1. Water
Contrary to popular belief, black hair LOVES water. Keeping your natural hair moisturised is probably the most important thing when it comes to maintaining healthy natural hair and water is how you achieve that. You will use water on wash days (a weekly or bi-weekly event that you should block off on your calendar), in your spritz (again, I'll post some recipes) and when you are looking for a good leave-in conditioner or moisturiser, you will make sure that 'aqua' (water) is the first ingredient.2. Sulphate-Free Shampoo
So I did chemistry in in high school and varsity, but I only just found out that sulphates were not only key ingredients in hair product, but that they actually weren't good fro my 'fro.> What are Suphates: In plain english, sulphates are what attracts water, oil and dirt and allows them to be removed from hair and skin i.e they help clean your hair and skin
>Why are they are bad: They strip ALL the oils, even your hair's natural oils. This will leave your hair feeling dry and brittle. They can also cause a dry, itchy scalp if you have sensitive skin.
> Solution: SULPHATE-FREE* Shampoos. Most shampoo companies will declare ALL over their bottles that their product is sulphate free, but if you want to be sure, just check the label and discard the bottle if you see any of these three popular ingredients: sodium laureth sulphate, sodium lauryl sulphate and ammonium laureth sulphate.
I currently use the SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Restore Shampoo and although its really pricey (I bought it for about R260 at Clicks a while back) it is worth every cent. It leaves my hair feeling like clouds that inspire poetry. ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE. There are a variety of Sulphate free shampoos, some that I haven't tried because my shampoo lasts a ridiculously long time, so please feel free to try out as many brands as you like up until you find the brand that loves your hair and your pocket.
Sulphate Free Products at Clicks: R260 |
3. Conditioner
In the natural hair world, conditioner is what you use after you shampoo your hair OR sometimes what you use to wash your hair INSTEAD of shampoo (aka co-washing). Conditioners come with a bunch of benefits (which brands will tell you all about on the bottle) but to us, conditioner mainly helps with reducing friction and making our hair more manageable. During your wash day, you will most probably comb your hair when you have conditioner on as it will help prevent breakage.Again there are multiple conditioners on the market and 3 years into my hair journey, I am still buying different brands. Im currently using OGX Coconut Curls Conditioner, but I haven't used it long enough to write a review. Before that I used HASK conditioners and they worked really well when I used them with HASK shampoos. However when I switched to SheaMoisture shampoo, my hair felt dryer after conditioning than before I applied the product.
OGX Coconut Curls Conditioner: R165 |
4. Deep Conditioner and/or Protein Treatments
This where you will probably have the most fun. Deep conditioners and hair masks normally come in sachets (unless you are fancy like SheaMoisture) that you will use and finish with each treatment. This allows you to experiment and try out different types without worrying about left over product. I have probably used all the HASK treatments because I buy them whenever Clicks has a buy 3 for 2 special and they have all treated me well. I tend to always go back to the Dr Miracles Deep conditioner which I either use alone or I'll mix in some avocado, castor oil etc for that little extra sumthin'. Like I said, this is one of the areas that you can allow your creative juices to flow. I literally become a witch brewing the most amazing hair concoctions in my kitchen.I will recommend doing some sort of a treatment at least every second wash day. This is normally on the days I use shampoo (other times I co-wash) because I know I will replenish all the oils that might have been removed during the shampooing process.
Hair Treatments |
5. Oils (Carrier and Essentials)
You will use oils to:- Base your scalp - I use Sweet almond+ Jojoba+Argan Oil mix
- Fix your hairline: Jamaican Black Castor oil +Peppermint oil + Lavender oil
- Seal in the moisture during the LOC- Sweet almond or Jojoba
- Hot oil treatment- Here I experiment depending on what I want to achieve. My base is normally a carrier oil (coconut or castor oil) and then I mix some essential oils. The kind of oils I mix is entirely based on what Im trying to achieve. You can read about what each oil does here.
I buy most of my oils from Faithful-to-nature.
A natural witch's brewing session |
6. Butter
Here you can use the raw product (shea butter, avocado butter, cocoa butter etc.) or you can buy already mixed hair butter, which is normally a blend of butters and some oils. Its important to note that butters don't moisturise your hair, but instead seal in the moisture and prevent it from drying. This why you must apply it AFTER you have applied your leave-in-conditioner. Butters are actually the Cream in the LOC moisturising method. This therefore means you would apply your Leave-in-conditioner, then a *light Oil (sweet almond or jojoba) followed by your butter.Butters are also great for achieving the defined twist out or any other style as you can use them to slick your hair back without having use too much gel.
You can get your butter in bulk from Daolus Organic Products.
Butters |
***Picture Titles are links to pages where I buy my products so shopping is a little easier ***
- 10:29
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