How To Begin Your Natural Hair Journey: Taking Action
- Megan Williams
- Dec 23, 2020
- 9 min read
Now that we know how to begin our natural curly hair journey, things to be mindful of, and how to shift our mindset... the fun part can begin! These steps will not be listed in order because everyone's journey is unique and based on individual goals and hair types. So feel free to skip around this post and find the flow that best suits you.
Check Ingredients
An important step is to check the ingredients of your hair products. You may think that this is a little odd considering that you are not eating hair products and are not on a diet. Even though you are not consuming this directly, your hair still is! So it is very important to nourish your hair with ingredients that will help it thrive, rather than using ingredients that will cause it to become brittle and dry. Some major ingredients to look out for our sulfates and parabens. It is pretty well-known that these ingredients are to be avoided, and they are usually the first to be eliminated in haircare products. Sulfates can be drying and irritating to the hair and scalp. You may even want to consider switching our your shampoo for a low-poo or no-poo which will be less harsh/stripping on your hair.
Another option is to allow the natural oils in your scalp to travel down your hair strands throughout the week. I like to massage my scalp and bring these oils down with my fingers or a hair brush. This will help to keep your hair moisturized and the natural oil will not be too overbearing. Other ingredients that I watch our for are protein and coconut oil or other heavy oils. Depending on your hair type, your hair might love protein. If so, this might be something that you incorporate into your routine often. Others however might find that their hair has too much protein and when using products with protein they will find their hair to be straw-like, brittle, and stringy. This is a major problem that I have noticed with my hair and I've been nursing it back to health.
Protein overload is a very real thing and sometimes it can take weeks to recover from. In the beginning of quarantine this is something that I struggled with, having more time on my hands led to more hair experiments. Some were great and others were a major learning lesson. I got into the habit of putting coconut oil on my hair and braiding it throughout the week. When it was finally time for a wash day I would follow it up with a hair mask that I did not realize had protein, I thought it was simply a moisture mask. I quickly found out that I was very wrong and my hair took about a month to begin to recover. Hindsight being 2020, I realize where I went very wrong in my decisions. While using coconut oil it made my hair feel smooth and moisturized, deep down it was actually doing the opposite. Oil can be great but it also repels water so it is very important that if you choose to use an oil that you use it to seal the moisture into your hair! To do this, you should moisturize/condition your hair first and then use the oil as the very last step to top it all off. Do not make the mistake that I made using the oil first because it does not allow any moisture to penetrate the hair shaft. The next problem that I made was using a protein mask while my hair was already in this fragile state. I overloaded it with protein and my hair was just begging me to leave it alone. Since this hair disaster, I have return to basics and have just left my hair in braids without product in it, my natural oils helped restore the overall health of my hair.
You will want to explore what your hair likes and doesn't like and allow your hair to change and evolve over the years. If a product used to work for you in the past and no longer seems to benefit your hair don't keep trying to force it. Another option besides shampooing your hair is to co- wash your hair between washes. Co-washing means that you use conditioner to massage your hair and scalp in the shower, this will help refresh and renew your hair but without stripping of its oils. This is a technique that I love to do, especially if I want to freshen up my hair for an outing. This is a great option to help give you a fresh curl pattern with less damage. Lastly, I do recommend clarifying your hair as needed! Everyone will be different based on their oil production, but I recommend doing it about once a month just to help refresh your hair and remove any buildup that maybe weighing down your curls. To clarify your hair, you can use clarifying shampoos purchased from the store, but personally I prefer to use what I already have and create a solution out of apple cider vinegar and water. It is very important to dilute the apple cider vinegar with a lot of water so that it is not too strong. I love the results it has on my hair and it really helps my hair feel completely renewed and shiny. While you are in the habit of checking the ingredients in your products you might as well make sure that they are vegan and cruelty free if this is something that you're passionate about and the path that you would like to continue on. In the future I will discuss how to know which products are vegan and cruelty free and what to look out for to ensure that a brand is never testing on animals.
Hair Cuts
I am sure many of you are familiar with the term the big chop, as these videos often and go viral! For some people, the big chop is the perfect way to go. If you feel confident rocking natural short hair I would say to go for it, you just might discover a whole new side of yourself and confidence. However, if you don't think that you'd be as confident with really short hair I would advise against doing the big chop because this might actually prolong your transition. This is because sometimes people resort to bleaching and straightening their hair to help counteract feeling insecure about having short hair. So it's very important to know what styles you would feel best with and then try to adjust your haircut to meet your needs. The option that I chose was to get a Deva Cut. This was the biggest step in my curly hair journey, I found the Curl Dr. a.k.a. Shai Amiel @ShaiAmiel on Instagram back in 2014. This really change my mind and open my eyes to the fact that my frizzy hair could be turned into defined curls. The process of the Deva Cut is to cut your hair while it's dry in layers so that your hair and curls will fall perfectly. It also gives your hair a nice shape so that you don't have a triangle haircut. The act of layering hair is also very helpful to remove damage, because the upper half of your hair can be cut much shorter while also retaining length on the bottom half. This was my go to haircut for a few years and it really helped nurse my hair back to health. My only complaint with this haircut was due to having very fine hair, when I wore it in layers it made my hair look even thinner on the longest parts of my hair. As my hair grew longer I did not find the need for a Deva Cut any more. With my fine hair, I find it's best to have a blunt cut and it makes me feel much more confident and my hair appears to be more even and full. However, if I ever did experience damage again or want to go shorter the deva cut would definitely be my go to haircut! Having a fancy cut or not, it is important to get rid of your dead ends so that it does not continue to split up the hair shaft. If you have damaged hair you might be more likely to use protective styles and may want to avoid putting heat on it because it will just worsen the problem. We will discuss different protective styles that you can use if you don't feel comfortable with cutting your hair off at this stage.
Styling
Learning how to style your curly hair might be the best part of this journey! The excitement of finding the best products and routine for your hair is extremely satisfying. Of course curly hair is unpredictable at times and there are definitely days when you will do everything right but your hair will still not look like the last time you attempted this style. But over time you will gain confidence in your abilities and your curls! Even if it doesn't look perfect, you'll have the confidence to still rock it anyway. Some essentials that you definitely need for styling your hair are: a spray bottle for water, your favorite conditioner or cream that you can leave in your hair, a microfiber towel and a delicate detangling brush. Some people prefer to detangle their hair with their fingers. This is a great method, it's much more delicate and you can focus on getting knots out of your hair without ripping it out. I personally love to use my Wet Brush it is very delicate and it gets all of my tangles out, without ripping out my hair. The day that I discovered this brush I had a moment where I reflected on all the times my past brush ripped out my hair and how long and healthy my hair would've been if I always used a Wet Brush. Now my hair is a lot thicker at the ends and I think that my brush choice has a little bit to do with it along with many other factors as well. There are millions of tutorials on YouTube that you can watch to get a better understanding of a curly hair routine but it is very important to style your hair once you get out of the shower to detangle. Spray your hair to get it as wet as possible, apply your conditioner and evenly rack the product through your hair. Now you want to scrunch your hair in an upward motion if you have a lack of volume at the roots I also recommend flipping your head upside down and scrunching it in all different directions so that no matter how your hair falls it will look amazing. Then you want to follow up with a microfiber towel and continue the same scrunching motion but with the towel in your hand to dry it evenly. Diffusers are also a great option for drying curly hair and will reduce dry time greatly, however please still be mindful that you are still applying heat to your hair, although it is much better than using a flat iron. Additional tools for hair that come in handy after the styling process are satin pillowcases satin scrunchies, satin head scarves, and bonnets. Satin helps to keeps the moisture in your hair and keeps your hair from getting tugged and snagged throughout the night. Satin is also very comfortable and makes you feel luxurious! While implementing all of these new tools, it is important to feel proud about of yourself and the progress you are making. It is important to set an ultimate goal and smaller goals to work your way up. A major goal I recommend is to cut heat and hair dye out of your routine completely. Once this goal is met you can consider using it sparingly but only if you think that your hair can truly handle it. And please remember that at times this transition can feel very awkward and uncomfortable but we want you to feel confident rocking your hair, if wearing your hair curly is something you are still not comfortable with then you may want to consider protective styles.
Protective Styles
Lucky for all of us there are many protective styles available. Protective styles are a great way to change up your look because after a while it can get a little bit boring wearing the same curly hairstyle day after day. These are great ways to dress it up as well as maintain the health of your hair. Some people only wear their hair in protective styles and this is a good option too. There is a common misconception that wearing protective styles means one does not have healthy hair underneath, but this is very false. Some of the most common protective styles are braids, braid outs, twists, locs, wigs, and weaves. The list of YouTubers provided on my previous post Will help you understand which method is best for you and may even encourage you to try to style your hair on your own. In the past I have given myself a twists and braids on my own and it was a great experience. Sometimes these protective styles can be quite an investment to get done in the salon however with proper maintenance they can last you quite a while. During the time of quarantine YouTube also may be a great option for you to explore your options and you might just surprise yourself with your talents. These styles help to protect your hair from the day-to-day manipulation and styling keeps it away and helps it grow. Sometimes your hair does need a break from the styles and it's important to once again listen to the needs of your hair and adjust accordingly. Braid outs are a little bit different, they act to manipulate your curl pattern and stretch out your curls. Shrinkage is very real, and braid outs will help to make your hair appear longer and just give an overall different vibe.
I hope this post was very helpful and has giving you the knowledge and confidence to further embark on your natural curly hair journey. If there is a topic you would like me to dive deeper in please do not hesitate to ask questions or let me know. I have also included some recommended supplies that I mentioned throughout this post which is linked to our Amazon site.
Recommended Supplies (links provided)
With Love,
Meg
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