Hello all,
I have only been natural for a couple of summers and this summer, I have some pretty good pointers to help through the summer. I am so happy that I found some things that work for me, because I notice that a lot of the naturals go back to relaxers during the hot, humid months. I too have seriously considered this, but I keep reminding myself of the previous damage (that I caused). I really don’t know how to take care of relaxed hair.
1. Wash hair at least every 3 days and more often if necessary. If your hair starts to feel dry, wash it. Don’t stick to a strict schedule or routine. Alter the routine as your hair needs it. On very humid days and especially if I have been working out on these humid days, I have to wash or at least conditioner wash my hair. The humidity and sweat make my hair dry. When I wash my hair, I concentrate the shampoo on the scalp, unless I am clarifying.
2. Clarify your hair when necessary. I generally clarify my hair about every 3 weeks. Clarify to me means using a shampoo with SLS in it and then following that by an ACV rinse.
3. Unfortunately, cheap conditioners don’t work for me. So, everytime that I wash, meaning shampoo, I always deep condition afterwards for at least an hour. Deep conditioners are generally more expensive, but why continue to waste my money on cheap conditioners that don’t work. I do have 2 recommendations for 2 cheap conditioners that I use when I conditioner wash. For weighing my hair down in order to put it in a nice smooth wash and go ponytail, I use Lutrasilk cholesterol super detangling formula with aloe vera for extremely damaged hair with my addition of olive oil. This is actually a really good detangler. Oh, and I only comb my hair once a week. Otherwise, I finger comb it. Dark n lovely relaxed and natural with my addition of olive oil and castor oil also works ok.
4. I add oils to most of my conditioners. I mainly add olive oil but sometimes, I add other ones.
5. I make my own ends treatment with shea butter mixed with whatever other oils are in the house. This is something that I mostly use in the winter time, because I wash my hair so often in the summer.
These steps have helped me significantly this summer. I am the one who creeps to bra strap and then has to trim an inch because of dry, split ends. It appears that washing, wetting, or moisturizing (your choice of words), was the missing ingredient in my routine. In the past, I would spritz my hair with water and then apply the products. But for some reason, that wasn’t good enough. For some reason, I actually have to drench my hair with water. For the first time in years, I got at least 2 inches (and that is 2 healthy inches) of growth this summer. I am so looking forward to straightening my hair in the fall and winter and seeing progress.
I have only been natural for a couple of summers and this summer, I have some pretty good pointers to help through the summer. I am so happy that I found some things that work for me, because I notice that a lot of the naturals go back to relaxers during the hot, humid months. I too have seriously considered this, but I keep reminding myself of the previous damage (that I caused). I really don’t know how to take care of relaxed hair.
1. Wash hair at least every 3 days and more often if necessary. If your hair starts to feel dry, wash it. Don’t stick to a strict schedule or routine. Alter the routine as your hair needs it. On very humid days and especially if I have been working out on these humid days, I have to wash or at least conditioner wash my hair. The humidity and sweat make my hair dry. When I wash my hair, I concentrate the shampoo on the scalp, unless I am clarifying.
2. Clarify your hair when necessary. I generally clarify my hair about every 3 weeks. Clarify to me means using a shampoo with SLS in it and then following that by an ACV rinse.
3. Unfortunately, cheap conditioners don’t work for me. So, everytime that I wash, meaning shampoo, I always deep condition afterwards for at least an hour. Deep conditioners are generally more expensive, but why continue to waste my money on cheap conditioners that don’t work. I do have 2 recommendations for 2 cheap conditioners that I use when I conditioner wash. For weighing my hair down in order to put it in a nice smooth wash and go ponytail, I use Lutrasilk cholesterol super detangling formula with aloe vera for extremely damaged hair with my addition of olive oil. This is actually a really good detangler. Oh, and I only comb my hair once a week. Otherwise, I finger comb it. Dark n lovely relaxed and natural with my addition of olive oil and castor oil also works ok.
4. I add oils to most of my conditioners. I mainly add olive oil but sometimes, I add other ones.
5. I make my own ends treatment with shea butter mixed with whatever other oils are in the house. This is something that I mostly use in the winter time, because I wash my hair so often in the summer.
These steps have helped me significantly this summer. I am the one who creeps to bra strap and then has to trim an inch because of dry, split ends. It appears that washing, wetting, or moisturizing (your choice of words), was the missing ingredient in my routine. In the past, I would spritz my hair with water and then apply the products. But for some reason, that wasn’t good enough. For some reason, I actually have to drench my hair with water. For the first time in years, I got at least 2 inches (and that is 2 healthy inches) of growth this summer. I am so looking forward to straightening my hair in the fall and winter and seeing progress.
