Tip 1: Deep Conditioning
This is key to helping you grow and maintain healthy curly hair. Deep conditioners provide intense moisture and hydration to the curls. I honestly cannot express what a difference it has made for me to deep condition my curly hair. My curly hair is thicker and stronger thanks to deep conditioning. Along with this, I have noticed my curly hair has grown more since deep conditioning and my split ends have reduced slowly over time. I aim to deep condition my curly hair once a week during my curly hair routine. I have low porosity hair so I use moisturising deep conditioners that are protein free.
My favorite deep conditioners to use are:
I do a protein treatment once every 2-3 months as my curly hair does not need a lot of protein. I like to use a DIY protein mask, egg mixed with coconut oil and I like to add other ingredients sometimes such as avocado, honey and banana!
Tip 2- Protective Styles
I was never really a fan of protective styles when I first started my curly hair journey the first time around, but when I severely damaged my curly hair in 2017 I had a weave for a year and a half to help recover my curly hair. I kid you not, the results were amazing!
My curly hair grew back so well and I was just in awe of how much my curly hair grew in such a short space of time. I tried other protective styles during lockdown such as box braids, wigs and butterfly locs and the results were just as good! Protective styles like this allow your curly hair to have a break from the outer elements.
During this break, your curly hair will get stronger because you won't be manipulating your curly hair as often as you would. You will moisture and hydrate it every day to prevent it from getting dry and this will help the hair strands become healthier. The ends of your curly hair is also protected meaning you will reduce the amount of split ends over time and it can also help improve length retention. Also during this time, you are encouraged to apply hair oils to your scalp to help promote hair growth. This means over time you will get stronger, thicker and healthier curly hair.
Tip 3- Satin Pillowcases
I did not know that cotton pillowcases were really making my curly hair frizzy and dry all this time. It also caused a lot of outbreak on my face too! I came across a video that mentioned this and I was amazed by this news and the person was so right! I made the switch ASAP and I have not gone back to using a cotton pillowcase ever again!
Cotton pillowcases remove all the moisture and hydration from your curly hair and your face too. This is why curly hair can feel super dry and it gets frizzy because all the moisture and hydration has been removed. Also the threading on the cotton can actually tug at the curly hair strands which can cause more frizz and some knots and tangles! With a satin pillowcase it has a smoother texture allowing the curlys to keep their definition. It also does not remove the moisture and hydration from curly hair make the refresh days so much easier!! I will also say Ashanti Curls is the best satin pillowcase that I have ever had and highly recommend it.
Top Tip 4- Avoid curly hair products that have harsh ingredients
I did not realise the amount of hair products that I used was actually damaging and drying out my curly hair. I would always wonder why my curly hair would feel soft and hydrated but the next day it would be super dry and frizzy. I was using products that contained sulfates and non-water soluble silicones. These are the harshest ingredients to apply to curly hair. Suflates srtips all your hair completely from any moisture and hydration and this also includes the natural oils in your hair. This can make curly hair feel and look more dry. I noticed such a difference when I changed from using sulfate shampoos to sulfate free shampoos.
I now only use sulfate free shampoos such as:
These shampoos gently cleanse my curly hair without stopping any of the natural; oils and it also adds moisture to my curly hair! Non water soluble silicones coat the hair strands so it does not allow any moisture in the hair strands.
Overtime your curly hair will get dry and you know when your curly hair products feel like they are just sitting on your curly hair? This might be one of the reasons why. I had to use a sulfate shampoo to remove this from curly hair and once I~ done that, I avoided products that contained these two ingredients. My curly hair now is a lot healthier because I have avoided these two harsh ingredients.
Hair brands that DON'T contain these ingredients are:
-Shea Moisture
-Cantu
-Carol's Daughter
-Mielle Organics
-Camille Rose
To name a few.....
Top Top 5: Understanding your own curly hair type
I did not know what my curly hair type was for quite some time, this is not just about my curl pattern this is also about my hair porosity. I would say when you understand both, you can achieve that amazing curl definition you are after, I was so focused on the perfect curl all the time during my first curly hair journey that I did not focus on moisturising and hydrating my curly hair. I would get so disappointed when my curly hair was not looking shiny and healthy once I had the perfect curl.
On this second curly hair journey, I learnt what my hair porosity type is and tried to simplify how to understand hair porosity. To me, hair porosity means how to moisturize your curly hair and how to retain this moisture in your curly hair. I figured out that I have low porosity hair which means it can be hard to get moisture on my curly hair strands because the hair cuticles are closed. I had to find out the best way to open the hair cuticles so I can add moisture to my curly hair strands. I found out steam helps and adding heat to my curly hair when I am deep conditioning. I like to use a heat cap every now and then to help the deep conditioner soak into my curls more and the results are phenomenal and it has made such a difference to the health my curly hair just knowing this!
My curly hair now looks defined and healthy from understanding my curly hair pattern and my hair porosity type!
