How To Care for African American Hair
Chic African American Hairstyle
African American Hair ranges from slightly wavy to extremely curly, and maybe caused by the heredity, it usually tend to be drier and curlier than Caucasian or Asian hair. African American hair is easy to be kinky, tangled, which is especially fragile and prone to injury and damage. African American hair tends to be brittle and prone to breakage if not cared for properly. Lots of African American women are concerning about their fine hair or hair loss and put the caring the hair as one of their daily work. So, there are lots of measurement to care for the African American hair nowadays, here, let’s talk about some efficiency tips on caring for African American hair.
1. Moisturize Is The Key, Wash Hair Once a Week
All hair needs moisture from water. African American hair needs to be fully replenished and exposed to water at a minimum of once a week (and often washing more often than this strips protective oils, leaving the hair open to environmental drying- this is why it’s not often recommended to just wash it daily. This will help prevent build-up of hair care products, which can be drying to the hair. African hair does not often get overly oily like Caucasian or Asian hair does when it is not washed for several days.
African hair tends to be naturally dry with minimal oil, which is why it isn’t necessary to use shampoo more than once a week. Shampooing your hair several times a day or even every day strips the oil that the hair needs from the hair shaft so that it becomes drier, frizzier and more prone to breaking. Use the hydrating shampoos but not the clarifying, because the clarifying shampoo are the worst for African American hair.
2. Use Conditioner Every Time You Wash Your Hair
African American hair tends to be dry, it’s essential to use conditioner every time you shampoo your hair to restore moisture. When you condition, be sure to coat the ends of the hair with conditioner, as the ends are the oldest and most fragile part of your hair and keep the conditioner in your hair for a few minutes before washing it out.
3. Hold The Moisture In
After you finish washing your hair, the hair needs help to keep all that moisture in. Adding a generous amount of mixture of shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil in or other fatty product applied to the strands from tip to root to lock that moisture in, which keeps the hair pliant. Protect the hair from wind and extreme temperatures with silky coverings.
3. Co-washing the Hair if Your Exercise Regularly
Co-washing is short for “conditioner-only washing”. It means skipping shampoo and relying solely on conditioner. If you love to jogging or exercise regularly which will bring you sweat, then you may need to cleanse your hair more often than once a week to remove the sweat. Instead of using shampoo, co-wash with conditioner in between your weekly cleanses. Hair conditioner will gently cleanse away sweat or other buildup while keeping the healthy oils in your hair.
5. Use a Leave In Moisturizer Daily
Using a leave in conditioner or moisturizer on days that you don’t wash or condition your hair ensures that your hair stays hydrated so that it looks good and is protected from damage. Use a light leave-in moisturizer formulated for African American hair at the beginning of the day before styling your hair.
Try to find a moisturizer that contains essential oils, which are absorbed into the hair and moisturize. Avoid products containing lanolin or other greasy ingredients that sit on the surface of the hair and weigh it down.
Spritz your hair with water, then apply the moisturizer, or find a moisturizer than can be used on dry hair. Use the moisturizer on all of your hair, but pay special attention to the tips of your hair, which are the oldest and driest.
6. Use a Hot Oil Treatment Your Hair Bimonthly
In addition to your regular maintenance of your hair, doing a monthly or bimonthly deep conditioning treatment will adds additional moisture and elasticity to your hair, making it more moisturized and less brittle.
7. Protect the Hair
African American is fragile. So, the hair has to be protected from tangling, knotting (single strand knots) breakage and snapping. Use the comb with the widest-possible tooth, and make sure it doesn’t have sharp edges that will saw at non-straightened strands. This means be leery of elastics and rubber bands, combs and brushes, ribbons, pillow cases, towels, shirts and jacket collars (people rarely think about those last, but they matter).
We should also save non-protective styles for special occasions. Style the hair to tuck the ends, avoid free strands and brushing or scraping on collars and pillows and drying materials, and in such a way that it doesn’t have to be styled every day.
8. Detangle And Comb The African Hair Only When Fully Moisturized
Sometimes fingers are the best tools, use fingers to manipulate the African hair after an initial detangling. Or use the widest-toothed comb possible, and detangle from end toward the root, never yank abruptly. Make sure that hair is fully dampened when being styled.
Detangle and separate the hair section by section, and rub each one individually, braid or separate it again after rinsing it, then go to the next part. The less the hair has a chance to rub against each other, the less chance strands will tangle and thus get snapped when trying to separate them.
9. Heat Gently And Infrequently
It’s recommended to wear the hair as close to the natural texture as possible to prevent having to stretch it and giving more opportunities for snapping. But if you need to blow dry, flat iron, or straighten the hair, use the lowest temperature possible for the job. Only use heat on clean hair that has a protective product applied. Use a heat protecting product before styling.
10. Keep a Well Nourished Wholesome Diet and Good Mood Everyday
Make sure your body is well nourished with wholesome diet of your choice, with plenty of water, get sufficient rest, and seek the lowest level of stress in your life.
Open your mind to the many possibilities of African American hair. Have a good mood everyday. Everything will work a little differently for everyone. You hope for good, good will follow you. Enjoy the beauty of the African American hair spectrum.
