*This article was originally published on August 19, 2011. It was re-posted as part of our ‘Best of 2011′ Series
Going natural is a time of thrilling experimentation… conditioning, styling… it’s all new and exciting. But sometimes that experimentation can become excessive, and practices that are good in and of themselves can quickly go south. Here are 5 haircare practices that go from good to bad if done in excess.
Deep Conditioning
Picking a deep conditioner is like picking an ice-cream flavor; there are so many delicious options. Once you select your DC of choice, you slather it on then — to make it work *really well* — keep it on your hair for hours on end. Well, that’s actually very counterproductive. Hair science blog The Natural Haven finds that most deep conditioners work their magic in 15 minutes or less. And excess deep conditioning can lead to hydral fatigue, which occurs when the cuticle is wet (and expands) then dries (and contracts) too frequently.
Applying Product
If leave-ins, oils, butters and styling products are loaded onto the hair, what will result is a limp, soggy mess. Cuticles stifled by product buildup have less lustre, spring and, ultimately, less strength. Remember, the products you apply are at the service of your strands, not the other way around!
Letting Hair Sit in Protective Styles
Protective styles are definitely a silver bullet for length retention, but bad things can happen when they are left untended for too long. Lint and dust that get into the hair can quickly turn into knots or tangles if unaddressed, and neglecting to moisturize makes for a breakage-heavy takedown. Then there’s scalp health. A dirty scalp is susceptible to sores and infections if the skin is punctured or cut. Always have an end date in mind when you put in a protective style, and be sure to tend to your hair while the style is in. Protective styling isn’t code for chucking up the deuces and ignoring your hair for months, on end.
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I’m sitting here with conditioner in my hair RIGHT NOW because I’m not protective styling at the moment so I’m in ponytails daily. My hair is in knots at the end of the day and I just don’t have it in me to detangle my hair for one more night. The Pantene usually helps me a lot.
It’s late now, and while I’m too tired to rinse it out, I’m now hoping that I’m not doing yet another thing to damage my hair.
I too have DC in my hair right now! I usually prepoo with oils for a few hours then sleep with DC in mostly because I dont have any heating wraps etc to help it penetrate so I leave it in a long time.
y hair is shoulder length and I havent noticed any damage yet but Im going to try doing it for about 1 hr with a heating wrap and see if I notice a difference. I definitely dont want hydral fatigue!
I’ve heard you tubers say, not all of them but one or 2 say that they condition overnight. I guess it depends on the person and what their hair needs. Each person is different. In fact the one that comes immediately to mind, has the longest hair on You tube (from what i’ve seen). and she wears her hair out constantly, so that might account for her long deep conditions.
what’s her name, the you tuber I mean?
One of the reasons I went natural was to make my life easier, not unnecessarily time consuming. I don’t have the time to dc all night, so I dc for a MAX 15 minutes with a shower cap and towel. My hair is naturally thick, kinky-curly, dye-free and shoulder length and those 15 minutes are enough for me and my hair to come out soft and ready for styling.
Weirdly enough, if I dc for too long (past 30 mins), my hair is dry and it’s not as soft as it is with only 10-15 minutes of dc. I remember reading a forum post from another natural who stated the same thing and cut her dc time down. A light bulb went off and I figured that I should try to shorten my dc time as well. Low and behold, it worked! Then Jc posted about dc time a year later and I believed it because I experienced it.
Learning about your hair needs to be stated more. It’s a game changer.
I agree with the first suggestion but want to add to it. I use to be guilty of deep conditioning weekly by sleeping with conditioner on my wet hair covered by a plastic cap. After just a couple of months I ended up with a severe case of Seborrheic Dermatitis on my scalp, ears and forehead. Nasty stuff ladies. My hair actually started coming out at the ROOT! My doctor believes it was brought on by keeping my scalp moist and hot for long periods (much like conditions that spawn mold or yeast).
Sorry to hear but thats very interesting, my degree is in biochemistry that could be y i find it particularly interesting
wow, sorry to hear that:-( I guess no more overnight dcs for me anymore!
i leave deep conditioners in my hair overnight, my hair responds very well, and i have not sustained any damage from the practice, so i will continue to do so…..
I’ve done all of these. Protective styles before I truly went natural, over deep conditioning recently. *sigh* The one thing I found that never worked was following natural hair gurus. I could never follow. My hair does its own thing.
If you have THICK hair, how is a dime size of hair product going to work? Sometimes I do get excited with products but I like for my hair to be coated evenly.
any free online spnsaih learning resources?Hi. I’m a young man of partly hispanic descent but for various reasons never fully learned the language. I am also a poor young man, and have no easy access to spnsaih associates from which to pick up the language. I’m wondering if there are any good learning websites, downloads, videos . and if not free, very low priced :-O any help at all is appreciated or even if you just have tips for me.I should mention, I have a very good grasp of pronunciation and can speak a LITTLE of it, and read it fairly well. Thanks again.
I’m sooo guilty of keeping my deep conditioner in longer than it needs to be lol. I guess my logic has been that if 15 mins will work then 30 mins will make it extra silky smooth.
I kinda agree with the dime sized thing when it comes to SOME products. I used to be very heavy handed but I’m learning that a little goes a long way with my hair.
Of course I havent’ read the comments or tips yet, but I love this fro. How do you keep your hair from shrinking to your head. I have lenght but you will never know the way my hair shrinks.
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I used to over-condition w// oils etc. but I surely learned my lesson- NO MAS
At the beginning of my journey 18 months ago, I probably listened to gurus and purchased products based on their suggestions and experiences. I developed PJ-ism as a result LOL! I learned that all heads are not created equally and it took time and attention to figure out what my individual head needed. It’s been a great trip! For me, I pre-poo overnight with in amla oil. I also deep condition using only my body heat for at least an hour. If I used direct heat (a heated cap or dryer) I’d cut that time in half.
The best advice I can give is to do your research and experiment with your own hair to see what works and doesn’t, for you.
Am a Nigerian and am concerned on hair products that would be best for me to start this new faze of going natural cause i have been thinking of going natural before i came across your website . So am sure you can tell me about some good hair product that might be useful for me .
Thanks a bunch .
Hi Edith, three great product lines I’ve tried are Curl Junkie, Darcy’s Botanicals, and Jessicurl. I call them great because their ingredients vary a lot, so there’s literally something for everyone.
curlmart.com sells a lot of great hair products.
curlynikki.com has a lot of great natural hair info.
If you go on youtube.com, users LolaKinkz and DenimPixie both have a lot of product reviews.
To start with I would buy a sulfate free shampoo, a light conditioner (to conditioner-wash with)and a thicker conditioner (to deep condition with). Plus an oil to seal moisture in with (such as Olive Oil or Coconut Oil).
For a frame of reference the products I use are:
Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Conditioner (as a conditioner-wash)
Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment (as a deep conditioner and leave-in)
Curl Junkie Curl Rehab Moisturizing Hair Treatment (as a deep conditioner)
I use coconut oil or grapeseed oil to seal my hair with.
Good Luck! If you have any more questions I’m Katharine Parr on facebook, and Katharine Myers on twitter, feel free to message me.
Thanks for confirming what I learned via Cipriana’s post; I’ve been over trimming
Ladies,
Any tips on a vlog or blog I should follow for 4b mostly 4c hair?
sera 2544 on youtube. she has 4b/cish, somewhere in there- but she keeps it stretched all the time so a lotta ppl think she’s a looser texture even though she says herself that it’s loosened since she started blow drying and flat ironing more frequently.
first of all, I don’t know how you guys can get a good night sleep with a wet head. I have tried leaving treatment in my hair overnight, and I never sleep well, and I will sometimes wake up with an headache. Same as days when i do the baggy method by wearing a showercap to sleep. I don’t think the hair cortex would take in more than needed regardless of the length of time a treatment is left it. It’s the simple law of osmosis. Which is why I agree with Jc’s post, but I still leave a conditioner in my hair for a max of 1.5hrs
curiouskinks.blogspot.com
I have just discovered this website, and am so glad to get this information about natural hair! I just did the big chop and cut the relaxed ends off my hair….its good to be in the company of other women who embrace their natural hair…..have learned so much!