I must admit that this hair journey is a bit more of an undertaking that I had anticipated. I'm learning so much! For years I thought I was taking care of my hair because I washed it so frequently (thoroughly washed I might add), I used minimal products (thus keeping my hair follicles free of build-up so they would easily grow),and I styled my hair daily and always got compliments so I had to be doing something right, right???
I'm quickly finding out that I couldn't have been more wrong! All the things I listed were in fact quite detrimental to my hair. It's a wonder that my hair remained so thick after all this time...must just be nature.
So what was so wrong with my hair regimen? EVERYTHING!
Mistake 1 - Washing my hair 3x/week! Although I have African-American hair, the strands themselves are quite fine and therefore hold on to products; I have build-up like you wouldn't believe! Needless to say, I thought washing it and getting rid of that buildup was the best thing I could do for my hair. In doing my research I found that not only was washing my hair so much damaging to it, but even when I wash it (oh, and hair enthusiasts prefer the term "shampooing") my goal is not to have "squeaky clean" hair.
Most retail shampoos have harsh sulfates that strip our hair. If used frequently, the hair becomes incredibly weak and prone to extreme breakage. Yeah so...me washing my hair that much was definitely not the way to go. However understanding that didn't solve the problem of me having fine hair that's prone to buildups. My savior has been the co-wash. I co-wash my hair every 3-4 days with a moisturizing conditioner. This way, my hair isn't stripped of the oils it needs to survive, yet I'm still able to rinse my hair out and get that "fresh look" that we all love. I now only shampoo my hair with a very mild shampoo (Essentious Exonerate) once/week, while co-washing in between.
Mistake 2 - Using minimal products. My efforts were great, as I had the right idea by not trying to block the hair shaft. However using nothing on my hair was not the way to achieve that goal. In hindsight, I'm really shocked I have/had any hair at all! LOL. I always liked my hair to be really bouncy and flowy so I put next to nothing on it, blow-dried it out, then flat ironed it (gulp). Now, I will admit it was always really pretty and I got endless compliments, BUT it never made it passed neck length. :-s
Research has revealed that our hair is the driest of all hair types and needs endless moisturizing to stay healthy. I now moisturize daily with Coconut oil (water-based) and seal it in with an African Pride herbal oil (oil-based moisturizer). **Africa's pride (or African - I can't remember right now) is an el-cheapo oil I picked up from Wal-Greens. It works just fine but I'll probably invest in something slightly better from the health food store after this is done. The idea is to moisturize the hair with a water-based moisturizer, and seal it in with an oil-based moisturizer. As I expand my research, I'll have more product reviews and insight as to what works best.**
Mistake 3 - Constant heat styling. Ok, I knew all along that heat styling wasn't good for the hair, but I had no idea just how bad it is for our hair. It really does just fry the hair to a crisp. I literally used heat all over my head every single day without giving it a second thought. Constant heat styling coupled with the lack of moisture on my hair??? Geez.
Because my hair is currently so short, I'm forced to use a little bit of heat here and there just to get it to look decent but sparingly. I haven't blow dried in about 2 months; I either air dry or roller set under the hood, and the flat iron is only used to smooth out portions of it that didn't wrap correctly or when I'm trying to make it through those last few days of a relaxer.
All in all, I've learned quite a bit and I think I'm off to a good start. This has become more of a way of life than I thought it would be...partially because I'm now obsessed with it. LOL. More to come...
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