How to take care of natural hair?
To care for natural hair, consider the following tips from expert sources:
- Moisturize and detangle: Use a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar to spritz your hair before detangling. Then, saturate with a water and coconut oil mixture, and detangle gently with your fingers.
- Pre-pooing: Apply oils to your hair and scalp before shampooing to reduce tangles, prevent shampoo from stripping, and improve overall health.
- Wash frequency: Avoid washing your hair more than twice a month, especially if your hair is thin. For most, once every other week should suffice.
- Use conditioners and hot oil treatments: Condition your hair every time you wash and apply a hot oil treatment twice a month.
- Cautious use of heat: Protect your hair from heat damage with a heat-protectant product before styling. Avoid frequent heat styling, such as blow drying, curling irons, hot rollers, and hair straighteners.
- Scalp massage: Massage your scalp with stimulating oils or growth creams.
- Shampoo carefully: Choose sulfate-free shampoos that are gentler on your hair. Occasionally clarify your hair to remove product buildup.
- Styling: Experiment with low manipulation styles or protective styles that require minimal maintenance, like braids, twists, or cornrows.
- Sleep friendly: Use a satin pillowcase or wrap your hair with a silk scarf at night to minimize tangles and hair breakage.
- Be cautious with chemical treatments: If using relaxers, go to a professional and limit touch-ups to every two to three months on new hair growth only.
Remember that natural hair care requires patience and routine experimentation to find what works best for you. Keep in mind that everyone's hair is unique, so allow time to adjust to a new routine, and don't hesitate to try different techniques for better results.