Tips on Naturalness

I have FINALLY got the hang of this "natural" things, after A LOT of trial and error over the past 2 years. I WISH that I knew all of these things before but that is what I am here for, to share with you these tips so that you do not have to go through all of the breakage and trial and error that I went through.


First, i will share with you a picture of 11 months of hair growth (sorry the pic says 10). 1st pic was in November 2010 and second pic was taken in October 2011

Now, time for the tips. I will try to make it as few points as possible.

1. CONFIDENCE -  I wish that I could make this word as big as the screen to emphasize how important this is when embarking on a natural hair journey. When you do your BC (Big Chop) there will be LOADS of comments about your hair and MOST WILL NOT be nice and generally come from people you care about and whose opinions you highly value. Try to blame it to their head and not their heart, because society has conditioned us to accept "beauty" as long straight hair and generally people will be used to seeing you with this type of hair for your entire life and this would be a major change. However, love yourself for who you are and embrace your curls and kinks as they are YOURS!!
2. BE PATIENT - I know that it may seem like your hair is not growing, but it really is! Hair grows between 1/4 to 1/2 inch per month, the only thing that you really need  to do is retain the growth that you have experienced. This comes with proper hair care and remember THERE IS NO MAGIC POTION FOR RETAINING LENGTH AND HAVING HEALTHY HAIR!.  I don't know how many times I have been asked the question "What do you use on your hair to make it grow?" and I simply reply "nothing". Healthy hair and growth comes from a healthy body. Take me , for example, I work out 4-5 times per week for 35-50 minutes, I limit my calorie intake to 1300- 1400 calories per day and I limit my carbs and eat more organic, whole grain, and whole wheat foods. I also try to get 8 hours of sleep per night. IN short, take care of your body and your hair will essentially take care of itself.
3. DO NOT COMPARE YOUR HAIR TO OTHER NATURALS - I am guilty as charged! I found myself doing this a lot when I first became natural whether is was from curl pattern or length. It is important that you are comfortable with YOUR hair the way it is and the length that it is currently at. Every person's hair is different just as your complexion is different so be comfortable with YOU!
4. ALWAYS SLEEP WITH A SATIN BONNET OR SCARF ON- I had to learn this one the hard way. As a result of me not doing this, the middle of my hair became severely damaged and there is now about a 4 inch difference between the length of my hair in the middle and the perimeter. Also,  ALWAYS PREP YOUR HAIR BEFORE BED! This also aided to my hair breakage. Prep your hair by either putting it in 4 mini puffs depending on length, big twits, or loose braids depending on your hairstyle. I also sometimes spray a nighttime oil treatment or put my whipped Shea Butter mixture in my hair. 
5. ALWAYS MANIPULATE/COMB/DETANGLE WHEN WET - Please follow this tip if you want to retain length and avoid breakage! !!!!
6. SEAL THE MOISTURE IN YOUR HAIR - It is important to keep your hair moisturized. I normally use this method after washing but you can do it whenever your hair is dry. I first wet my hair using my spray bottle (if I am doing this in between washes), I then apply my leave in conditioner (which can be considered a cream), and then seal in my moisture by adding a little bit of my oil mixture and whipped Shea Butter. Remember that OIL DOES NOT MOISTURIZE YOUR HAIR IT ONLY SEALS. WATER MOISTURIZES YOUR HAIR!
7. FIND WHAT REGIMINE AND PRODUCTS WORK FOR YOUR HAIR - I used to be a product junkie and I used to buy every product that my "YouTube Guru's" reviewed or purchased. Remember that what works for someone may not necessarily work for you and unfortunately this is the most costly and hard part in your natural hair journey. It is all a matter of trial and error. Also, the method used in washing your hair will change as your hair grows as you would need to spend more time detangling and the washing process itself will be longer. Click here to see the method that I currently use to wash my hair.  Also, in regards to a hair care regimine it is important to know what your hair needs. Sometimes you may need to shampoo, deep condition, or co-wash more or less often than others. It is all a matter of finding out what works for you.

I hope that you have found these tips helpful and I wish you luck in this journey, because it really is an emotional, mental, physical and spiritual journey.


Happy Growing,