Fashion + Beauty

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Related Topics:

User Post: Keep your Hair Beautiful! Tips on Caring for Your African American Hair

There are many tips out there on how to have beautiful and healthy hair. Though such advice is great and prove to be very useful, I find it hard to get information specifically geared to caring for my African American hair.  Our hair is very unique, coming in all types of lengths and textures.  Our hair is also very prone to being over-stressed, over-styled and over processed.  Therefore, we need help to keep, maintain, or even restore our strong and healthy hair.  After taking care of my hair for years, (with a lot of bumps and hard lessons along the way!), these are tips and advice that I learned on my hair journey!

  • Weekly Washing! – Because our hair has a natural tendency to be dry, you should only wash your hair once a week (two at most).  We want to keep the moisture in, not let it out everyday!
  • Conditioner is Your Best Friend – I cannot stress this enough (and this goes double for those of us who relax our hair).  Conditioning our hair and restoring its moisture is so important. Make sure you make it a point to get products that have pack a lot of conditioning power.  You can use moisturizing shampoos along with conditioner (such as Motion’s conditioning shampoo that I use religiously) or deep conditioners that require sitting under a hood dryer for 10 to 15 minutes. I’ve been using Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayo to help strengthen and soften my hair and it works wonders!

          Want a look at what my hair looks like?  Check out my Sephora makeup session.

  • Easy with the Products – Because we only wash our hair once to twice a week, we need to be careful not to overload our hair with too many products.  Petroleum based products can clog hair pores, attract more dirt, and leave hair heavy and greasy if used in excess.
  • Maintain that scalp! – Otherwise known as “greasing” your scalp, keeping the scalp moisturized is essential in keeping our hair from drying out. Keeping the previous tip in mind, once a week I apply my hairdress of choice right after I wash and dry my hair using just enough to cover the scalp.  To make sure the rest of the hair doesn’t get left out, I comb my hair afterwards, which distributes the product to the rest of my hair.

        Check out these products that I love to use on my scalp.

  • Don’t Relax Too Often! – For those who relax our hair regularly, we know that putting our hair through this chemical process further weakens, damages, and dries our already fragile hair. So to help minimize the damage, wait in between touch ups. The normal time is 6 to 8 weeks, but if you can hold out a little bit longer please do (I usually touch-up my hair every 12 weeks). Also, if you relax your hair at home, only touch up the roots.

          Check out these tips for relaxing your hair at home.

  • Beat the Heat!  - Try not to flat iron or hot curl your hair too often.  Our hair is weak enough as it is and too much heat creates more damage.  Want your hair to be straight all the time?  Try wrapping your hair, whether it’s a wet wrap and wrapping your hair up at night in a silk scarf before bed. Want bouncy curls?  Try a roller set.   
Relax First, Color Later – If you are contemplating coloring or highlighting your relaxed tresses, I suggest you relax your hair first and wait a few weeks before attempting to color it.  Just remember, you’re putting your hair through two very different but equally strong chemical processes.  With that in mind, if you decide to it , it’s even more important to deep condition, use heat styling tools in moderation, and wait in between touch ups.

What do you do keep your hair looking beautiful? What tips do you have when it comes to taking care of our hair?

Be Beautiful Ladies!

Photos courtesy of:  dherbs.com, photos.essence.com, lifestyle.msn.com

Syndication:

From the Community…

Comments 1-10 of 48
  • Brittney's Avatar
    Posted by Brittney Thu Oct 1, 2009 12:37pm PDT

    I have to comment on some products that left my hair beautiful and i have very kinky curly hair that presses well but doesnt work outside ( I Live in Lousiana. I use Le Kair self heating oil treatment... It keeps my hair so soft and moisturized that when I do wrap it, it stays nice and straight without all the pressing combs and flat irons... Also just to keep a daily oil product, I use Pantene ( for chocolate) : ) daily oil... its lighter than lusters pink and lasts all day... Its definitely repaired my bleached damaged tress... Just thought id put yall on....

    have a great day

    Report Abuse
  • Frantastic's Avatar
    Posted by Frantastic Thu Oct 1, 2009 1:14pm PDT

    Keep posting this is needed. Thanks for the tips.

    Report Abuse
  • Taneya's Avatar
    Posted by Taneya Thu Oct 1, 2009 1:21pm PDT

    now i've read from other hair gurus that "greasing the scalp" is not good because you dont want to clog the pores! i've heard that you should use a lite oil on the hair but keep the scalp clean! and that has worked for me! i no longer grease the scalp! and i also have read not to do a lot of pinning back or pulling of the hair! like ponytails! when i go to the gym, i use bobbypings to push the hair up out of my face! i recommend: wash hair weekly, use a great conditioner, blow dry, flat iron (w/ceramic iron and heat protectant spray),roller set that same night, then wrap for the rest of the week! and do the same thing once a week! if the curls dont hold til the end of the week still stay away from hot curlers and flat irons. roller set and not with the sponges! i also recommend Flexy rods!!! beautiful beautiful curls that last really long!

    Report Abuse
  • Kaye's Avatar
    Posted by Kaye Thu Oct 1, 2009 1:36pm PDT

    Thanks MJ~ I have short thin hair and I'm always on the lookout for great hair products. I love motions products too but stay away from Pantene (for us) shampoos and conditioners. They leave a thick residue and tend to change the texture of your hair...

    Report Abuse
  • martza's Avatar
    Posted by martza Thu Oct 1, 2009 2:46pm PDT

    thanks finally a post about curly hair... i defently have followed these tips...

    Report Abuse
  • LeahH's Avatar
    Posted by LeahH Thu Oct 1, 2009 4:58pm PDT

    Thanks for the help. I wonder why our type of hair is naturally dry?

    Report Abuse
  • Michelle's Avatar
    Posted by Michelle Fri Oct 2, 2009 7:22am PDT

    Great article! Shine staff journalist Joanna NEEDS to read this and get educated on black hair.

    Report Abuse
  • Ninette's Avatar
    Posted by Ninette Fri Oct 2, 2009 7:24am PDT

    I have very curly/kinky hair and I found a new product Perfect Results. They have a complete system of moisturizing and deep conditioner that leaves my hair super soft. I tried a free trial and won't go back to anything else. www.perfect-results.com.

    Report Abuse
  • Frantastic's Avatar
    Posted by Frantastic Fri Oct 2, 2009 8:58am PDT

    oh yeah and also please include tips for work out hair. I sweat alot in my scalp. I do wrap my hair with a bandana while working out. Keeping you ends clipped is a plus too.

    Report Abuse
  • M.J - Fierce Beauty and Fashion's Avatar
    Posted by M.J - Fierce Beauty and Fashion Fri Oct 2, 2009 9:32am PDT

    I have a GREAT TIP for workout hair that I got from listening to Johhny Wright (Michelle Obama's hair stylist) - wrap your hair up in a silk scarf like you would when you go to bed. Don't let your wrap down until your hair is completely dry. It should dry back straight.

    For more tips, news etc. You can follow me on Twitter: MJ_Beauty

    Report Abuse
Comments 1-10 of 48

leave your comment

You must sign in to post a comment

Sign In for personalized information

New User? Sign Up

Herbal Essences Sweeps

Play our style it, wear it, try to win it* sweeps for a chance to win one of hundreds of prizes.