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?