5 things to stop doing NOW to see a huge difference in your hair health.

5 things to stop doing NOW to see a huge difference in your hair health.

1. Combing/Detangling your hair dry (without water or products)

Do this instead:

Spritz with diluted Aloe Vera juice, use aloe Vera gel (it’s VERY moisturising) or use a detangling Leave-in lotion before detangling. Hair *must not* be soaking wet when you Detangle, only damp, to slightly increase flexibility.

If you must dry-Detangle, try using oils (NOT butters) for added slip- be generous.

2. Pulling out knots/ripping through them/snapping them off.

Do this instead:

Get out your trusty hair shears ✂️ and trim off the knotted bit. This stops the damage from spreading up the hair shaft!

3. Using heat without protectant!

Do this instead: only ever use heat after a deep conditioning treatment (that contains some form of protein, but more on that later 😉) and after using a heat protectant. These commonly contain silicones, but this is because silicones are the only compounds resistant enough to prevent the heat from damaging your hair. Using oils WILL FRY YOUR HAIR. (More on this here)

4. Over-shampooing

Bubbles/foam/lather are not the “hallmark” of cleanliness! They’re often a hallmark of dryness! Manufacturing companies always list foaming agents in shampoo formulas as “customer satisfaction agents” meaning they bear little benefit to the hair other than to make you *feel better* about the experience using the product.

Do this instead: Use only what you need to generate a small amount of lather in each section of your hair (yes, always wash in sections if your hair is long enough to put into sections). OR

add a few drops of an oil like olive or jojoba oil, to help reduce the stripping effect of the shampoo.

5. Over-styling

Updo on Monday. Twists on Tuesday. Cornrows on Thursday. Afropuff on Friday. Roller set on Saturday.

If your hair styling regimen looks like this or similar (ie if you change your hair style more than once in a week), you’re probably doing FAR TOO MUCH, and causing breakage, premature shedding (from the root) and mechanical damage to your hair.

The same applies if you use a lot of heat and/or products on your hair.

Do this instead:

Use heat sparingly, and keep the temperature below 150’C/302’F.

Do a protective style on your wash day (at the end of the week) that sets you up for success the next week.

For versatility, choose a style that can “evolve” during the week, ie: with very little manipulation, it can convert into a low maintenance style.

As always, I hope this was enlightening and helps you on your healthy hair growth journey.

Take care if yourself, your kinks, coils and curls, and see you next time.