Must Haves for Maintaining Natural Hair

lovinglength said:
I think the most important must haves for maintaining natural hair are confidence, patience and TLC. Products are of course important too, but without the first three things I mentioned, hair health will not progress in my opinion. Products do not have to get complicated, the simple and inexpensive prods work best. I use wild growth oil, infusium 23 leave in, cholesterol conditioner, a cheapy suave conditioner to detangle, and my own mix which I put on my scalp. I use a few other prods depending on the hairstyle I have but thats pretty much it. Oh, and a heat protectant for those blow out days. Natural hair really takes patience and the hair and ends must be kept well moisturized.
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yeah patience patience and then some more patience, natural hair is not for those who dont want to put TIME into their hair
 
lovinglength said:
I think the most important must haves for maintaining natural hair are confidence, patience and TLC. Products are of course important too, but without the first three things I mentioned, hair health will not progress in my opinion. Products do not have to get complicated, the simple and inexpensive prods work best. I use wild growth oil, infusium 23 leave in, cholesterol conditioner, a cheapy suave conditioner to detangle, and my own mix which I put on my scalp. I use a few other prods depending on the hairstyle I have but thats pretty much it. Oh, and a heat protectant for those blow out days. Natural hair really takes patience and the hair and ends must be kept well moisturized.
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I hear ya!

I definitely haven't been these things in the past, but I'm ready now. :yep:
 
#1 = satin pillowcase. This keeps your curls looking lovely all night long!
#2 = get your hand out of your hair. The less you touch it while it's drying, the better it will look. When I'm reading a good book, I can't keep my hands out of it and I end up with an afro. :perplexed
#3 = lots of leave ins. Personally, I tend to get sick of smells, so I rotate when I get sick of the smell. Also, I use differernt thicknesses based on what type of style I want to wear.
#4 = hair clips, scarves, and rubber bands to keep it out of your face.
#5 = ouidad's climate control gel helps my curls pop, but tends to leave it crunchy. It's GREAT for going to clubs and when you're in humidity. BUT some people don't like the crunch.

ps - i don't know what my hair "type" is, but I guess it spirals and looks like a corkscrew.
 
Gurllll, I have my confidence issues, but let me tell you, people LOVE natural hair. Rock a fro one day, hook it up nice, shine it up and be confident with it and see what happens!
 
MzLady78 said:
I hear ya!

I definitely haven't been these things in the past, but I'm ready now. :yep:
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Gurllll, I have my confidence issues, but let me tell you, people LOVE natural hair. Rock a fro one day, hook it up nice, shine it up and be confident with it and see what happens!
 
MzLady78 said:
Okay, ladies.

So I going through a bought of temporary insanity the other day when I was saying I wasn't sure if I wanted to be natural anymore. :spinning:

But I was looking at some other naturals' heads and I really want to hang in there. I guess my problem is Ijust don't know what to use on my hair in it's natural state. I've been flat ironing even when I wear a wig just because I don't know what else to do with it. I do think that it's that lack of self confidence issue that I mentioned that's kept me from really wanting to work with my hair. But with the unfortunate and untimely deaths of Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes, I realized that life is too short to spend it worrying about what other people think.

So, having said all that, what do you think are the absolute must haves for natural hair, whether it's products, tools, accessories, whatever?
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For me:

Denman Brush
Shea Butter
Coconut Oil
Moisturising conditioner

www.roshini.net

That's about it. I alternate between wearing my own hair and wigs with cornrows underneath and buns. Before I got comfortable with my hair, I wore extensions.

I co-wash everyday if I bun, and when I get sick of buns, I braid and wear wigs for a few weeks. I co wash the cornrows every evening.

I dont comb my hair unless I am in the shower, either with my Denman or the K-cutter comb when its loaded with conditioner.
 
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R4L said:
#1 = satin pillowcase. This keeps your curls looking lovely all night long!
#2 = get your hand out of your hair. The less you touch it while it's drying, the better it will look. When I'm reading a good book, I can't keep my hands out of it and I end up with an afro. :perplexed
#3 = lots of leave ins. Personally, I tend to get sick of smells, so I rotate when I get sick of the smell. Also, I use differernt thicknesses based on what type of style I want to wear.
#4 = hair clips, scarves, and rubber bands to keep it out of your face.
#5 = ouidad's climate control gel helps my curls pop, but tends to leave it crunchy. It's GREAT for going to clubs and when you're in humidity. BUT some people don't like the crunch.

ps - i don't know what my hair "type" is, but I guess it spirals and looks like a corkscrew.
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do you only sleep at night with your satin pillow case and nothing on your head?
 
I've been natural all my life and have *finally* found my staple products.

Shampoo: Doesn't matter. I use whatever is around.
Conditioner: Lustrasilk Olive Oil Cholesterol
Detangler: Suave Biobasics (Biolage knock-off)
Moisturizer: World of Curls Gel Activator and/or IC Fantasia Silky Gel Activator
Gel: IC Fantasia Clear Gel w/ Sparklelites or the IC Fantasia Olive Oil Gel

I use a boar bristle brush to smooth my hair for buns and ponytail and a Goody Ouchless brush and a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair.
 
jerjer29 said:
do you only sleep at night with your satin pillow case and nothing on your head?
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If I'm being lazy, then I just use the pillow case. But I try to put on a scarf and sleep on the pillow case. I even bought different colors to match my different sheets, so I won't have the excuse of not using the pillowcase because it does not match the rest of my bedding.
 
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-Satin scarves to tie your hair with at night
-Paddle brush or denman for detangling (I use a paddle brush I got from Ulta)
-Good shears so you can dust and/or trim your hair yourself
-A good deep conditioner (I use ORS replenishing pack)
 
shampoo
conditioners
excellent detangler
moisturizer
gel
ponytail holders
scarves/headbands
butterfly clips
wide tooth comb
rattail comb
boar bristle brush
detangling brush
ceramic ionic blowdryer
ceramic high quality flat-iron
 
You need a good moisturizing DC. If you have a decent DC that doesn't quite measure up, try adding some stuff to it, like EVOO or honey, before you spend money on a new one. DC once a week and see how your hair responds.

Detangle thoroughly every time with a wide toothed comb. If that doesn't get all of the shed hair out, follow up with a brush (I use a denman). I didn't start washing in sections until my hair was past SL.

Find a good moisturizer. This is SO important. My hair thrives on a simple combo of water and glycerin. For years I tried many different butters thinking that they would moisturize my hair and my hair rejected them all as moisturizers but LOVED some (avocado especially) as SEALERS.

Don't give up though! For many of us, embracing our natural hair was so foreign to us that it was like learning from scratch how to care for hair! Once you get the basics down, you'll be fine. Be patient!
 
Castor oil, castor oil, castor oil
Condish mixed w/ EVOO, honey, coconut oil
Silk scarf

I haven't used a comb/brush in almost 2m. I found that castor oil on damp hair does the trick in getting out my shedded hair. And b/c my hair is so thick, it doesn't leave it feeling greasy.
 
Wide tooth comb
Denman
ponytail holders
hair pins
deep moisturizing conditioner
clariflying shampoo
gel
Prayer
 
MzLady78 said:
Okay, ladies.

So I going through a bought of temporary insanity the other day when I was saying I wasn't sure if I wanted to be natural anymore. :spinning:

But I was looking at some other naturals' heads and I really want to hang in there. I guess my problem is Ijust don't know what to use on my hair in it's natural state. I've been flat ironing even when I wear a wig just because I don't know what else to do with it. I do think that it's that lack of self confidence issue that I mentioned that's kept me from really wanting to work with my hair. But with the unfortunate and untimely deaths of Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes, I realized that life is too short to spend it worrying about what other people think.

So, having said all that, what do you think are the absolute must haves for natural hair, whether it's products, tools, accessories, whatever?
Click to expand...


MzLady
You definitely should have shea butter in your stash. I have been natural for 1 yr and 5 months and I am 2 inches from APL. I use shea butter and castor oil and keep my hair in box braids. I keep them pinned up to look professional (when I am at work)

I co-wash every night and I use black soap to clarify once every two weeks

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY KEEP YOUR ROUTINE SIMPLE !
 
MzLady78 said:
Also, specific techniques are welcome.

For example, I don't really know how to detangle my hair well. I know a lot of people braid it in sections when they wash, but my hair isn't really long enough to braid when it's wet.
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saturate with conditioner (a thick, creamy one) and just start combing in small sections. you can start on the sides or back or use duck bill clips to section off your hair. just work in small sections.

get a really creamy shampoo, conditioner
something light to cowash with
a good detangler
a good gel with a soft hold
a good oil
a good water-based moisturizer
a pomade to slick down edges or you can use gel
clarify once a month
if you are not using heat or coloring then you should do a protein treatment maybe a couple of times a year.

how are you doing with the styles?
 
I need a sealer (shea butter- also acts as a styler), a great conditioner (DevaCare), a great DT ( Pantene R&N or Aubrey Organics), a satin cap, a satin pillow case, my supplements for strength and thickness, my HENNA, and my Jilbere comb. I think that's it :P
 
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