Natural Hair, Don't Care♥

No. Hair is always growing, there are things you can do to promote extra growth—such as eating a balanced diet and drinking plenty of water, along with regular exercise—just being an overall healthy person (supplements can be helpful as well).

I don’t use grease on my scalp, but I do use oils. If you want to retain length, then I recommend keeping you hair moisturized on a regular basis using whatever your hair likes, whether it be oils or butters, and of course, WATER. That’s a big one in my book.

Hi.

Can I assume you’ve straightened your hair frequently over the years? You may have heat damage, especially if your new growth is curly. STOP straightening if you want kinky/curly hair again! OR use a lower heat setting if you want to continue straightening. OR straighten less often.

I have heard of kits that supposedly get your hair to revert back to its natural texture. But I’m not sure of the effectiveness of such kits. 

A friend of mine who has 3c type hair had really bad heat damage. Her hair is starting to revert. She wore a weave for a while, and I think that help her hair bounce back as well.

There’s really not much else you can do but to let your hair grow, and gradually (or not-so-gradually) cut off the damage pieces.

Good luck! 

Hi.

Well, healthy hair sheds daily, about 100 strands—so anything in that range is, “normal.” 

Protective styling is great, that’s key to retaining length and seeing growth. I would also suggest daily moisturizing. I just use a spray bottle and make sure my hair is wet daily. Dry hair = brittle hair = breakage. So find methods that work for you to keep your hair moisturized.

Hope this helps! 

Hey, just one “guy” here, lol.

But, personally, whenever I’ve done bantu knots/ twist outs/ or braid outs, I’ve needed to wrap them up in some way.

If Lustrasilk is working for you, continue using it. But I suggest twisting your hair in larger bantu knots a night to keep them looking fresh. So if you do, 20 knots the first night, try 8 the following nights you plan on wearing the style.

Hope this helps!

I have never worn a sew-in. I am getting one very soon…! I don’t plan on leaving it in longer than a month. Some people wear them for 2 or 3 months… I honestly don’t recommend that. For hair to grow, and stay healthy, it needs to be cleaned regularly and conditioned. I don’t really think you can effectively do that with a sew-in for many weeks. Personally, I’m going to also do a really good DCing before my sew-in.

I like braids. I’ve only worn them twice in the past 10 months. But they’re convenient and easy to clean, condition, etc. I do my own braids however, sometimes in the shop they can pull your hair around the edges too much and the price is costly. But if you got it, go get it. 

Hope this helps!

Hi! Sorry for this LATE, late response…

Ok, everything I’m going to list in all based on my opinion.

CONS:

• You have to learn how to take care of your hair. If you’ve never been natural, or haven’t been since you were a young girl, learning how to care for you natural texture of hair is hard! You have your own way of doing things, certain products you use, etc. It’s like learning how to ride a bike all over again…
• Bad hair days… that make you think about going back to the creamy crack. Everyone has bad hair days, I don’t care how you wear your hair—no one head of hair is perfect! But sometime it can become very frustrating when you don’t see your curls and kinks acting the way another girls curls and kink act. For those days, I suggest a LOT of conditioner, water, and patience.
• Transitioning. Now this is be a PRO as well in my opinion. I myself did not transition in the traditional sense, but it too can be a frustrating time period. You may not be comfortable with a shorter length of hair and may be experimenting with new, sometimes awkward hairstyles. But pull through! During this time you haven’t even seen your true texture and what your hair is capable of!
• Everyone is a comedian… Nappy is not for everyone! Your self-esteem and confidence level will be tested when going natural! Not everyone likes the look for themselves, ok, cool… but then they project their ideas on you too?! Not needed, not wanted!! Just know that your curls, kinks, and coils are beautiful and strut your stuff!
• “Oh, so you’re a vegetarian, and a tree hugger, and a lover of neo soul music, right?” People can be so ignorant, lol. If that is you, then go ahead and do you! But people need to understand that a black woman wearing her natural texture is not necessarily trying to make a political statement. She just likes the way her hair naturally grows from her scalp!

PROS:

• Freedom and versatility! Who’s scared of a little rain? Not a natural girl! (WARNING: Rain can too mess up a natural do… but a little is nothing to freak over ;) You don’t have to worry about sweating during a workout, you can have a water balloon fight, and you can start swimming again! Natural girls will still be affected by the elements, but she doesn’t have to fear them, y’all know what I mean… also, versatility! There are so many options for natural hair, I don’t know where to begin. You have so many options with your natural texture and a straightened texture… and then back to natural curls again! It’s awesome.
• Your confidence level will grow. Oh, you think your confident now? Cut all your hair off and rock the tiniest TWA, wear an afro… for the first time in your LIFE! Natural women seem to be some of the most confident out there. Just by wearing their hair natural, their defying society’s standard of beauty! 
• You stand out, you get noticed. The chic with the fro in the room… is you! Or the dreads, or the TWA, or maybe your hair is straightened… but your the only one without a relaxer. One of the reasons I went natural is because I was so sick and tired of looking like every other black girl my age. I just wanted to try something new… and I ended up really loving it!
• Genuine compliments. Let me explain. This is not a pro you can control at all, but people will respond to you differently. White people compliment me all the time… my hair is “cool,” haha. I used to get pissed about the touching thing, but every once in a while, once lucky person can touch my hair (lol). And men compliment me differently when I’m wearing my natural hair… If hard to explain. But the compliments are definitely more genuine! I’ve never had a guy tell me my hair was beautiful until I went natural! (Black guys and other guys a well.)
• Fuller hair, thicker hair. Maybe you’ve never wanted a fuller, thicker head of hair… but I did! My relaxed hair was thin and just not a good look for me! Now when I straighten my hair, it’s fuller, more volume, I just like the look of it more!
• Longer hair. Yes, if you care for your hair in any state, then it could potentially grow much longer. But in my experience, natural hair can grow longer. and by growth I mean, retain length. How many of you wore protective styles when you were relaxed?…. A style where the ends of your hair were tucked away and protected from the elements… Yeah, didn’t think so. When you’re relaxed you generally always have you hair down unless it’s nighttime when you wrap it up! But with natural hair there are more options for protective styles which helps you retain length. Hair is always growing, but if you don’t care for your ends, then you hair will break off and you won’t see any growth! 

There are probably more pros (and cons), but this is all I have right now! I really hopes this help. And I said ALL of that to say this, for me, the pros of going natural far outweigh the cons. Natural isn’t for everyone. But if you’re thinking about trying it, go for it! You can always go back to your normal hair routine if you don’t like it.

Good luck! Hope this helps.

Color-treated afro-textured hair gets extremely dry, so any products that say they’re for dry, damaged hair are the ones I’d go for. It doesn’t mean your hair is damaged, but you want to get as much moisture for your hair as possible.

Tips I have, since I’ve dyed my hair several times, several different colors is to not go jet black, unless you don’t plan on lightening in the future. Also, semi-permanent dye won’t do much for your hair (except probably dye your scalp the color you were trying to achieve, lol, it’s bad!) so if you don’t want to strip you hair (which I advise against) you should use a permanent dye. I’ve used Dark & Lovely colors in the past.

Hmm… Do research! Find styles you like, check out our Rec. pages and find some blogs or youtube accounts you love for inspiration, and learn to embrace your texture. I say this a lot, but it’s really important in my opinion. 

Only tips that I have are to learn to enjoy and appreciate your hair during every step in your journey. Also, find styles that look good for the stage that your hair is at.

For me what works is focusing on length retention to actually see visible growth. Make sure to protect your ends, so extension braids could be a good style for this. But make sure you’re also keeping your hair clean and moisturized and protect you edges (not too tight!).

Recently I’ve been wearing the back of my hair braided or flat twisted with the front in a pompadour or a flat twist with a side part. 

I think people’s natural hair color looks the best on them generally, and it’s easier to maintain.

Water in the best moisturizer. I spritz my hair daily.

But since it’s winter you might want to try protective styling to protect your hair. I moisturizer with oils (coconut, olive, etc.) and a daily moisturizer from Africa’s BEST.

Shampoo: Tresemmé Naturals

Conditioner: whatever’s in the house + olive oil, and I let in sit for at least 30 mins in a shower cap

Hmm… this is a tough one because no two heads are alike (many are similar though). If you want to just get rid of your ends (that may have heat damage?)—BC! or mini-chop, lol, whatever’s needed. Or you could transition wearing protective styling (like braids or a weave) until your hair grows to a desired length and you are ready to snip away at the ends. I personally wore braids while “transitioning” (though I didn’t officially transition… but I digress…)

Some tips I have are: be confident, embrace your texture(s), and experiment! Experimentation is the only sure way to find styles and products you really like. But for starters, there are many women on youtube who have amazing hair tutorials and product suggestions (you can find my faves here.)

Some products that I like that works for me are Tresemmé’s Naturals shampoo, olive oil, and Organics Hair Lotion by Africa’s Best. That’s pretty much all I use on a regular basis… and water (in a spray bottle—I spritz it daily lol)! 

Hope this helps(: