College made the laziness REALLY kick in because I always found an excuse not to carry out my hair routine (meetings, coursework, SLEEP). Part of the reason I started the natural hair posts on my blog is to create some kind of accountability for myself. Yes, people always ask me how I got my hair to do this and that...but it's hard to tell people what to do when you're not doing it yourself. Guilt will keep poking you in the ribs, reminding you that you are not practicing what your preach.
Now that I have completed my undergrad career, I have more time to focus on me. This includes taking better care of my hair again.
In my last post, I gave the basic rundown of how you should go about washing your hair. In the interest of keeping it simple, I didn't go into which shampoos and conditioners should be used and how often and so on.
FIRST
Here is a 2 minute tutorial on understanding protein and moisture (more in-depth post coming soon):
- Moisture: water gives hair elasticity
- Protein: gives hair strength and structure
- Your hair needs to have a balance of moisture and protein to be healthy and avoid breakage.
- How to tell what your hair needs:
THE WET ASSESSMENT
Use this chart to evaluate your hair while running through it with a comb or your fingers.
Use this chart to evaluate your hair while running through it with a comb or your fingers.
When your hair is… | & it does this… | Then you need… |
Wet or Dry | Stretches slightly and returns to original length w/o breaking | Neither more protein or moisture—you are BALANCED |
Wet or Dry | Stretches a little more than normal before breaking | More protein |
Wet or Dry | Keeps stretching with no significant breakage | More protein |
Wet | Feels weak, mushy or limp | More protein |
Wet or Dry | Snaps with little to no stretching | More moisture |
Dry | Feels rough, dry & brittle | More moisture |
If you aren't really sure about what your hair needs from how it behaved, then add more moisture to be on the safe side.
Now all of this was important because there are protein based and moisture based products. You need to know what your hair needs in order to know which products you need to be using and how often.
- SHAMPOOS
- Moisturizing Shampoo (use 1-2 times a week)
- soften & detangle hair, sodium/ammonium lauryl sulfate free
- Neutragena Triple Moisture Cream Lather Shampoo, Creme of Nature Shampoo, Aveda Sap Moss Shampoo
- Clarifying Shampoo (use 1-2 times a month)
- remove hair product buildup, gives squeaky clean feeling
- Pantene Pro-V Purity Shampoo, Suave, AVEDA Detox, V05
- CONDITIONERS
- Deep Conditioner (use protein or moisture based depending on hair needs; use once a week after moisturizing shampoo for 30-40 minutes under a hooded dryer, if possible)
- Moisturizing: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Conditioner or Deep Recovery Mask, Dove Intense Moisture, Herbal Essences Replenishing Conditioner, Ms. Jessie's Rapid Recovery Treatment
- Protein: Suave Humectant, ORS, Motions Moisture Silk
- Leave In Conditioner (Use after shampooing hair or as daily water-based moisturizer)
- Moisturizing: Neutragena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave In, Kinky Curly Knot Today, Motions Spray Leave-In
- Protein: Cantu Shea Butter Leave In, Mane & Tail
There are hundreds of products out there. I only listed a few products I have used before (& boy have I tried a TON of hair products). Go out there & experiment! Research your products! Don't just trust the brand and the label.
***Also...just because something is in the "ethnic hair care" aisle does NOT mean it is the best for your hair. I purposely included brand names like Neutrogena, Dove & Herbal Essences because many times we write those products off since we grow up thinking they aren't made "for us." We become married to the products we grew up using, but we really don't need to be. For example, you will only find hair grease under ethnic hair care, but grease is not even good for your hair!!!!!! Don't limit yourself to a product line because it is packaged in shades of brown or has a brown-skinned woman on the front of it. EXPAND!!!!!!!!! EXPLORE!!!!!!!!!! EXPERIMENT!!!!!!!!
The Wet Assessment Source
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