Natural Hair Care Tips – The Basics

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Natural Hair Care Tips: Caring for Natural Hair is Easy

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If you are looking for natural hair care tips or how to care for natural hair, it is safe to assume that maybe you are struggling with your hair. Perhaps you recently decided to go natural and you are not sure what to expect on this new hair care journey. Well, the good news is, it is easy to care for natural hair and to grow it out long and beautiful if you know what to do.

Natural Hair Care Tips: Healthy Hair Checklist

    1. Knowledge is power: Find out your hair type and seek out advice from others with a similar hair type.
    2. Moisturize: Kinky/Curly hair loves moisture. If you keep it watered and fed, it will grow like a healthy plant.
    3. Always deep condition: Going along with the point about moisturizing, regular deep conditioning penetrates into your hair shaft and strengthens hair from the inside out.
    4. Nourish: Keep your hair and scalp healthy with this basic 3 step nourishment:


      		5.

      • Water: Wet your hair as often as possible.
      • Moisture: Moisturize daily
      • Seal Moisture: Use essential oils to seal moisture.
    5. Stimulate: Massage your scalp on a regular basis to stimulate and remove dry skin. You can do this daily with a gentle fingertip massage.
    6. Protect: Do all you can to keep your hair from becoming dry or from breaking off.
      • Stay away from products with unnatural ingredients.
      • Avoid using heat such as flat ironing or blow drying.
      • Manipulate your hair as little as possible.
      • Wear “protective” hair styles then leave it alone.
      • Sleep with a satin hair scarf, hair bonnet or on satin pillow cases.
      • Avoid tight braids and twists and elastic hair bands. Pipe-cleaners make a good substitute.
      • If you need to comb through your hair and when you detangle, be gentle. Always comb from tip to root. Avoid brushing and use a very wide tooth comb.

        • Natural Hair Care Tips

    7. Maintain: Have your ends trimmed on a regular basis or trim them yourself.
    8. Products: Believe it or not, you only need about 4 good products to keep your hair healthy. All you need are the following:
        • Deep conditioner
        • Leave in conditioner
        • Moisturizer
        • Sealant or hair oil

      Note that shampoo is not on this list. One of the biggest natural hair care tips: Prevent dandruff, dry hair and scalp and sometimes even hair loss by avoiding shampoo on your hair. If you feel you really need to use shampoo, only use those that don’t any harmful ingredients such as sulfates and other harsh detergents. Here’s our list of product ingredients to avoid for natural hair care. And if you do use shampoo make sure that you rinse it out extremely well.

    9. Nutrition: What you put into your body will directly affect the health of your hair and hair growth.
      • Eat Green Leafy Veggies – Green leafies such as spinach, kale, all greens, cabbage and broccoli are packed with the vitamins and minerals which help to strengthen hair and nails from the inside of your body.
      • Drink Lots of Water
      • Take Supplements or drink vitamin packed juices.


      There are tons of these products out there. Go to the health food store and browse or ask about which vitamins can help hair and nails.
      Follow these guidelines and you should quickly begin to see your hair grow out healthy and beautiful.

      Check out the Grow It Long Hair Care Guide for more details on these steps and specific natural hair care product suggestions.

      Natural Hair Care Icon of the Week: Jill Scott

      naturalhaircaretips-jillscottFrom the time she first came on the scene Jill Scott has always rocked beautiful natural hair. She is a true inspiration to me because she is 100% gorgeous and comes across as so genuine and authentic that it just makes you want to step up your game, whatever your game might be. We love Jill for embracing kinky locs and voluptuous curves, and we appreciate her for her incredible vocals.

      Join the challenge! 6 Month Plan for Extreme Natural Hair Growth : Detailed steps and information on how to co-poo, how to heal your scalp, and how to get your hair to grow really long, really fast.

      Natural Hair Care Tips: My Natural Hair Story

      When you make the decision to start going natural, finding the advice and stories from others who have been through the same process is a great support. Its also great to get natural hair care tips from someone who has gone through it too. The goal of this site is to provide this support through advice, tips, product suggestions, hair care routines and much more.

      The first thing I’d like to do is to encourage you to carefully document your natural hair care journey. Regardless of whether you are growing out a relaxer, or if you have always had natural hair, it will help you a lot to take pictures, make videos and keep a journal of the products and styles that have worked and have not worked for you. The best way to learn about your hair is to study it!

      Natural Hair Care Tips
      My Background
      I have very thick, very course, very kinky, 4c hair. When I asked my mother why she decided to have my hair chemically straightened at such a young age, she simply said that she didn’t have time for all the work it took to do it. That was a different time (the early 70’s) and it seems like now a days mothers have more products and experience at their hands to care for their daughter’s kinky hair.
      My mom is a cosmetologist and still owns her own salon. I literally grew up in the hair salon with all of the mirrors and products. I have always had a lot of fun with hair and I don’t take it too seriously. So the natural hair care tips that I provide here are with the intention that it is only hair! Any time you want to do something different, including go back to a relaxer… well, I think that is ok. The second best way to learn about your hair is to experiment!

      So what caused me to want to go natural? 30 years of 6 – 8 week appointments later, I got a very very bad burn from the relaxer. I had been burned many times before, but I simply decided that this was it. And I started to let my natural hair grow out.

      My Transition
      Feb 2008 was my last relaxer. Since I did not want to chop off all of my hair I just decided to start looking into natural hair care products while I allowed my new growth to grow in. I held on to my length for as long as I could while keeping my straight hair. I mostly wore it “up” with a bun and/or a scarf. I also did twist out and other curly styles.

      Then once my new-growth got too long and started taking over I put it in twisted extensions that I could do myself. I wore my hair in the twisted extensions for about a year, washing and re-twisting it every week and redoing it in sections every few weeks. I never really took it all out at once, so the emerging natural remained a mystery for a long time.

      When I finally removed all of the extensions, my new growth was about 3 or 4 inches long, which was about a 1 inch afro. I cut all the straight ends off myself and put the twisted extensions back in. I also had my “chunky braids” style that I would wear which didn’t take as long to put in as the twisted extensions. I’d take very large sections of hair and braid them down with extension hair. It only took about an hour or two to complete.

      As far as a general hair care regimen, I always deep condition, and I don’t use shampoo. If you start reading different blogs and forums about curly hair care tips you’ll often come across the word “co-poo”. This method of washing using conditioner rather than shampoo is fantastic for the hair and it gets the hair very clean while also keeping it soft and manageable. Shampoo tends to strip your hair of its natural essence and dries it out.

      Today
      Now my hair is about 12-15 inches long, but my hair is so kinky that its still a short afro! I usually wear it in a twisted out puff at the top of my head. I wear it out when I have time to style it. I twist it and let it dry after I wash it to “stretch it out.”
      I liked having straightened hair. It was fun, shiny, and it moved. I enjoyed the process of blow drying, curling, and flat ironing my hair. So learning to work with natural hair was a huge adjustment and required that I learn a new styling skill set. You’ll probably find this is true for you as well, but keep at it and work with it. You’ll get there faster than you think!

      Please read on and check out the rest of the blog!

      Click here for more black hair care tips.

      Natural Hair Care Tips Related Search Terms

      natural hair care products
      curly hair care tips
      natural black hair care
      black hair care tips
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Which is better pressing or flat ironing when I want to straighten my hair?

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I personally prefer flat ironing. Its more “controlled”… especially if you use a heater with your pressing comb. My only experiences with the pressing comb have been using the stove to heat it up (old school!), or using a pressing comb heater. Both get really hot and the heat is very unpredictable. I’ve burned my hair, and myself, many times. The heat distribution on a flat iron is more stable, and you can usually control it to make it cooler or hotter.

Plus with the pressing comb you have to physically comb through your hair… you’ll inevitably end up pulling out more strands than you would with the flat iron.

Click here to check out my tips for flat ironing natural hair.

Natural Hair Care Tips Related Search Terms

natural hair care products
curly hair care tips
natural black hair care
black hair care tips

Join the challenge! 6 Month Plan for Extreme Natural Hair Growth : Detailed steps and information on how to co-poo, how to heal your scalp, and how to get your hair to grow really long, really fast.

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What are good coloring products for natural hair?

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When coloring natural hair it is important to look for coloring products with non-peroxide and non-ammonia. That usually narrows it down pretty fast. Hair coloring without those ingredients is least damaging to the hair.

If you are going from light to dark, covering grays, or are going red you might also try henna. The Surya Cream Henna Hair Color works well, but only if you are going darker.

Natural henna powder will also work for darkening or reddening. You’ll have to experiment with which colors work best with the natural tones and highlights in your hair. Henna also adds the added benefit of conditioning and strengthening your hair.

Natural Hair Care Tips Related Search Terms

natural hair care products
curly hair care tips
natural black hair care
black hair care tips

Join the challenge! 6 Month Plan for Extreme Natural Hair Growth : Detailed steps and information on how to co-poo, how to heal your scalp, and how to get your hair to grow really long, really fast.

Thank you for visiting Natural Hair Care Tips!

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Smile Makeovers

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They say the eyes are the window to the soul, well your teeth and mouth are probably the gateway to a great life if you have what it takes. It can be very off putting if you are talking to someone you do not know and they have spinach on their teeth or they clearly have not brushed or flossed that morning. It is all you can think about even if they are spouting the answer to life, love and the universe.

Having good teeth makes all the difference to a face and how you project yourself. It can make or break you, whether that is in a job interview or meeting the right person to spend the rest of your life with. First impressions count and if your first impression creates one of someone who cannot be bothered to present themselves in a orderly manner, then why should people bother about you.

This may sound shallow but how you look does make a difference, it is in the human nature to judge on appearances at first glance because that is all we have to go on initially. People notice if you have really good, straight and white teeth. They also notice if your teeth are crooked, badly stained or falling apart.

If you were a bit lax about visiting the dentist in your earlier days, it is not too late to start and to think about how you want to be perceived. Take that brave step and go and ask your dentist if there is anything they can do or if an orthodontist is more suitable.

There are more products on the shelves nowadays to help you along, from different types of floss to toothpaste that claims to whiten teeth over time. Having your teeth checked over and possibly having a brace put on can be a lengthy process but it will be worth it in the end.

This is why it is best to take children to the dentist as soon as they start to grow teeth. It combats any nerves that might evolve from sitting in the dentist`s chair and they can see problems arise and nip them in the bud before they become too troublesome.

Once you have completed your smile makeover, not only will you look better but you will also have much more confidence to go out and get what you want. No longer will you have to laugh with your hand over your mouth or speak into your polo neck for fear of someone pointing out your rotten teeth, it will be a joy to talk, laugh and smile openly.

For an instant lift to your mouth, try teeth whitening which can be done very quickly, in your lunch time if you want, but you must remember that for a while after it is inadvisable to drink red wine, smoke and eat food that might stain. The dentist will not make your teeth so bright they look false but will tailor the colour to look normal but whiter.

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Laser Hair Removal

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For many of us unwanted hair is an annoying inconvenience, but for some it can also be a source of embarrassment and a major factor in low self esteem. Shaving, waxing and using depilatory creams provide a temporary solution, but they don`t last and regrowth very quickly becomes an issue.
Add to this the fact that shaving leaves you with prickly stubble, waxing can be extremely painful and the creams used for depilation are fiddly and messy and you`ll probably be wishing there was a permanent and effective solution to your problem.
If this sounds like you, you might want to give some serious consideration to laser hair removal. It promises a permanent fix to the problem of unwanted facial and body hair and its long lasting effects can be achieved with just three to six treatments. The precise number of treatments will vary, depending on how thick the hair is, the particular area that`s being treated and your individual hair growth cycle.
Laser hair removal is suitable for all areas of the face and body. All parts of the face can be treated, such as the upper lip, upper eyebrows and chin. On the body, it`s used for the chest, shoulders and back, hands and feet, arms and underarms, abdomen, buttocks and the bikini line.
The treatment is suitable for dark and light skin, as well as tanned skin and is used for men as well as women.
It works by targeting at thin laser beam at the root of each hair follicle in the problem area. The follicle is destroyed instantly. Some people feel a small pinching or stinging, but this is rarely significant. You should be offered a patch test before deciding on a course of treatment, so that you can find out for yourself what it feels like.
Very few patients get any side effects, but occasionally these can include a slight reddening or swelling of the skin that`s been treated. It`s rather like sunburn, but only lasts for a few hours. You will be advised to take care in the sun after a laser treatment and to use plenty of sunscreen.
A few days after your treatment, you may notice what appears to be a fine regrowth of hair. In fact, most of these hairs are actually being shed by your body because of the laser treatment and are not regrowing. It`s important that you don`t try to pluck out or wax any of this fine growth in between treatments, although it is fine to shave if you want to.
The reason that you`ll probably need more than one treatment is that the hairs on your face and body are all in different stages of their growth cycle. So, your first treatment will destroy the hair that`s actively growing at that particular time, but other hair follicles will be producing hairs at a different time. Because of this it is likely you will need more than one treatment.
If you`re considering laser hair removal, you should only go to a reputable clinic such as The Hospital Group, where fully trained medical staff will advise you during a free private consultation.

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Natural Hair Care Products – Best Products & Tools

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Click here for more information on natural hair care products.

When you are thinking about the best natural hair care products it is, of course, crucial to know more than which products to use, but why. I have an embarrassing amount of discarded products hiding in my closet, but I’m getting very close to honing in on the perfect ones for my 4c hair.
Natural Hair Care Products
**New – I just posted a review about the WEN Hair Care system to use for natural or transitioning hair. I tried it and liked it.

The best products are ones that are all natural, and ideally you would make most of them at home. Click here for a guide making your own healthy hair butter.

Hair Dryer
Conair HH400 1875 Watts Collapsible Bonnet Hair Dryer
When you are caring for natural hair it is important to have a good hair dryer that you can sit under if you want to be able to experiment with various hair styles.

Natural Hair Care Products: Basics

  • Water
  • Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter (moisturizer)
  • Olive Oil/Shea Butter mix (oil to seal moisture)
  • Cantu Coconut (shine)

Natural Hair Care Products: More Options

These are the top natural hair care products that I have experimented with. They are all generally natural and contain few harmful ingredients. I’ve found that the Elasta QP line works really well. They use natural ingredients although I have seen petroleum on the ingredients list for the deep conditioner. This list will change as I make new discoveries.

  • Moisturizer: Elasta Qp Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer
  • Deep Conditioner: Elasta Qp Dpr-11 Deep Penetrating Conditioner – (this has petroleum in it, but I love it anyway)
  • Shampoo: Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo (if you must shampoo)
    New Discovery! – Tea Tree Shampoo and Conditioner from Trader Joe’s. No detergents. Smells great. Its a nice shampoo.
  • Conditioner for Co-Poo(washing with conditioner instead of shampoo) – Elasta QP Intense Conditioner
  • Oil: Jojoba Oil – You can find this at Trader Joe’s, health food stores, or online. Regular olive oil works too, believe it or not. Or shea butter. I like jojoba the best though because it has no smell.) Take a look at the recipe for making your own healthy hair butter.
  • Gel: Isoplus Clear Gel – You don’t really need hair gel if you use the right oils. Coconut oil is great to add moisture and shine. If you find that you prefer using gel, look for one with a strong hold but that does not contain alcohol.
  • Shine: Cantu Super Shine Hair Silk – Raw Coconut oil is also great to add moisture and shine if you can stand the smell.


Other supplies: Butterfly Clamps, clippies, small perm rods, pipe cleaners, wide tooth comb, plastic caps (shower cap), hair elastics (with no metal parts or seams) and scarves.

Straightening Natural Hair with a Flat Iron: Flat Iron, blow dryer, blow dryer comb, straightening or anti-frizz product, heat protectant and a moisture block/shine product.

Instructions: Straightening Natural Hair with a Flat Iron

Favorite Carol’s Daughter Products

Natural Hair Care Products

Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter is one of the best natural hair care products that I have tried. It is a great moisturizer for daily maintenance. It does contain water, so be careful using it on styles that will revert with water. It is excellent for the relaxed ends on transitioning hair. The fragrance can be a little strong, but it is nice.
Natural Hair Care Products - Tui Conditioner

Carol’s Daughter Tui Leave-in Conditioner smells great and provides excellent softness and manageability for detangling. Its great for all natural styles, even locs.

Natural Hair Care Products Related Search Terms

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natural black hair care products
organic hair care products
black hair care products

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Natural Hair Care Tips Inspiration: Janelle

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I don’t love Janelle’s pompadour, but I do love her swag. This one emerged onto the music scene a couple of years ago with a truly unique and unapologetic style that no one could deny is very special.
naturalhaircaretips-janelle

Natural Hair Care Tips Related Search Terms

natural hair care products
curly hair care tips
natural black hair care
black hair care tips

Join the challenge! 6 Month Plan for Extreme Natural Hair Growth : Detailed steps and information on how to co-poo, how to heal your scalp, and how to get your hair to grow really long, really fast.

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Natural Hair Care Icon of the Week: Viola Davis

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Natural Hair Care Tips - Viola DavisThe fact that it was on the morning news when Viola Davis wore her natural hair to the Oscars tells us a lot.
Popular culture still isn’t quite ready for natural hair. Would any of this be actual news? “Gweneth Paltrow wore her hair straight! and blonde!! – Film at 11″ “Jennifer Lopez MADE THE DECISION to wear her natural curly hair.” It would never happen. You’d almost think that she revealed that she’s considering a sex change operation they were so shocked by her “decision.” My Goodness. I can’t wait for something like this to cease to be news. Then watch the fashion reports afterwards. They made as many polite comments about her hair as they try to do any time a full figured woman hits the carpet. “Oh, she looked great for a woman with curves.” “Her natural hair looked so cool.” Will they ever just call it straight out beautiful without adding a lot of extra qualifiers?

But overall “they” loved it. They respected her for it and said she looked awesome. So then to find that the only solid criticism that came was from Wendy Williams. Do I even need to say anything else about that? It speaks so many volumes on the attitudes and stigmas that have kept black women in a chemical box for so long, and shows that so much of that abuse has come right from our own community. Its a shame.

The only thing that I can say is that Viola Davis looked amazing. The color, cut and style of her hair were the perfect compliment to her skin tone and the shape of her face. She was simply breathtaking. And I truly love her for making this bold move which I’m sure she knew would be newsworthy. I’m sure we all feel a little bit of that every time we hit the streets or go to work with our natural hair. Thank you Viola for taking us one more step in the right direction!

Natural Hair Care Tips Related Search Terms

natural hair care products
curly hair care tips
natural black hair care
black hair care tips

Join the challenge! 6 Month Plan for Extreme Natural Hair Growth : Detailed steps and information on how to co-poo, how to heal your scalp, and how to get your hair to grow really long, really fast.

Thank you for visiting Natural Hair Care Tips!

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Natural Hair Care Tips: Retaining Length

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One thing we should all be very clear on is that it is easy to grow natural hair. Our hair grows at a steady rate, and while we can improve our diet, take supplements and take care of our scalp so that it grows well, there isn’t much more we can do about how it grows.


Where we see results and achieve the length that we want is in retaining the growth that we get. How we care for our hair is the only thing that controls how much length we retain as it grows. Follow these guidelines to make sure that you are retaining the maximum amount of length as your hair grows.

Natural Hair Care Tips: Handling Your Hair to Retain Length

You’ll see many lists with tips and advice on how to retain your length but there is really only one thing you need to do and that is to take care of your ends.

  • Don’t brush your hair. Comb sparingly. – Curly hair and especially kinky hair was just not meant to be combed and brushed. The friction from combing and brushing causes breakage. Tightly coiled kinky hair, especially, tends to respond very badly to brushing. If nothing else, the resulting texture after brushing is just a poof. Brushing takes out all of the natural spirals and coils that make kinky hair styles look great. Finger combing is the best, but if you want to get out the knots and tangles make sure that you use a very wide toothed comb.
  • Deep Condition and Moisturize – You’ve got to keep your hair from drying out if you don’t want it to break. Just like a dead leaf or twig, your hair will literally just snap off if it gets too dry. Keep it pliable and happy by adopting a rigorous conditioning and moisturizing routine. The resulting manageability and softness will be a great reward in addition to helping you to avoid breakage and retain length.
  • Wear protective hair styles – Unfortunately, wearing your hair “out” and exposed to the elements is not great for it. I don’t think we ever really take into account the damage that the sun can really do to our hair and skin. Also just wearing it out and free lends to the possibility of your hair rubbing against things like the headrest in your car, your collar, any hood or other garment that is near your hair. This friction and rubbing can cause breakage. Keeping your hair moisturized and worn “up” in styles where it is protected from all possible sources of friction is the best way to avoid breakage and to protect your ends.
  • Sleep with your hair covered – This is another friction issue. You don’t want your hair rubbing against pillows and bed sheets and getting tangled and matted as you sleep. Its best to wrap it loosely in a satin scarf and sleep with it covered to avoid unnecessary friction while sleeping. Bonus Tip: Cover the headrest of your car with a satin cover to help keep the ends of your hair from snagging when you drive.
  • Get your hair trimmed, but don’t trim too often – This is a major sticking point for me. Many will advise that you get your hair trimmed every 4-6 weeks. My counter point is that if I’m taking excellent care of my hair as far as conditioning and protecting it, then why would I need to cut it so often? Keep an eye on your ends for splits and especially for knots, and have it trimmed when it looks like it needs it. Don’t wait until it is terribly frayed and raggedy, but you don’t necessarily need to trim healthy hair. It should be at your discretion, not on a set schedule. On the other hand, if your ends are splitting it is in your interest to get them cut off completely, even if that means cutting off more length than you want to lose. Ultimately, starting out with cleanly cut ends is better for your hair because just like a piece of fabric or a finger nail, once your hair starts to fray, it just continues to get worse until it breaks off or the entire strand becomes damaged.
  • Take care of your body – Watch your stress levels, eat a healthy diet, drink enough water and get enough exercise. These are just lifestyle basics to keep everything from your hair to your skin to your love life in balance. These are also basics to keep your hair from falling out. We know that stress can cause hair loss, but this is different than breakage, obviously. Neither scenario is ideal, but if you are seeing chunks of hair falling out from the roots%

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I Want to Go Natural But…

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The courage it takes to wear your natural hair

Based on my own personal experience and the feedback that I have gotten from others, one basic truth has emerged for me: it takes guts to wear your natural hair.

This does not necessarily only apply to kinky hair either. If you have curly hair and everyone elses is straight, if yours is straight and everyone elses is curly, if you are going gray… ect. It is more about feeling different than a specific hair type. However, I do think this is especially true for kinky hair because, lets face it, its not 1974 and we just don’t see afros all around and everywhere we go. Furthermore, although it is starting to change, we also don’t see many afros in the media or in pop culture. When we do its very glamorous and somewhat of a spectacle. (See Beyonce, her sister Solange, Erikah Badu, ect ect). We don’t often just see everyday people doing every day normal common things while wearing this hair.

The most common comments that I have gotten regarding going natural (and I felt these myself) are: “I want to go natural but [insert husband, boyfriend, mother, sister, friend] thinks I look better with my hair straightened” and “I want to go natural but I’m afraid of standing out too much or what people will think” and “I want to go natural but I’m afraid because I don’t know what to expect.”

You can easily see where the need for guts come in here. Its scary to be different and/or to go up against something you know that your family and friends don’t necessarily like. It can also be difficult to go up against what could be a lifetime worth of negative imagery, thought and language that has been directed against what you have naturally growing as a part of you. We have been made to be afraid of our own hair… what a shame.

So what can we do? Well going natural is about self acceptance, self love, confidence and changing our minds. It is NOT about changing the minds of others. While this can be a happy side effect, the more we can stay focused on the plan and worry less about others, the better off we will be.

If you think you want to wear your natural hair and you feel afraid or self-conscious, there are 5 very tangible and constructive steps you can take to build your confidence:

  1. Write down why you are making this decision. Make yourself a list of reasons and tape it to your bathroom mirror if you have to. Otherwise start a hair journal and fill it with positive affirmations to yourself about why this is the right decision for you. Jot down your goals and what you hope to achieve for yourself with respect to your hair. How long do you want it to grow? What styles have you always wanted to wear? You can also insert pictures of different looks you’d like to try. When people start to compliment you, and they will, write those down for encouragement! If you have negative experiences or bad hair days, write these down too. Processing everything that happens to you though writing, i’ve found, can help you to keep your mind clear and maintain focus on your goals.
  2. Start a blog or participate in online forums where you can discuss topics of interest and issues with others who are having the same experiences as you are having.
  3. Also keep a “styling log,” as I like to call it. This helps you to keep track of what works and what doesn’t as you learn more about your hair. Keep track of what products you use and what process you tried to achieve a certain look. There’s nothing worse than having the perfect hair day then not being able to recreate it. So frustrating!
  4. Find out as much as you can about proper care and which products to use for your hair type. There are fantastic resources available if you take the time to research them. If you can, visit a stylist with natural hair care experience and ask a ton of questions.
  5. Remind yourself that it is only hair. If you don’t like what you’ve done, change it. Its not that big of a deal. In the end, our hair is just one of the many superficial aspects of our being. It doesn’t define us, it doesn’t make us better human beings, and it doesn’t make us beautiful.

We would love to hear your comments on this topic! What has been your experience with changing your mind about your hair?

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Natural Hair Care Tips: Hair Porosity

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If you are searching for natural hair care tips, you might be having issues with your hair being dry or not retaining moisture. One of the biggest factors that affects hair retaining moisture is the porosity of the strands.


Healthy hair is just porous enough, but is not too porous. To understand porosity, you can think of how a sponge works. A brand new sponge has just the right porosity so that it holds a maximum amount of water and does not dry out too quickly. Over time the sponge becomes more porous and will not hold as much water.

Kinky/curly hair tends to be very porous and holds on to much more moisture than straight hair. This is why kinky and curly hair gets frizzy when it is foggy or when the hair is exposed to moisture. On the other side of this, kinky hair also dries out faster than straight hair because of the extreme porosity. With natural hair your goal is to retain moisture!

If your hair is damaged from, for instance, using heat, over processing, or coloring, you might notice that it tends to be dry and does not hold moisture. Like a sponge, when damaged hair gets work out and damaged, it tends to hold less moisture. If you find that no matter what you do your hair feels and looks dry, this could be the issue.

It is possible to correct porosity problems with different commercial or natural hair care products and treatments, however it is not possible to repair damaged hair. For this you have to allow healthy hair to grow out and cut off damaged ends.

Despite the fact that you cannot completely repair damaged hair, there are a few ways to improve hair porosity and help your hair retain moisture by shrinking or closing the cuticle on the hair shaft. Rinsing with apple cider vinegar (ACV) and or using products with higher acidity will cause the cuticle to close. You can also use protein treatments which effectively seal off the cuticle and close up gaps in your hair. Look for natural protein treatments such as one made from eggs or an AVC rinse.

Natural Hair Care Tips: Hair Care Regimen

Here is a great natural hair care regimen to follow to keep your hair shiny, soft and hydrated.

  • Clean – Use a natural shampoo with no detergents or a co-poo method. An occasional ACV rinse will close the cuticle and add shine.
  • Moisturize – Deep condition with a humectant and or protein based conditioner. We have some great egg recipies that provide a nice protein conditioner that you can use. Experiment with using the whole egg, yolk only, or whites only depending on how your hair responds.
  • Seal – Seal in moisture using an oil based seal in product. Home made hair butter or castor oil works well

Natural Hair Care Tips: Home Made Deep Conditioner (Protein)

1/4c Coconut Milk (full fat)
1/4c olive oil
1 avocado
1 egg
Mix in the blender. Apply to hair and leave on with a heat cap for up to 45 minutes.

Natural Hair Care Tips: Protein Conditioner

3 eggs
1/4c water
1/4 vodka or gin (for clarity and shine)
Mix in the blender. Apply to hair and leave on with a heat cap for up to 45 minutes.

Natural Hair Care Tips Related Search Terms

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curly hair care tips
natural black hair care
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Black Hair Care Tips: Healthy Hair Butter – Make your Own

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One of the best black hair care tips you can find is how to make your own hair butter. This is an easy recipe for the perfect home made hair product which works well as a non-water based moisturizer. It can also be used on your face and body.
Black Hair Care Tips
You can find the ingredients at your local health food or sometimes the ethnic food markets. If you like to shop online, you can also find them very easily at stores such as drugstore.com. This is actually where I get my shea butter and my essential oils.

Black Hair Care Tips: Ingredients for Healthy Hair Butter

2c of Raw Shea Butter – Shea butter is known for its healing qualities.
Add up to 4T of one or many natural oils depending on the type of treatment you need:

  • Olive Oil – Helps prevent dryness
  • Jojoba Oil – Great for sealing in moisture. Known for having healing qualities.
  • Coconut Oil – High moisture retaining capacity so it is great for softening, moisturizing and preventing breakage.
  • Carrot Seed Oil – Carrot seed oil strengthens weak, damaged hair. It also promotes the growth of new hair
  • Grape Seed Oil – An odorless oil which can help add shine and moisture to your hair. Grapeseed oil is known for having a high content of linoleic acid, an important fatty acid that supports cell health. So it helps promote growth, adds strength and helps prevent breakage.
  • Almond Oil – Has natural sunscreen properties that can protect the hair and scalp from the damage caused by the harmful UVA and UVB rays of the sun. Also has great nutrients for hair and scalp.
  • Ylang Ylang or Eucalyptus- helps prevent dandruff

    • Instructions:

    1. Place all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave. Approx 2 minutes at 80% power is good.
    2. Blend with electric mixer until creamy.

    Click here to find natural raw shea butter and other natural oils.


    Bonus Tip – Dry scalp or Dandruff
    Burdock root oil, also called Bur oil, was traditionally popular in Europe as a scalp treatment applied to improve hair strength, shine and body, combat hair loss. It also was used as an herbal remedy to get rid of dandruff and scalp itching, promote healing of skin and scalp conditions. Gently massage Burdock root oil extract into the scalp. For better results use regularly and after you wash your hair.

    Remember, when natural hair care tips it is important to keep your hair moisturized, seal in moisture with the proper natural oils and use protective hairstyles with these products to avoid breakage.

 

Remember, when caring for your natural hair it is important to keep your hair moisturized, seal in moisture with the proper natural oils and use protective hairstyles with these products to avoid breakage.

Black Hair Care Tips Related Search Terms

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hair care for black women
african hair care products

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Natural Black Hair Care: General Hair Care Regimen

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Since you are searching for natural black hair care tips, you must have noticed that there is a learning curve on how to care for your natural texture, especially if you are transitioning from relaxed hair, or if you are relatively new to having this hair texture.


Natural Black Hair Care

Natural Black Hair Care: Hair Care Process

The process I’m describing here is a general wash and care regimen helping you to figure out the best way to wash, detangle, condition, and style. As 4c hair gets longer, the tangles become incredible and the sheer volume of hair can get overwhelming. When ever I wash my hair I just think “Whew!” Its a lot of hair.

You can do this in the shower or you can do it over the sink. Having a spray nozzle or removable shower head really helps.

  1. Thoroughly wash/rinse hair in sections. It makes it easy to part your hair off into about 6-10 sections and keep them separated with butterfly clamps.
  2. Apply the deep conditioner to thoroughly rinsed sections.
  3. After all sections are conditioned, comb through each section with the wide tooth comb to detangle.
  4. Put on a plastic cap and allow hair to deep condition for 15 – 30 minutes. The longer the better.
  5. Rinse hair thoroughly again removing the sections as you go.

Now it is cleaned and conditioned. The next steps depend on what you want to do:

Natural Hair Care Tips: High Pouf Style

This is a great go-to style for natural hair care tips once your hair has grown to about 6 inches or more. Its a great every day look which can be done relatively quickly. You can change it up by making the “pouf” bigger or smaller or more or less curly.

After washing and conditioning the hair:

  1. Apply a thick and creamy leave in conditioner/moisturizer to all of the hair.
  2. Apply jojoba oil or another oil on top of the leave in conditioner. – Remember you want to moisturize moisturize moisturize.. then you want to apply oil to seal in the moisture.
  3. Apply a heavy gel to the front sides and back to “slick” the hair into a ponytail.(note: I’ve been experimenting with this step, and I’ve found that the gel isn’t actually necessary as long as I apply a nice oil and tie the front down with a good headband. The liquid jojoba oil works great, or shea butter. )
  4. Hold hair with an elastic band. (if you have the right kind, these should not break your hair, but make sure its not too tight – don’t overlap the elastic. Just put it on in one ‘circle’ ).
  5. Wrap with a scarf. I also use cut up tights or stockings as hair wraps. Like a stocking cap, they really get the job done.
  6. Allow to dry.
  7. Leave the ‘pouf’ as is, or you can do a twist out to stretch it out!

Natural Hair Care Tips: Stretch it Out

Once you get well into natural hair care tips, you might be astonished to find out how much your hair “snaps back” when it is wet. You can lose up to 75% of your length because of the tightness of your curls or kinks.

After you have washed and conditioned your hair you might want to give it a bit more length, especially if you have a very tight curl, and also lighten it up a bit.

Best Ways to Stretch Your Hair:

  • Roller-Set
  • Set on Pipe Cleaners (also known as Fuzzy Sticks)
  • Twist Out
  • Braid Out

All of these methods involve the same basic technique. Condition the hair with a leave in conditioner, braid, twist roll or wrap the hair and allow it to dry. The specific method that you choose depends on the style you want and the length of your hair. All of these are also great processes to use when you still have relaxed ends during your transitioning phase. They also allow you to do targeted moisturizing on your hair.

Stretch It

If you started this process from the High Pouf, you want to do the twists and curls in the pouf.. it is easier to keep it pulled back nicely if you leave it pulled back with the scarf while you twist it.

You can also start this process with your hair just out so that you get a pretty curly/wavy style when you finally take it out at the end.

  1. Towel dry the hair so that it is not sopping wet. You want it as dry as possible while still damp.
  2. Take a section of hair that is about 1.5 inch square. You can play with the size of the sections to achieve different textures.
  3. Apply moisturizer and oil to the section. – You will have to play with the amounts to see how much your hair needs, and how much you can put on so that your hair won’t take forever to dry.
  4. Separate the hair into two parts then twist the parts together. This is a two-strand twist. Make sure you apply an extra dose of moisturizer on the end, and smooth the very ends of the hair into a nice coil.
  5. Affix a perm rod at the end of the twist or braid. If you are using pipe cleaners you can wrap your hair around the end of the wire and bend it over.
  6. Continue this process until all of your hair is twisted.
  7. Allow the hair to dry completely. My hair usually takes at least an hour sitting under the dryer.
  8. Once the hair is completely dry, remove the rollers then gently separate the twists.

You can also do this process if your hair feels dry and needs a good moisturizing treatment, but you don’t want to wash it. Make sure you get the ends nicely coiled with moisturizer when you touch it up.

Pipe Cleaners/Fuzzy Sticks

If your hair is long you might find that it is difficult to control it after you have it twisted or stretched. Pipe cleaners are wonderful for this because they allow you to keep your hair stretched out to a full length and secure it. You can also clip the hair to the pipe cleaner so that it stays stretched out and in place. They are also nice because you can lay down or maybe even sleep with them in since they are soft. They don’t create impossible sleeping conditions like rollers and clippies do. You can also use the pipe cleaners to simply roll or twist your hair.

Natural Hair Care Tips: Pipe Cleaner Curls

I recently tried this technique and I can’t say enough good things about the results. Its very easy to do, and the best part is, your hair can dry pretty fast because more of it is exposed along the length of the pipe cleaner. The end result looks a lot like a straw set.. only it takes a lot less time! Another great thing is that if you put them in with a “style” and use a color of pipe cleaner that is close to your hair, you can actually go out with them in and no one can really tell. AND! They are pretty comfortable to sleep in too! Since they are small and soft, they don’t impose on the sleeping like rollers do.

Supplies:
Pipe Cleaners
Comb (if you choose)

Best products:
Water
Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter (moisturizer)
Olive Oil/Shea Butter mix (oil to seal moisture)
Cantu Coconut (shine)

Technique:
This can be done on sopping wet, towel dried, or even dry hair.

  1. Take sections of hair that are approx 1/2 inch thick, apply product in this order: water, moisturize, seal moisture and do a double twist (so that each side of the twist is 1/2″)
  2. Make sure that you smooth out the end. Comb it out gently if needed.
  3. Fold the pipe cleaner in half then coil the hair around the pipe cleaner. Make sure you wrap it around a few times at the end so that the end gets a good curl
  4. Fold the pipe cleaner over to secure the twist
  5. Complete the entire head in a uniform pattern. (I’ve gotten this down to about a half hour on 8 inch 4c hair – not bad time!)
  6. Allow the hair to dry. Either sit under the dryer, blow dry, or air dry.
  7. When the hair is COMPLETELY dry. Gently remove the pipe cleaners.
  8. Gently separate the twists and style with some Cantu Shea Butter Super Shine or other shine product

Video Instruction
This youtube video shows the technique on locs, but it works very well on transitioning hair of any length or on fully natural “out” hair. I give full credit to chescalocs for the video. I’ll make my own once I have time! Try it!!

natural black hair care Related Search Terms

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caring for natural black hair
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black hair care forum

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Natural Hair Care Guide Review

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Review of “Grow It Long: Discover Honest Proven Secrets to Growing Your Hair”

Includes a 6 month plan for extreme hair growth

When I started seriously considering going natural the first thing I did was to try and find as much information as possible on which products I should use. I was also interested in finding out how how my hair care routines would have to change. During this research I came across this guide: “Grow It Long: Discover Honest Proven Secrets to Growing Your Hair From the Nape of Your Neck to the Center of Your Back in a Few Short Months” by Donna Hanover.

This is a review of the guide. Click here to visit the Grow it Long website.

My initial thought was that this guide was somewhat over priced, $24.97, and I wasn’t convinced that it could possibly contain any secrets that I could not find for myself online. However, as I noticed that I was buying more and more products in the stores and trying EVERYTHING, yet I wasn’t getting the results I wanted, I kept going back to Donna Hanover’s guide and wondering “What are these secrets?” “Are there really any secrets?!?!” This was especially true as I came to that 6 month to 12 month phase where it gets extremely frustrating.

Well, after I considered how much money I have spent in my life trying all of the different hair care products that I have tried… which is basically everything, I thought that if this guide provides me with the answers that I am looking for, I’d actually end up saving money, right? What if I never buy a bunch of useless products again? That would be a money saver.

Believe it or not, there are secrets!

Well, this lady really knows her worth and there really are secrets. Some of the “secrets” overlap with things that I did find on my own and some tips that I have included on this site. But, the guide includes a lot of serious experimentation and research which leads to some extremely interesting and useful information. New information that I had never really read anywhere before. Obviously it would be un-ethical to give away this information, so I’m doing the next best thing and just reviewing her book.

6 month extreme hair growth challenge

My favorite part of the guide is the 6 month hair growth challenge. She provides clear instructions on what you can do every day to ensure that you are achieving maximum hair growth. This includes diet, products, and regimen.

I tried it myself

For this entire year so far, I have been trying the tips and advice outlined in the guide. I have followed the 6 month hair growth challenge and actually saw my hair grow about 5 inches. (I have to admit I didn’t follow all of the diet suggestions to a t). I can now honestly say that I recommend this guide as an excellent resource for anyone who wants to grow out their natural hair and see it thrive.

What I Loved About the Book

  • It is authentic. As I said I have been using the advice in the guide all year, especially the scalp care and general regimen. And I saw results! I have nearly cured my dry flaky scalp, which I have written about elsewhere on this site, my hair texture has improved, and my hair is growing fast.
  • It contains true secrets that you have never heard anywhere else.
  • Part of the guide shows a scientific hair care study which talks about how your frame of mind and emotional state have an effect on your hair. I love this, and as you know, if you’ve explored the site, I actually talk about this myself. This was when I realized that Donna Hanover and I were on the same page.
  • There is also a bonus book of recipes of healthy hair foods.
  • There is also a 60 day money back guarantee, so there really is no risk in trying the guide. I did not see any reason to return it, but if you decide to give it a try and then decide to return it, please let me know. I’d be interested to hear more feedback because I don’t want to recommend something that people would return.
  • I saw results! – I just have to say this again. Its pretty exciting when something you try actually works.

Click here see the techniques I learned to make my hair grow longer, faster.

Some constructive criticism

There were just a few small things that I did not like about the guide, and/or the experience with the website.

  • #1 – When you go to see more information about the book, the web page has this overly aggressive pop-up which keeps popping even after you have closed it. I’m always turned off by sites that do this, but I overlooked it to find out the secrets.
  • #2 – The “Free EBook” is somewhat of a rehash of the web page. So I didn’t think that the E-Book was very useful. I was turned off by this thinking that the full book might not be very good either. After seeing the real guide, I can say that the author got bad advice on how to go about this aspect of the package.
  • #3 – There are some formatting, grammar and spelling mistakes on the site and in the book. As a writer this stuff is like nails on a chalkboard to me, but I’m willing to overlook it for solid information – which this guide delivered big time.

Here’s the table of contents to give you an idea of what topics are covered…

Click here to see more information about Grow It Long: Discover Honest Proven Secrets to Growing Your Hair From the Nape of Your Neck to the Center of Your Back in a Few Short Months

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New Product Tested! – WEN Hair Care System Review

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If you’ve been searching for natural hair care tips, you might have also been intrigued by the WEN haircare system, if you have ever heard of it.


Usually I see these infomercials when I am up late at night or early in the morning. They always have lovely looking models getting half their hair treated with WEN and half treated with something else. I always rolled my eyes at this because I know better.

Eventually one day, a friend of mine offered me the chance to try the WEN system. She had ordered it and had gotten one free so she gave it to me. I tried it right away because I love new hair products. Luckily I took pictures of the results:

Twist Out Process

Eventually one day, a friend of mine offered me the chance to try the WEN system. She had ordered it and had gotten one free so she gave it to me. I tried it right away because I love new hair products. Luckily I took pictures of the results:

I think this is the first picture I've posted of the twist out process. This is how I do a fast twist out of the shower.

Twist Out Process

I think this is the first picture I've posted of the twist out process. This is how I do a fast twist out of the shower.

The result after drying. Soft, bouncy and curly. This style lasts nearly a week if I take good care of it and don't get it wet.

After the treatment my hair was very manageable and I was able to do a twist out style which was fast and came out soft and bouncy. I ordered my own kit and kept using the system. One of the things I liked most was how soft my hair was after I washed it with the Cleansing Conditioner. I have tried both kinds: the Fig and the Sweet Almond Mint. Both smell great.

I have extremely thick full hair, so the Cleansing Conditioner lasted about 4 or 5 washes (so about 8 weeks for me). The other products have lasted much longer. The texture balm is awesome for styling and it also lasts for a long time. I can’t exactly tell.. maybe 4 or 5 months. I don’t use it every day.

Part of my excitement about this product is that it is one of the few times that I’ve tried a hyped up product and it actually worked as advertised. Most people wearing natural hair or who are going from relaxed to natural are looking for something that does exactly what this product does… it softens hair, conditions, protects and making it very manageable and soft.

I will go back and restate that I advocate for natural/homemade products over anything else, even this. That said, the WEN hair care system is appropriate for you if you like to try different products and/or don’t have time to make your own. It also works really well.

Its a fancy Co-Poo
This is the same concept behind what most of us know as co-poo, washing your hair with just conditioner. If you are still looking for the right product to co-poo, this could be the one. You can also achieve very similar results if you find the right other conditioner … I don’t think the WEN people have really invented anything all that unique. They just have it packaged just right, smelling great, and with the right combination of ingredients. If you have found another great conditioner that works well for the co-poo please let me know so I can add it to my list! … but I’m getting off topic.

Kinky Hair
For those of you with kinky hair, this will NOT be some miracle potion that will suddenly make your hair curly. No, sorry, not gonna happen. But, as I said, it made my hair soft and really super manageable right out of the shower.

Curly Hair
For those of you with curly hair, the product really does add shine and bounce. It helps define the curls. The friend that started me off on this product has curly hair (she’s mixed, Black and Phillippino). It works really well on her hair.

General Conditioning Hair
For anyone going from relaxed to natural hair, this is a great product since it is gentle and protects your hair.

Thoughts/Warnings/Caveats
One thing that you have to be careful of if you do decide to try it is that they enroll you in an autoship program. I’m a pro at ordering things like this. You just write down the date that you are supposed to cancel on your calendar (pda, outlook, pop-up, alarm, ect), then cancel it. Along with that, take note of the email address, the phone number, your customer info, ect. As long as you pay attention and take care of business, this should not be any hassle. I haven’t had any issues at all. Or maybe you’ll love it and you won’t want to cancel. I just found that it was too much product to have it keep coming so often. They also offer free shipping and a money back guarantee.

Click here to try WEN for yourself.
WEN Hair Care System Review

Let me know your results!!! If I get other feedback from people saying that this doesn’t work for them, I’d like to add it. As we well know, not all products work well for all hair. So please keep me posted!

–Imani

Wen Hair Care System

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