What I feed my hair

Protective styles

Curly hair definitely needs a lot of effort to take care of, and protective styles provide a way that curly hair can be kept safe with less time spent maintaining it than usual. Protective styles can be multi-colored, multiple lengths, and give you a new beautiful look as well. Make sure to take a lot of pictures! Some of my favorite styles are: 

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• Passion twits                                                                                        …… $150 
• Box braids                                                                                            …… $200
• Butterfly locks                                                                                    …… $200
• Marley twists                                                                                        …… $120
• Knotless braids                                                                                   …… $300
• Goddess Locs                                                                                     …… $300
• Senegalese twists                                                                                …… $120
• Cornrows                                                                                             …… $100

Protection tips

Heat protection                                     (Heat protectant spray)…… $12

• ALWAYS apply heat protection on your hair before heat styling to make sure that your hair is taking the least possible damage since you’ll most likely have to go on a long and hard hair journey to get healthy hair. 

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Deep conditioning                                 (Deep conditioner) …… $20

• Curly hair tends to get dry easily, which also makes it very prone to breakage. Deep conditioning is a treatment that is meant to provide nutrients and heavy moisture cream to restore curly hair. (Tip: make sure to deep condition at least once a month, or every 2 weeks.)

Tension damage                                    (Coconut oil )…… $15   

• When a protective style like braids or cornrows is installed, make sure that they are not too tight to avoid tension damage. Tension damage can cause hair to break off easily and makes it very difficult for hair to grow. Also, make sure that if you are putting your hair in a ponytail or bun to not put the pin in the same spot every day because you don’t want to move your hairline back in one direction. Try doing a scalp massage with oil on your head to relax your scalp and help relieve yourself of tension.

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Bleach damage                                      (Bond builder) …… $50

• Curly hair tends to get dry more easily, which isn’t great when trying to bleach hair because bleach is a chemical that lightens hair and, in this process, also dries and damages the hair. These two factors give curly hair a high risk of getting damaged while bleaching it, so make sure that you apply a bond builder after you finish bleaching to straighten your hair’s molecules. Also, make small sections and make sure to apply the bleach in large thick amounts — to the point where it looks like shaving cream on your hair — to make sure that you don’t miss any spots or have to do unnecessary rounds of bleach.

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Your hair views

Hair porosity – high porosity or low porosity

• Your hair can have high porosity, meaning that it absorbs water very quickly, or low porosity, meaning your hair takes a long to absorb water. This information can help you find out what kinds of products you should use. If your hair takes a long time to absorb the water, then maybe try using light products so there is less to absorb. If your hair can absorb lots of water, then maybe you can use heavier products.

Hair reactions – find out how YOUR hair reacts

• Your hair may react to different products differently. Your hair might not get a lot more from certain oils like coconut oil, or maybe you feel like there is too much oil in other oils like castor oil. You may feel like your hair doesn’t need a lot of conditioners, or maybe your hair needs a lot of deep conditioners. 

Curly hair pattern – find out how YOUR hair reacts

• Curly hair has different patterns like waves, curls, and coils. Finding out what pattern your hair is can help you figure out what products and hairstyles will work best for you. I have 4c hair, and I usually do my hair in styles like cornrows and box braids because those work best for me. My friend with wavy hair usually does french braids and cool fishtail braids. After all, that’s easier for her.

Aftercare

Overnight care                                                                (Durag) …… $15

• Sometimes while you are sleeping your head can rub against your sheets or pillows, which are usually made of cotton or another material that will cause your hair to become frizzy and have some knots. Cotton can also remove the oils from your hair, making it extremely dry and easier to break. Silk is a material that is safe to be rubbed against because it is so smooth that it won’t damage hair. It also doesn’t absorb oil, so your hair can keep its nutrients.  Wear a silk bonnet or a durag or a silk scarf while you are sleeping.

Mousse                                                                           (Mousse) …… $10

• When you finish getting a protective style installed on your head, you can apply mousse to make sure the style stays in place and looks good for as long as possible.

Gel                                                                                  (Hair gel) …… $12

• If the braids start to look a bit fizzy or “old” at the roots of the braid, usually after a couple of weeks, then apply a little gel to slick the hair back into the state it was when the style was first installed.