Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
how to care for natural hair
Find out your natural hair type and how to maintain it
YOUR natural hair type can determine a lot about how you should maintain and style your hair daily.
Do you spend a lot of time twisting your kinks to curls or does your hair turn into loose curls with just a hint of humidity?
These are just some factors that play a role in categorising your hair type. To discover your natural hair texture, wash your hair and examine it in the mirror afterwards without adding any styling products. HERE IS A BREAKDOWN OF THREE NATURAL HAIR TYPES TO HELP YOU FIND YOURS:
TYPE 2: WAVY HAIR/S-SHAPED CURL PATTERN WAVY TO CURLY Straight as it grows from your scalp looping from a wave into a more defined curl as it reaches the tip. TYPE 3: DEFINED S-SHAPED CURL/ BOUNCY SPIRAL/CORKSCREW LOOSE CURL PATTERN CURLY TO COILY Curly as it grows from your scalp looping into a spiral or corkscrew curl as it reaches the tip.
TYPE 4: TIGHTLY COILED/KINKY COILS Hair coils as it grows out of the scalp upward into a gorgeous fluffy crown.
Now that you know your hair type, here are 5 steps that are key for growing and maintaining a healthy crown.
Taking care of natural hair requires a lot of TLC and the right products to strengthen it, give it volume and a healthy shine from the roots up.
5 STEPS TO NATURAL HAIR GLORY 1. HYDRATE:
Use a true moisturiser that has water as its 1st or 2nd ingredient. To keep your hair hydrated avoid heat drying your hair and let it air dry as often as possible after washing it.
2. MOISTURISE AND REPLENISH:
Dryness is one of the top complaints from people with textured natural hair. A good head of moisturised hair leads to less breakage, increased growth and healthy-looking hair.
Use natural oils such as Shea butter, olive oil to seal in the moisture.
Use the oils sparingly about once or twice a week to avoid having greasy hair. Oils also lubricate the hair to minimise friction, tangles and knots.
3. PROTECT:
Protecting hairstyles is beneficial to all types of hair textures, relaxed and natural. Give your hair a break and rock hairstyles such as braids, Bantu knots or a weave now and again to protect your hair from constant manipulation, heat and environmental stressers.
4. SNIP:
A trim every three or four months will help keep your hair healthy, strong and tangle-free. Trimming your hair will also help maintain your shape and remove split ends.
5. CONDITION:
Deep conditioners and hair masks penetrate the strands to keep hair hydrated and less prone to split ends and breakage, the side effects of overly dry hair. Treat your hair to a deep or leave-in conditioning or a mask treatment every two weeks and the results will include hydrated and soft hair with a healthy shine.