By Jc of The Natural Haven Bloom
I have often been asked for one tip or trick that has been beneficial but I am never able to narrow it down to just one. I actually do not know any natural who has benefited from just one tweak to their routine. Here are five tweaks which helped me along, there is a sixth one which I took out from this list as I have emphasized quite a lot already – washing hair in braids.
1. Detangle BEFORE washing
The worst mistake many people make especially after long term protective styling, is not detangling hair before washing. This simple step is really good at eliminating tangles that will get exacerbated with hair shrinkage during the wash. Do not think that you can later detangle with conditioner and this will be easier because it almost always never is. It will generally be less hassle to undo large tangles and meshing prior to getting hair soaking wet. I do accept that detangling is not always possible though e.g. if you are washing twists or braids that you have no intention of undoing. The benefits of detangling before washing include less tangling, less breakage and more retention.
2. The simplest pre-shampoo step
I have seen some really complicated hair routines on natural hair forums and blogs. This often leads people to dismiss things that are seen as extra work such as a pre-poo. However, this is the simplest pre-poo step ever! Apply some oil to your hair the night before your wash……that is it! You can choose a penetrating oil like coconut oil for greatest effect but any natural oil in general is fine (silicone and mineral oils are the least useful for this purpose). This simple step will help protect the moisture levels in your hair and guard against breakage. The effect of this step is usually immediately noticeable.
3. Dry your hair BEFORE you apply conditioner
It is common to shampoo and rinse hair then gently squeeze out the water before applying conditioner. My advice is to take the time to actually dry your hair (using an old t-shirt or microfiber towel if you are in the know!) before you apply the conditioner. If you apply conditioner and it immediately starts dripping, it is the case that your hair is too wet and it is possible that your hair conditioner is diluted slightly by this step. To get the most from your conditioner, aim to have damp hair which is not dripping at all simply by soaking up the excess water with a towel. This simple step leads to greater softness, better moisture and strength for your hair.
4. Finger comb
I have seen people say that finger combing does not work for them but this is just not true. Regardless of your hair texture, finger combing should be the first thing you do when detangling. Simply running your fingers through your hair gives you an initial idea of how tangled it is and where the tangles are. This is a step that no-one should miss out on. Adopting a pure finger detangling routine where no combs or brushes are used is really useful especially if your hair breaks easily when handled. The exclusive finger combing routine is not for the faint of heart as it takes time and skill to master. I do think that combs and brushes are most useful for those whose hair can clump/form spiral ringlets as the tools aid in the clumping but even for this hair, a first finger combing step will help to find tangles and reduce breakage.
5. Go heat free
Simply put, heat degrades protein which means heat degrades hair. The less heat you use, the stronger your hair will be and therefore the easier it will be to retain the older hair. Adopting a no-heat regimen also translates to fewer split ends and less breakage. If your hair is the type that requires a lot of babying to progress, try using no heat for 6 months and see what difference that makes. Heatless stretching methods such as braiding/unbraiding, bantu knots/knot outs, banding, African threading and curlformers can help if you want to reduce shrinkage and tangling.
Ladies, what tweaks have helped you retain length? And have any of the ones listed above worked for you?
I stopped blow drying my hair when I realised I wasnt retaining length and I watched a finger detangling video on this website. Its now three months later, I did my first blow dry two days ago and my hair has grown an inch from no blowdry and no combs!!! (jumps up and down excitedly) its approaching bra length.
ugh! The finger combing is the hardest to do especially when your hair is so thick! I have almost no time to sit a finger comb so I detangle with a wide tooth comb. Though it works for me because I don’t really do much with my hair but wash and wrap it and go because I am just too busy but I wouldn’t recommend that for everyone.
I definitely detangle before washing now! Yes, it helps. Shower detangling worked best when I had a twa. I used to think the weight of the shower stream could help push shed hair free, but that only helps remove a small %age of the total shed hairs. I still pass the comb through once or twice when my rinse out conditioner is in my hair though.
Coconut oil pre-shampooing has saved my hair. Yes-o! Even if I am DCing before washing, coconut oil goes on FIRST!
With my low porosity hair, I *have* to do this. However, it does seem to give me frizzy hair for some reason. *shrugs*
Finger detangle, them comb to finish up. I also sometimes use a comb to distribute conditioner and to do a final ‘smoothening’ before putting in twists (twists I wear out I mean, not twists I dry in).
No heat is easy.
And for bonus JC points (lol!) I wash my hair in large, loose-rooted twists/braids/sections.
lol yep definitely getting bonus points on that!
I don’t detangle before washing but I could give it a go. As most of the time washing my hair is a spur of the moment decision I don’t prepoo but I could try it if I know I am going to wash my hair the next day. I rarely use coconut oil as my hair doesn’t like it, great for cooking though.
My hair is usually damp when I apply the KLIC so I think I have that one covered and I usually do finger detangle then use a very wide tooth comb at the very end as I love how it feels on my scalp. I did once use my wide tooth comb to detangle my hair and gave myself a hair cut, not happy about that.
I’ve being heat free for years.
I like JC’s advice and will try giving it a go, detangle before washing is the hardest advice but yeah, I’ll try it and see how it goes.
It is really easy if you do it in small sections. Randomly section into 10 or more loose twists and detangle section by section.
I go for ease on my weekly wash days:
1. Detangle with water, braid and apply conditioner for co-wash
2. Sit under steamer
3. Rinse and final rinse with cold apple cider vinegar mix.
4. Finger detangle and apply kimitube formula leave-in, style
This has given me awesome results. People need to find what works for them and not be in bondage to perform all the steps they hear others doing.
Hey! I’m already doing this, except the pre-poo. my hair does NOT like oil until it is time to seal. lol