Taking care of your natural hair

I must admit that properly taking care of natural hair can be a daunting task. When I had a perm, I went to the salon bi-weekly and sometimes weekly so I didn't have to really do my hair. Now that I am natural, I spend much more time taking care of my hair because there are not any natural hairstylists in my area and because I have grown to love taking care of my hair. I spend many hours a week taking care of my hair and as a result my hair is the healthiest it has ever been. I have had a lot of people ask me about how I take care of my hair so I am going to share some pointers.

1. Shampoo your  hair at least once a week with a good quality shampoo.Try to find a shampoo that suits your hair texture and type.
2. Always deep condition your hair after you shampoo.Try to at least deep condition once a week.  I am really big on deep conditoning my hair. Deep conditioning allows my hair to maintain moisture and not become dry. Curly Nikki, a professional blogger, has two great articles on how to properly deep condition natural hair and I have attached the links to her articles.

           http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/11/how-to-properly-deep-condition-natural.html
           http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/11/how-to-properly-deep-condition-natural_27.html
 3. Always rinse conditoner out with cold or cool water. When I first started the natural process, my hair would always frizz up. I couldn't understand why it looked so dry and frizzy. One of the reasons was because I wasn't deep conditioning my hair and another reason was because I was rinsing my hair out with hot water. After much research, I found out that rinsing with hot or warm water can cause your hair to be dry and brittle because it can strip your hair of moisture. Cold cold water seals the moisture in your hair and increase shine! I live by risnisng my hair with cold water because my hair looks totally different now that I have started the cold water rinse. I have attached an article that talks about the pros and cons of rinsing or washing with hot or cold water.
http://www.curlynikki.com/2011/05/how-to-wash-your-hair-hot-or-cold.html

4. Seal in moisture. When I talk to people about how I keep my hair moisturized and not looking dry, they always look at me like I am crazy because they have never heard of sealing in moisture for natural hair. This step is great for moisturizing dry hair. Basically sealing in moisture is applying an oil to your hair once after you apply a leave in condition. The water is the moisture and the oils are what seals the moisture in. I use pure, unrefined cocunut oil. You can usually find unrefined cocunut oil in natural stores. I have also talked to some people who love olive oil, joboba oil or castor oil but find an oil that works best for you. You really don't have to use a lot of oil but I promise that if you add this step to your routine, you will have great results.
Kimmaytube, who is also a great blogger, has a great leave in recipe that helps to seal moisture. The recipe for her leave in conditioner can be found here http://www.curlynikki.com/2011/04/art-of-sealing-natural-hair.html. You can alter the recipe but I have tried it and it really works! Also, check out this article by Curly Nikki that shares the art of sealing in moisture.
 http://www.curlynikki.com/2011/04/art-of-sealing-natural-hair.html

5. Dentagle hair. Dentagling your hair while you have conditioner on will allow your hair to be much more managable after you rinse the conditioner out. I have attached a great article in reference to how to detangle your hair.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading//detangling-curly-kids/how-to-detangle-curly-hair

6. Allow hair to air dry. Applying too much heat to natural hair can cause extreme dryness and breakage to the hair. My go to styles are twistouts and braid outs and I usually do my hair at night and let my hair air dry over night before I style my hair. I sparingly use blow dryhairers or heat to my hair because I am scared of the damage it may cause to my  hair. You can use this advise to your discrection.

7. Trim hair when needed. Trimming natural hair is very essentail to health hair growth. Some naturals trim their hair every 3- 6 months but I usually trim my hair whenever it is necessary. My hair usually lest me know when I need a trim because my ends will become extra rough. I usually let a experienced beautician cut my ends but there are many viceos on youtube that shows you how to do it yourself.

Okay, I have listed some pointers on how I take care of my hair. Please let me know if you have any pointers or if you have any questions!

My decision to go natural

I have always admired natural hair on other women but I never imagined that I would  have the courage to give up the "creamy crack." For as long as I can remember, I have always relied and depended on a perm to work miracles on my hair. I would religiously sit in salons for hours just to make sure my hair was bone straight without any kinks. If I detected  any new growth, I assumed that my hair was "napping up" and it was time to get another perm. Everyone I associated with had a perm and it was only natural for me to have one as well.

In June 2011, I had a really bad experience with the perm. It was hard for me to contact my regular beautician so I tried another beautician who always did amazing job on one of my friends hair. Although I usually didn't let anyone but my beautician do my perms, I allowed my friends beautician to give me a perm because I had a lot of new growth. I had to have a perm!!! I was really impressed with my hair after she finished until the next day. My scalp was dry, scaly, and itchy. I battled with the symptoms for weeks. I finally went to a dermatologist and he advised me that the perm she used was probably an old perm and it caused me to have a bad reaction. He also asked me not to get a perm for another 3 months because I had to shampoo my hair everyday with a medicated shampoo. I felt AWFUL!!! I couldn't imagine going without a perm. My hair was too nappy!!! I finally opted to get braids for the following 3 months so that I didn't have to deal with my hair.

Meanwhile, my best friend made the decision to go natural and she loved it! She would encourage me to go natural but I couldn't see myself doing it. I was really scared to take that step because I was scared of what other people would think and what my hair would actually look like!!! I did start researching natural hair and I became intrigued and obsessed with the information that I found. I actually wanted to take the plunge and go natural!!!

On November 27, 2011 two days after Thanksgiving, I couldn't take it any longer. I was visiting my sister for the holidays and I woke up and decided to cut my braids out. Yes!!!!! I cut my braids out... new growth and all! My hair was almost as short as my husbands. When I woke him up to allow him to see what I had done, he was so upset! He didn't like my hair and he didn't have a problem with letting me know that he didn't approve of me going natural. I became very self confident and I wore braids and wigs for the next 3 months just to satisfy him. I also contemplated going back to getting a perm because I of the reaction my husband gave me.

One day, my fifteen year old came up to me out of the blue and said " Mom, I like you hair! Don't worry about what dad thinks and just do you!" I cried like a baby!! I couldn't believe I was letting what someone thought  define my decision to do what I thought was right for me. I finally got tired of covering my natural hair  and I decided to just go with the flow and do me! I found out that the quality of my hair was actually better than I imagined and that made me even more confident! I started wearing my hair out and I am proud to say that I haven't turned back since. My husband now LOVES my hair and can't imagine me going back to the perm!!!

Although it is a lot of work caring for my natural hair, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world!I love my natural hair! I can truly say that my decision to go natural was one of the best decisions that I have ever made! India Arie says it best " I am not my hair" but I am Fanneca Curtis and I am Napturally Beautiful (with two snaps)!