Sunday, July 8, 2007

Nappy Hair Care...





African hair, even though beautiful when natural, has to go through different routines to keep it well maintained. African hair is actually the most driest hair, out of all hair types. And don't be fooled by its amazing thickness, African hair follicles are also the thinnest.


Most don't realize that when we relax our hair, it actually weakens are hair even more. Relaxing the hair also reduces the scalp from naturally producing its own natural oils. Eventually (at some point) we end up with split ends, due to continuous use of chemicals. Which leads us to grab more chemicals and products to fix the problems that we already created... After fixing the "split end" damages, we continue the cycle all over again.

Hot irons and curling at the end of the hair, also leads to breakage. To add to this, kinky hair is also very prone to quickly be tangled. Pulling these tangles out, ALSO leaves to breakage...

So the question... How do we maintain African Hair?


1. Firstly, ignore anyone who claims that you should wash your hair two or three times a week! Our hair is already dry, and only needs (at least) to be washed once a week.

2. Next, after washing your hair. Begin to comb your hair when it is wet (Gently! Remember, our hair is weak) to get the tangles out. Do this (with a wide tooth comb) when you have your deep hair conditioner. Comb your hair for a few minutes, letting the conditioner get to all parts of the hair, before rinsing out the conditioner.

3. Pat your hair dry, until almost dry (still damp. So that you can lock in more moisture), with a towel. Then oil your hair (Not the scalp! You don't want to clog up your pores on your scalp). When oiling the hair, place the oil (preferably Shea Butter) at the bottom of the hair strands. Then, using a wide toothed comb, comb your hair gently. Spreading the oil along the hair strands.

4. Section it and plait it before going to bed. This will reduced tangles when you wake up in the morning. It also helps to keep your hair moisturized.

5. Wrap it up in a silk or satin head scar. And sleep with your head wrapped.

6. When you wake up the next morning to style your head, a good tip would be massaging your scalp with your finger tips. This will help to activate your oil glands. Your body's own oil supply is always better than anything you can purchase in the store.

7. Don't be too dependent with using oil moisturizers. They clog up your pores, and the contain chemicals (like fragrances) that tend to dry out your head. Oil moisturizers are a good quick fix, if you forgot to oil or tie up your hair the night before. But don't rely on them. A good leave-in conditioner is better to have.

8. Another good tip is using a rosemary rinse (mentioned in my previous article... "What do you know about your Rosemary") every other week, can help prevent you developing dandruff.

9. Try to avoid petroleum base or Vaseline base hair food products. They actually block your pores... which is something you don't want.

10. If you exercise regularly, make sure to rinse the salt out of your hair (collected from sweating), and put in a deep conditioner.

16 comments:

Wentle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wentle said...

thanks for droppin girl... nice artworks too =)

hottnikz said...

Love your creativity, your blog is nice. Love to see sistas doing their thing.

Urban Thought said...

First: I enjoy your site and will be back often.

Second: Thank you for stopping at my spot. I greatly appreciate it.

I have added you to my contacts on MyBlogLog.

Stay strong and keep doing greatness.

Rich Fitzgerald said...

Love the artwork -- I'll be sure and check you out more often. Next time you are by my spot, feel free to drop your voice.

Poetiq Expression said...

Great tips. I am really going to use them. I believe the reason some men (not all) have balding hair is because they don't know how to take care of it. I'll be coming back for more tips.

- Ask Trew Life

Joselia said...

when you say wash once a week do you mean with or without shampoo? if without, i don't understand how water (unless it's hard water) can do anything but give moisture back to your hair?

Lovely Lady Luxe said...

Water (unless it's hard water) is great for your hair! I wet my hair every single day! Now shampoo on the other hand is a different story. Shampooing everyday or too often is definitely a NO-NO!

Just Loc's By Marceline said...

Great "Nappy Hair Care..." Tips. At Just Loc's, I am helping people who wish to enjoy their natural hair to start and maintain their locks and stay chemical free.

Inviting Natural and Nappy visitor's who visit or live in the Brooklyn, New York area to come check me out.

Continue to be Natural and Nappy!

Unknown said...

a white person obviously wrote this article...and if our hair is sooo thin...it wouldn't be big and full now would it?? a black person is not going to speak negatively about black hair...your article is trash.

Unknown said...

oh and we have to put oil on our scalp because it can get dry, natural oils won't clog our pores......yea a white person wrote this

Anonymous said...

Nice concept and useful description about Nappy Hair Care Tips. I would love to visit your blog again for more updates.

Tangled Hair Techs said...

Great post, just for fyi...if your hair gets super tangled, knotted or matted. Just use the Take Down Remover/Detangler cream. It makes combing out dreadlocks easy-so it can really save your hair.

Tangled Hair Techs said...

Great post, just for fyi purposes-if you hair gets super knotted, matted or tangled, just use the Take Down Remover/Detangler cream. It really softens the hair and it even removes dreadlocks.

Unknown said...

Belated response to wecanbemore
just wanted to let you know that I am definitely black... in fact, I am American British Jamaican to be exact. Yes our hair is think and brittle, it is very easy to rip your hair (i am assuming you have natural naps). Are hair is very delicate. As for oiling the scalp, your right. Using oil on your scalp CAN clog your pores, especially if you choose to use oils that don't dissolve efficiently (for example: mineral oils, Vaseline based, etc). You will notice that you will begin to develop or have bump issues on your face or neck from specific products you choose to use. If you have any further questions, please contact me, I will be delighted to help you out.

Sincerely,

L. Michel (aka Arya01)

Charles Michel said...

That is the type of information that are meant to be shared around the net.I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

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