) and fish oil, my hair grew two inches in a month. Soft and thick new growth. It is fabulous!
• Find a stylist that you trust. I would warn against going to ‘just any shop’ to get a trim or a relaxer. Find someone you trust who is going to do with your hair what you want. Think I’m lying? I’ve heard too many horror stories of girls reaching ‘long hair status’ only to go to a stylist that snips off 3+ inches because “you needed it.” It happens and I don’t want it happening to you.