What are your earliest memories of hair? 'Hot combing'? The infamous Afro pick? Hair being ripped out from the roots? Little girls crying as they have their hair pulled into a plait tighter than a drum head?

It's no wonder many women of African origin don't don their natural tresses. Afro-textured hair and 'manageable' are rarely found in the same sentence.

News breaker! Our hair can be soft and manageable without the use of harsh chemicals and hot tools.

At the heart of soft/manageable hair is moisture. Moisture=water (not oil). Dry hair is hard and brittle therefore easily breaks. Keep away or take away moisture from your hair and you'll end up with steel wool.

Our hair is dry and brittle when we can't get moisture inside it and/or can't keep it in.

Steps you can take to get moisture into your hair.

1. Apply water to hair everyday or whenever you feel your hair is dry. Use a spray bottle for this. Some naturals prefer to use a shower for this. Find a method that works for you.
2. Use humectants or products with humectants. Humectants are agents that draw water to themselves. A common one that you can buy at your local supermarket is glycerin. Dilute it with 4 times the amount of water and spray the mix over your hair. Other natural humectants are aloe vera, honey and molasses. Apply these to your hair as you would hair treatment, cover with a shower cap for at least 20 minutes then rinse out well.
3. Use moisturisers with water (aqua) and humectants (some mentioned above) as the main ingredients. Curl activator gels although known for their use on the jheri curl ('wet look'), moisturise the hair without changing it from it's natural state. They contain glycerin. Give them a try; you'll thank us. Common ones on the market are World of Curls, S-Curl, Sof 'n' free and many others. Apply a little to damp hair. Your hair will feel super soft.Sometimes just applying water does not get your hair moisturised as the water just coats the top and never gets into the hair shaft. Below are ways you can assist this water to get into your hair.  
4. Steaming. Use a steamer for this or mist your hair, cover it with a shower cap and sit under a dryer or use a hand dryer. If you don't own any of the above, put a warm damp towel over the shower cap. This works just as well. Heat opens the cuticles of your hair and causes water to get into the hair shaft.
5. Deep conditioning. Apply deep conditioner to damp hair, cover with a shower cap or plastic bag for 20 minutes to an hour.
6. Applying baking soda as you would treatment and rinsing out. Baking soda, because it is alkaline, opens the hair cuticles allowing water to enter the hair strand.

Steps you can take to keep the moisture in your hair.

1. After getting moisture in using any of the above steps, seal it in with an oil or a butter or it will evaporate right out of your hair. Opt for vegetable oils like coconut oil, olive oil as opposed to mineral oils (check the list of ingredients before you buy).
2. Avoid or reduce the use of heat-styling tools like blow dryers and flat irons. These take out the moisture from your hair. Opt to air dry your hair. If your hair is long, dry it in big plaits or twists to reduce tangling and shrinkage.
3. Opt for 'closed styles' like twists, braids, updos (see the picture). Moisture is much more easily lost with 'open styling' like afros.

A natural hair updo

Happy Hair Journey!

How do you keep your hair soft and manageable?

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Every natural or intending natural needs to know how to take care of their tresses so as to have a healthy head of hair with as little frustration as possible. Below is listed basic steps to follow to achieve this.

1. Natural hair needs moisture. Moisture=water (not oil). As a natural, water becomes your friend. Keep a spray bottle which you will use to spritz water on your hair. You could do this everyday.
2. Seal in the moisture with an oil. A heavy oil like castor/olive oil for coarse hair. A light oil like coconut oil for fine hair.
3. A clean scalp contributes to hair growth. Shampoo your hair at least twice a month and not more than once a week using a mild shampoo (like baby shampoo) or a sulfate-free shampoo. If you need to clean your hair between shampoos, you could use a cheap wash-out conditioner as you would a shampoo.
4. Deep condition your hair. The frequency depends on the moisture levels of your hair. Dry, brittle hair might need a deep condition every wash day. Deep conditioning hair means to apply a conditioner purposely meant for that to your hair, covering it with a shower cap or paper bag for 20 minutes to 2 hours. Rinse it out well.
5. Detangle your hair. You do this by separating entangled strands of hair (usually in chunks, not individual hairs, phew!) from the ends to the roots using your fingers (recommended) or a wide-toothed comb. Make sure to do it gently to reduce breakage. Increase the slip by applying oil or conditioner to your hair.
6. Apply a leave-in conditioner or moisturizer (you can skip this) and seal in all the moisture your hair has acquired with an oil or butter (like Shea butter).
7. Air dry your hair as opposed to blow drying to prevent heat damage and dryness (no pun intended). 
8. Steps 3 to 7 are best done in sections especially with longer hair to reduce tangling. I work with 8 sections. The longer your hair the less sections you might need to make. People with short hair might not need to work in sections
9. Style your hair. Depending on your natural hair goals, keep the ends of your hair tucked away in what are called protective styles. These reduce breakage allowing you to attain length.
This might look like a lot of work (which it might actually be) but you do get the hang of it and the time it takes you from step 1 to 9 might get shorter.

Happy Hair Journey.

How do you take care of your hair? What challenges have you faced in doing this?

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I often get many questions about how I've managed to grow my hair to it's current length all natural. I have listed a few tips below. 

1. Your hair is in it's best state when it is natural. It will grow the longest it ever will. It will be the healthiest it will ever be.
2. Your natural hair can grow. Or else you wouldn't have to relax your hair regularly. Those kinky roots you so hate because it means another trip to the salon for another scalp-burning session is actually your hair growing.
3. Afro-textured hair can grow to incredible length. I currently have bra-strap length hair when stretched.
4. Hair like body types is different. There's no good hair or bad hair. However there's hair with a loose curl pattern and there's hair with a tighter kinkier pattern. There's fine and coarse. Thick and thin. Hair that grows slower than the average half an inch a month and that that grows faster. You save yourself a lot of time and disappointment when you learn your hair type and what works for it.
5. It's not about the product used but the state of your hair and the technique. The most popular or most expensive natural hair product is like a jewel to a pig in the hands of one who does not know how to use it. I have so many unused and partially-used hair products I picked up on my quest to get my hair to do what I saw other people's hair do on YouTube. Sometimes just water, a leave-in conditioner and Shea butter is all you need.
6. Arm yourself with knowledge on natural hair care to avoid frustration. Good resources are this page, YouTube, natural hair blogs and friends with natural hair among others.

A Bantu Knot

What are your thoughts on growing natural hair?

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