By Fran of HeyFranHey.com
It’s easy to become a creature of habit with beauty regimens. Most of us read tons of blogs and watch countless hours of Youtube videos, yet rarely try the products or techniques suggested. It’s almost like we fall into the daily trance of being a part of the natural hair community but are actually pretty resistant to change. And this is understandably so, considering how much information is out there.
Taking into account that no two heads are alike and the usual disclaimer of “what works for some will not work for others”, it can often be a guessing game deciding which technique is worth trying. Of course there are exceptions. Some naturals, particularly the newer ones, jump on every bandwagon in search of this flawless regimen. Then you have the veteran naturals who know every oil, every mixture and the Trichologist break down of the hair follicle, who will tell you, “No thanks. I know what works for me.” and yet their hair hasn’t grown in years!?
At the end of the day, we have to come to terms with the fact there’s no natural hair rulebook. Yes, there are scientific facts supporting a lot of our methods. But even those don’t always hold true for all of us. I’ve come to understand that the winning formula is to be a sprinkle of the wide-eyed newly natural combined with a dash of the “set in my ways” veteran. Here are a few of our usual methods that I’ve willingly and recently modified with much success:
Deep Conditioning
Most of us shampoo and condition (or just co-wash) our hair and then deep condition afterwards. We either plop on the DC under a cap while still in the shower or we sit under our steamers, hooded dryers or heat caps. Either way, we’ve been accustomed to the idea that our hair should be squeaky clean before a deep treatment. Not just me, right? A few weeks ago, while doing my usual treatment, a friend of mine asked, “When you put on a face mask, do you steam first and then apply the mask or do you apply the mask and then steam?” I looked at her like she was crazy and responded, “The steam opens your pores so you can then apply the mask and have its nutrients penetrate. Who puts on a mask and THEN steams?” and she cleverly retorted, “the same person who is now steaming their hair after washing it.” Wow.
Why did I wash my hair to then re-open the cuticle with steam, to then close it again with more products and a cold rinse? Why not simply steam first with the deep conditioner and now lifted cuticle, then effectively cleanse and close? Not only is it logical but also one less time your cuticle needs to be opened! I tried it and it made a world of a difference! Our goal with natural hair is to be as low manipulation as possible, right? My hair was shinier and had a lot more fullness and bounce to it. Almost as if the strands had finally been properly cleansed and were less weighed down. What was the lesson? Stop doing as you’re told and actually think about what you’re doing to your hair.
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I started dc as a pre poo & time saver. Now that I no longer use shampoo @ home, I still find my do treatments far more effective on DRY hair; as the treatment is more likely to absorb (oil&water don’t mix.)
On the rare occasion I treat myself to a salon visit I still apply my dc just before leaving w a plastic cap and beanie. By the time they shampoo, my hair has absorbed the nutrients saving me time and money:)
Great article…
Hey Fran! I want to first thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all. Question, what conditioner do you use to co-wash after your DC?
My absolute pleasure! My favorite conditioners are the Raw Shea Butter Restorative by Shea Moisture or the White Camellia by Aubrey Organics. When I’m in need of a protein boost for dull, overworked hair I use the GPB by Aubrey Organics.
An old habit I’m working on: I don’t mess with my hair as much.
I almost always wear my hair in double strand twists and I have a tendency to take down bits of it and re-twist so it’s neater (to me, no one else even notices … but I can tell the difference in feel and look). So … to combat my hand-in-hair syndrome when I come home I put on my bonnet and that completely prevents me from fiddling with my hair!
(best thing for me is I thought of it all on my own lol … not that no one else hasn’t probably ever thought of it before me! :D)
what is a co-wash?
It’s short for conditioner-wash. It’s the process of eliminating shampoo to cleanse your hair and using conditioner instead.
1.my hair is so soft it falls apart no matter what i do. and it tangles so easily. i live in nigeria and our stylists are so clueless. i don not know wat to do.
2.it grows fast but it never stays so it feels like ive had thesame lenght for years.
3.and finally there is a section at the back of my head that is so soft it feels like its not mine. people say its because i sleep face up this section isnt growing. is this true?
Hello Anne.
Please use henna. I live in Nigeria also, but I was able to order for henna. It strengthens each strand of your hair, therefore your hair would be strengthened but still soft.
I learnt sleeping on a particular side inhibits hair growth on that side.
Please don’t forget to seal your ends religiously and tuck in your ends.. I learnt, from an article, that the best way to effectively seal up is this: apply a thick oil like castor oil, or any butter, such as Shea butter; then for each twist that’s been sealed, wrap the end round a bobby pin (those black, flat hair pins) and clip it on your hair. Leave it that way till it dries.
Cheers
Hey Julia,
Thanks for sharing. You seem to know a lot about natural haircare. I live in Nigeria too and honestly, most stylists here are TOTALLY CLUELESS about natural haircare. I would like to get in touch with you as i’m just groping in the dark re:natural haircare. Other than honey, olive oil & shea butter, i’m clueless. And my hairline hasnt improved at all which is why i went natural in the first place. Please help!
Hello Ama.
You can shoot me a mail on Julesnatural@gmail.com.
Cheers.
That was fast! Thanks Julia. Done…
Your website is very fantastic, i truly appreciated the report that you wrote, nevertheless it i did will need some far more data since i didnt entirely understand the end.
I like this post but some of the things I read and some things I see in blogs and the comment sections just slay me. I won’t knock doing what you believe works for you but please stop spreading pseudoscience like the alkaline water mumbo jumbo. http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html
I have been natural for about 10 years and I love the wave of acceptance, openness, and self love. But I also see a lot of naturals spread and fall victim to pseudoscience and quackery. Being natural, inside and out, is just not that darn complicated. Your body has the amazing ability to adjust and adapt to a variety of things and some of the things I see ppl talking about just are not necessary. Stop obsessing and making things overly complicated. Keep it simple and your hair, mind, and body will be fine.
oh my goodness THIS! i thought the same the same thing when read she drinks alkakine water every morning.
being a pharmaceutical chemist student, i always find it amusing when i read all this pseudoscience on hair blogs and they actually believe what their saying, passing on all these incorrect and misleading messages to the public.
i think people need to think of their hair care the same way they think of having and driving a car. you dont need to know exactly how it works, you just need to know how to care for it enough for it to get you from point A to B.
doing all these things people think is good may end up doing more harm than good to your body in the long run.
just keep it simple and be healthy and let you body to the rest. the body knows how to work efficiently..
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Im not sure if anyone asked this question already but wht kinda of aloe Vera do you use and how you use it. I’ve never tried it before s I’m clueless but I’ve learned from reading this that I need to try thing:)
I’ve started deep conditioning before co-washing and I love it. My question is, when you deep condition, should you rinse before co washing or deep condition, leave it in for a bit, co wash and then rinse?
What I don’t understand is how does the DC penetrate your hair strands and cuticles if you’re DC’ing before you shampoo or co-wash? Isn’t there still build up and dirt that the DC has to get through? That doesn’t sound effective. Plus If you do DC before shampooing/co-washing then when it’s time to shampoo/co-wash aren’t the nutrients from DC’ing being washed out as well? Because you’re rinsing your hair with warm water thus opening the cuticles and releasing the nutrients that the DC provided for your hair strands. And then you close your cuticles with cold water? Leaving your hair with no nutrients. So I don’t get it.
After you apply the Deep Conditioner…you then apply HEAT either using a hooded dryer, steam cap ect. The heat opens up the cuticles of the hair allowing it to penetrate into the hair. Hope this helps.
OMG! This has been my question as well! If you DC with dirt and build-up on your hair, when the cuticles open, won’t that dirt enter the shaft? And then when you co-wash after you’re washing out your DC. I don’t get it either and no one will seem to address it when people pose the question on a blog (><)! I have a steamer so I just co-wash first with warm water so the cuticle is open, then I apply my homemade DC in the shower while the cuticle is still open and then sit under the steamer. When I go back to the shower I rinse with it out with cold water to close the cuticle. So basically my cuticles open and close only once.
I think co-washing/shampooing (to get rid of build up and dirt) with cold water (so the cuticles aren’t opened), then steaming with a Deep Treatment (so that cuticles are opened to absorb nutrients), and then rinsing with cold water will work. You’ll only be opening and closing the cuticle once as well. Plus the nutrients from the Deep Treatment won’t be rinsed out because you won’t be co-washing/shampooing after with warm water.
Do you use Aloe Vera Juice or gel to seal your hair? What brand?
How do I treat my transiting hair to natural one.I mean products to use,iol mixture needed.thanks
How do I treat my transiting hair to natural one.I mean products to use,oil mixture needed.thanks