Must Haves for Maintaining Natural Hair

I don't care what products you use on your hair to shampoo, if your technique is not on point, your hair will tangle in a flatbush second and you will spend miserable HOURS trying to undo it.

IMHO our hair was not made to wash like straighter hair. One cannot massage vigoursly to wash the scalp. Ain't no amount of detangling products, wide tooth seamless combs, moisturizer that will up and smooth that cuticle EASILY.

My major advice, watch Quetesh's video on hair washing. She's the reason I enjoy my regimen now and can be certain of making it to MBL.

Holla.
 
Natural Necessities:
1. Lots and Lots and LOTS of patience. I get frustrated sometimes. Mainly when detangling. I then tended to rush and lose more hair than necessary. But, once you figure out what works, you'll see results, and it won't be as frustrating. So try not to get frustrated with your hair. Explore it, enjoy it.

2. Good products. I like AO HSR and GPB. Great for deep conditioning. But I also need a slippy conditioner for detangling. I just started mixing silicon mix with AO HSR when deep conditioning(got the tip from curlynikki's blog:grin:). Detangling was alot less stressful. I have use Giovanni Direct for my leave in and a mix of castor oil and coconut oil to seal after my moisturizer.

3. Consistency. I know how easy it is to just say "eh, *** it for today" on something like moisturizing before bed.:ohwell: I'm fickle. I sometimes want to skip my long wash day too. But if it works, keep at it.
 
CenteredGirl said:
I don't care what products you use on your hair to shampoo, if your technique is not on point, your hair will tangle in a flatbush second and you will spend miserable HOURS trying to undo it.

IMHO our hair was not made to wash like straighter hair. One cannot massage vigoursly to wash the scalp. Ain't no amount of detangling products, wide tooth seamless combs, moisturizer that will up and smooth that cuticle EASILY.

My major advice, watch Quetesh's video on hair washing. She's the reason I enjoy my regimen now and can be certain of making it to MBL.

Holla.
Click to expand...


There is a video? Wow.
Help -someone...
 
Water, My hair drinks it.
Conditioners, mostly moisture but I use light protein once a month.
Oils, I love coconut, olive, and avocado.
Seamless wide-tooth comb, I have 2 gigantic ones that I use every 3 days.:yep:
 
  • A wide tooth comb
  • Keracare Humecto or ORS Replenishing pak (good moisturizing conditioners)
  • natural oils (jojoba&peppermint 4 scalp, wheat germ oil for strong hair, sweet almond oil for soft hair)
  • hair butters for the winter months (avocado, sweet almond, mango,...etc)
  • a good water-based moisturizer
  • silk scarf (to sleep with)
 
My must haves for my natural hair:

(for sealing in moisture) virgin oils (coconut, carrot, avocado, castor)
(to moisturize) shea butter
(to add in shea butter and conditioners) EVOO & Honey
heat Protectant (chi silk) for when I flat iron
denman Brush (the knock off is just as good)
wide tooth comb
(for sectioning hair when detangling in shower) claw clamps
(shampoos with SLS are drying) SLS free shampoo
GOOD moisturizing and deep conditioners
bobby pins
thin elastic headbands (with no metal)
good detangling mist
 
A quality comb to detangle
A spray bottle for refreshing hair
A good deep conditioner
A satin bonnet
A cut pantyhose for making puffs
A go-to protective styles for days you want your hair to rest
Patience
 
My must haves:

Wide tooth bone comb
Boar Bristle brush
Conditioner with great slip
Sulfate - free shampoo
Deep conditioner
Detangler
Summer leave in
Winter leave in
Sealant
Hair pins
Lots of hair accessories
Silk scarf
 
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Subscribing...
I hope more people chime in

eta:

Oh I have one! I just started using lottabody creme wrap to clump my curls together right after washing it. I really like how it works:yep:
You could probably use it for shingling too, and it's cheap!
 
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Good moisturing shampoo
Good moisturing conditioner
Fingers and Wide-tooth comb
Good leave in moisturizer (can be conditioner)
Something to seal in moisture (I personally like oils and butters, other people don't)
Satin cap/scarf for night time and to smooth down hair for puffs
Conditioning cap for DC'ing.
Patience.
 
1. Ouchless headbands. (My hair is very thick, so I use the Ouchless headbands as ponytail holders for my WnG buns)

2. Denman Brush (Use about 1x/month to detangle hair)

3. Super wide tooth comb (Use about 1x every 2wks to comb through hair). I normally comb through hair w/ fingers when I co-wash.

4. Spray bottle (I have 2. One contains my rosemary-sage mix that I spray on hair at night. The other contains my black tea mix that I spray on hair in the morning)

5. Squirt bottle (I have 2. One contains my castor oil/glycerine mix. The other contains my aloe vera gels, glycerine, evoo, castor oil, etc mix). These products help to maintain the moisture in my hair.

6. Camera (Taking pics of my hair and seeing the changes has kept me motivated).

7. PATIENCE
 
I'll TRY to make this simple, but being the pj that I am....lol!!

But things I absolutely must have are:

aquis microfiber towel

microfiber turban

jilbere (mine's a conair though) shower comb

regular large detangling comb, used when applying deep conditioner

apple cider vinegar (for rinses after shampoo bar use)

baking soda (sometimes i add a pinch to a shampoo bar lather)

disposable shower caps for deep conditioning

satin bonnet

satin scarf

heating cap

denman brush

goody smooth n shine brush

DEEP CONDITIONERS, variety of moisturizing AND protein, you must alternate

gentle shampoos, as well as some with a bit more elbow grease. qhemet biologics makes a great egyptian wheatgrass cleansing tea that cleans wel but has no sulfates. i also like blended beauty soy cream shampoo when i need gentle cleansing

various moisturizing leave ins, stylers and whatnot, depending on how you want to wear your hair. if you need ANY clarification on what products to purchase and how to use them, im your girl :yep:

whatever oils to oil your scalp, i make my own moe grow, but also use boundless tresses as well a few choice scalp leave ins.

honey if you want to mix in with some deep conditioners

OH! your own set of measuring spoons, bowls, containers, reusable jars or anything if you're into making your own products and whatnot. you keep those separated from food items.

a rolley cart to stash everything (i have two)

plenty of tupperware (ish) containers if you're like me and half your room is hair crap lol, you'll need an extra place to store things

wooden soap decks if you're into shampoo bars (they're like soap dishes but better)

a box for hair doodads, be it those metal clips to hold your hair down, bobby pins, decorative clips, scarves, headbands, whatever. oh and little rubberbands if you like, but those are hell to take out of your hair so disregard that.

a hiding spot for all of your hair crap if you're like me and need to hide it.

a good, strong alibi for the previous statement when the packages start rolling in..."see, i got this for us to share!"

PATIENCE! a never ending well of patience.

the lovely ladies of lhcf and anywhere else you visit to help you

a pj vet that has tried nearly everything she's gotten her hands on *raises hand*

:grin:
 
Awwww snap! I know it's an oldie....but I'm doing this anyway

:bump:

Any other naturals like to chime in with advice for us natural newbies??
 
I have 4b hair and did a big chop last fall. Growing in slow but it is growing. It is also looking much healthier. I just wish it would grow faster. (Any tips on that would be greatly appreciated) I braid it up in big box braids and have been wearing wigs or lace front wig. getting tired of them both and looking for a style I can do with 3 to 5 inches of hair. Would love to have that soft curly right out of the shower look. (any suggestions in regard to how to maintain that look)


What I use on My hair is:

Raw Shea Butter Mix
1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2. Castor Oil
3. African Six Oil

I mix it up till the Shea Butter is soft. I also use a mix of castor oil and lecithin oil as a scalp greaser. I also take the lecthin internally. I squeeze the oil out of the capsules and add it to the castor oil and mix it.

I don't use shampoo on My hair only conditioner. Co wash.

I have also feel in love with Dr. Miracles intense deep conditioning treatment. Makes the hair very strong. I leave that on my head underneath a plastic bag for at least a hour.

Should I be doing something more?
 
@SoulElegance,
Sounds like you are off to a good start. Have you achieved the proper protein/ moisture balance in your hair? If so then you may want to consider incorporating growth aids like ceramides or sulphur rich products (Mega-tek etc) in your routine. For the out of the shower curly look try shingling, bantu knot outs, or braid outs on wet or damp hair with a light holding product like Eco styler, Miss Jessie's, DB, or something from Jane Carter's line. Your health inside is just as important as the products & methods you use. I didn't see you say anything about your eating habits, exercise routine, water intake, meds you may be on, sleeping habits, or stress level. Those will directly effect your hair growth too.
Here are a few links for you:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=523807
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=510494

ETA: How about multivitamins or other natural supplements?
 
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