Hair Moisture 101: the ABCs of Moisturizing Natural Hair

This blog post contains affiliate links (e.g., to Amazon, eBay, etc.), which means that if you click on one of the product links and place an order, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support my blog and allows me to continue to create content like this.

Thank you for your support!

 

 

Moisturizing natural hair can be a challenge (to say the least). When I first Big Chopped, moisturizing my hair was easy, breezy, beautiful CoverGirl! But, as my hair grew, I noticed that I had to moisturize my hair more frequently. Once my hair reached my shoulders (when straightened), it became obvious to me that I needed to rethink my hair moisture routine. However, ever since I went back to school to pursue an advanced degree, I have had trouble keeping up with even my low-fuss hair regimen. Sometimes the busyness of life just bogs you down! So, whether you recently made the decision “to go natural” or just need a reminder (like we all do from time to time) to return to the basics, here’s some essentials to get you started (or back on track)!

This is the basic tenet of natural hair: moisturize and seal. But, what does that mean? It means that you should apply water (or a leave-in conditioner of your choice) to your hair. Then, you should “seal” in that moisture by applying an oil over the moisturizer. If you just apply water or a water-based moisturizer to your hair (without sealing), your hair will be left frizzy, fuzzy, and dehydrated. This is because sebum (a natural oil produced by the sebaceous glands) has more difficulty traveling down the entire hair shaft when coils and curls are present. This is due to all the twists and turns of each strand. In light of this, those of us with highly textured hair have to moisturize our tresses much more often than those with straight or wavy hair. So, moisturizing your hair without locking in that moisture is a no-no, unless you want dry, parched hair!

If moisturizing and sealing your hair just isn’t enough, try using the L-O-C method. L-O-C stands for Leave-in-Oil-Cream. This means that you start with a leave-in conditioner (or water-based moisturizer), seal in the moisture with an oil of your choice, and then apply a thicker, cream-based product for added moisture. The premise of the L-O-C method is that you layer products in a certain order to maximize moisture retention. If you still feel like this isn’t enough, try a variation of the method, such as L-O-C-O or playing around with the order of the cream and oil (L-C-O). By layering in multiple products, it makes it easier to keep your hair moisturized longer and keeps future moisture loss to a minimum.

Another useful moisturizing technique is the Greenhouse Effect. This is great for rebalancing the moisture levels of dehydrated hair or reversing short-term dry hair spells. The purpose is to trap in moisture by lightly dampening hair with water, adding a natural oil, and then covering with a processing cap and satin scarf/hair bonnet. The baggy method is similar, only it allows the use of water-based moisturizers (instead of pure water) and sealants other than natural hair oils.

Whatever method you choose, don’t forget to listen to your hair. If your hair is constantly dry, you may not be moisturizing it enough. Or, you may need to analyze your product choices or the order in which you apply them. Be curious. Try one method, two, or all three!

HAIR SETBACK ALERT: What Do You Do When Things Don’t Go as Planned?

This blog post contains affiliate links (e.g., to Amazon, eBay, etc.), which means that if you click on one of the product links and place an order, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support my blog and allows me to continue to create content like this.

Thank you for your support!

 

                    Source: stock.xchng

 

 

Well, things have been going swimmingly since I went natural. I have been natural for eight months now and, so far, my hair has been growing slightly faster than average. And, I have also been maintaining my length successfully each month. I have had no major hair setbacks … until now … Sigh.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of hair fall: excessive shedding, single strand knots, more hair in my sink, etc. I didn’t pay too much attention to it until after 4-5 weeks, and I realized that my hair was a tangled mess and was still shedding excessively. It also didn’t appear to be growing. Even though I wear my hair in its curly/coily state 95% of the time, I usually can tell each month whether my hair has grown at least a half-inch before I pull out my measuring tape. Well, this month, for the first time, I couldn’t! I started to worry, but I told myself it was my overactive Alice-in-Wonderland-sized imagination. But, when I measured my hair in various places all over my head, the immutable truth stared back at me in the mirror … I had lost a 1/2″ of growth. My hair went from 6.5″-7.0″ to 6.0″-6.5″!

I felt angry and confused. I wracked my brain to try to figure out the cause but, like most things, this didn’t happen overnight. I analyzed and reanalyzed my routine, and I realized that for the last month, I hadn’t been following my routine. Heck, I hadn’t been following ANY routine!

I recently found out that my mom has stage one kidney disease. That, on top of some other ailments, had left her completely demobilized. So, my sister and I have been sharing the responsibility of taking care of her around-the-clock while my dad is at work. I hadn’t realized, until now, that I had only deep conditioned my hair ONCE in the last month. I normally deep condition my hair ONCE A WEEK! I hadn’t been moisturizing and sealing my hair properly. I hadn’t been doing much of anything (in regards to my hair). And, to make matters worse, I haven’t been getting proper sleep.  Honestly, given all the stress I’ve been under, it’s a wonder I still have hair on my head!

I’ve been neglecting my hair, to say the least, which left my tresses parched, lackluster, and broken. My first order of business (after a five-minute pout session)? You guessed it! I ran to my beauty cabinet to grab my deep conditioner. I added some grapeseed oil and rosemary essential oil, and liberally slathered it on every strand.  Then, I sat under my hooded dryer with a conditioning cap for 30 minutes. I usually only sit under the dryer for 20 minutes, but I figured my hair could use a little extra love. Thankfully, after rinsing out the conditioner, my hair was 100% revived. It instantly felt tangle-free and strong. I think my coils drank every drop of that deep conditioner. LOL! After that, I moisturized and sealed my hair.

The lesson? Even when unexpected things in life happen, don’t forget to take care of yourself! Obviously, the health of my mother is more important to me than the health of my hair, but it is too easy to forget yourself in the equation of life. So, remember to treat your hair kindly ladies. Things may not always go as planned (as far as hair goals are concerned), but when in doubt, go back to the basics … MOISTURE! MOISTURE! MOISTURE!