Here are few tips for you new naturals, those of you who are transitioning, or those of you who have gone natural and are rethinking our decision.
1. “It takes a bunch of products to ‘tame’ natural hair.” - False. First of all, natural hair doesn’t need to be “tamed”. Just like any other part of your body, healthy hair takes maintenance and patience. With a basic weekly regimen of detangling, deep conditioning, washing and styling, you’ll see that it doesn’t take many products to maintain a healthy head of hair.
2. “I need to apply plenty of oil to my hair to keep it moisturized.”- False. When moisturizing hair, always apply water first, (just a little), and then seal in the moisture with a small amount of oil, or oil-based moisturizer. Try to buy products that have water high up on the ingredients list.
3. “Natural hair takes up too much of my time to maintain.” - False. It doesn’t have to. If you’re taking all day to do your hair on a regular wash day or are constantly twisting and retwisting. You’re overdoing it. Find 2 or 3 hairstyles that you can perform quickly (and under duress), and wear them during the week. Look out for split ends, but don’t obsess over them. Leave the weekend when you have more time for experimenting. Also consider breaking up your routine. Detangle/deep condition one day, and shampoo/style the next. Also, try detangling your hair section by section, when it’s sopping wet and full of conditioner.
4. “I can’t wear my hair natural at work.” - False – Even if your job has a conservative atmosphere, you’d be surprised what hairstyles you can pull off and still look professional. Also, it’s about confidence. If you look uncomfortable, you’ll appear uncomfortable and that will reflect in how you relate to others. Stay confident. For some natural hairstyle ideas, check out these looks
5. “What I eat has nothing to do with my hair.” - False – Everything you eat affects your body, skin and your hair. In fact, my mom used to be able to tell when I was getting sick a child, by looking at my hair. Drinking plenty of water, getting enough healthy protein and vegetables, and lowering sugar and fat in your diet will definitely help your hair grow.
6. “Natural hair is too expensive to maintain.” - False – Natural hair is popular. (now). With all of the products on the market, not to mention all of the blogs, youtube videos, message boards, etc. telling you how you should be doing your hair and what you should be putting in it, it can get pretty expensive f you try to buy everything out there. IT doesn’t have to be. The staples of my beauty regimen, from washing to styling cost me less than $50. TOTAL. Check out this post for some ideas.
7. “My hair will never be as pretty as yours.” - False. “Pretty” is relative, and everyone’s hair is different. It’s perfectly healthy to check out how another sister is rockin’ her locks, but again, DO NOT obsess over it! So many things affect hair growth and texture, genes, diet, medication, stress level, etc. Work your regimen, be patient and stay in your lane! Your hair will transform in no time!
8. “Mineral oil and petrolatum are in many of the natural hair products on the market so they must be good for my hair.” – False. False. False! Just because you see these ingredients in a lot of hair products (natural and otherwise), it doesn’t mean they’re good for you hair, both mineral oil and petrolatum might tame frizz termporarily, but the long term damage to your scalp and hair is pretty significant. For infor on those and other ingredients you should avoid in your hair, check this out
• What are some misconceptions about natural hair that you’ve learned are false?
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