0 Remember The Natural Hair Care Basics

With so much information on the internet and so many people telling you what to do with YOUR hair, it can be hard to stay on track. Even though, no two heads of natural hair are alike, we all can benefit from the same basic rules of natural hair care. You can always add to these basic rules, as with all things you should tweak them to your liking and hair needs. Here are some basic things to remember to help you stay on track to retain length and achieve healthy natural hair!




Shampoo

Okay so there are a lot of people who believe you don't have to shampoo your hair. I'm not of that school of people. None of the women, I follow with long natural hair (I'm talking waistlength and beyond) follow a no-shampoo regimen. I truly believe that it is essential that you shampoo your hair, especially as it gets longer. No what kind of shampoos you use are up to you. You can use shampoo bars, diluted shampoo or even a shampoo conditioner 2 in 1 combo. Just make sure, you are cleansing your hair at least once a month and if you ask me, even that is pushing it.

I just can't get over putting product on top of product, on top of product and never washing that product off your hair strands. Since water and oil don't mix, you need some type of soap to cling to the oil and allow it to be rinsed off by the water, this is basic science.

Rinse-Out Conditioner

I read one woman talking about not using rinse out conditioner anymore and how her hair felt great and she hadn't seen any ill results. Although, I think this can work if you use shampoo bars or add oils to your shampoo. It still shows that people may not know why rinse out conditioners exist. Rinse-out conditioners are made to restore your hairs natural balance balance. Shampoo usually has a negative charge ( Check out this post on The Natural Hair Haven on shampoo and surfactants) and conditioners have a positive charge and are made to deposit while shampoo is made to take off product, long story short. So, the 2 work together to rebuild your hair. One cleans and the other restores.

Leave-In Conditioner

Even though, water is the best moisturizer, you do need some kind of leave-in product to at the very least, protect your hair from the outside elements. There are a wide range of leave in conditioners to choose from, choose the best one for your regimen. If you co-wash or shampoo and condition often, you may only need a light leave-in conditioner. Sealing is optional depending on how often you moisturize your hair.

Detangling

No matter if you detangle, root to tip or tip to root, it's important to detangle. I know, some of you are wondering why I said root to tip, for some with a looser curl pattern root to tip works for them when detangling. Detangling not only gets rid of tangles but, it also helps get out the shed hair. If you aren't thorough in detangling and getting out the shed hair, you could end up with matted hair or dred locks. Remember, if your hair sheds a lot, the longer you go without detangling and getting those shed hairs out the bigger your risk is for matted, tagled, knotted hair. This is especially important, if you style or manipulate your hair often.

A note about wide tooth combs- I noticed with the wide tooth combs, I have to make sure I really detangle every section thoroughly because, with the teeth being so wide some parts of my hair weren't getting detangled. This is one reason why I went back to my Denman brush.

I hope this tips help, if you're in a hair rut or going through some struggles with breakage or shedding. Just remember that no matter what you read online, don't forget the basics. Clean moisturized hair, retains length, remember that! (Of course, do what works best for you! If no shampoo works for you then you do that, I'm trying to knock the regimen!)

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