7 Easy Tips To Healthy Hair

Here are a few tips and tricks that I've picked up along the way. These have really helped improve the health of my hair. I hope some of them can be useful for you as well.

1. Don't comb too often. One of the things I've learnt is the less you manipulate hair, the lesser the risk of breakage. With that said, try to comb out your hair less often and use easy styles like buns and ponytails that may not require detangling. The process of detangling can leave you with excess broken hair on the floor even if careful methods are used. As a result, I've sometimes chosen to put down the comb and leave my hair in a form that can be easily manipulated for everyday styles. 

2. Detangle with conditioner. This is something new that I've taken up. I often heard about wet detangling and its benefits and I can now attest to them. When co-washing or deep conditioning, gently comb out the hair while the conditioner is setting. This step will reduce the amount of detangling you'll have to do once you've washed out the conditioner and preparing to style the hair. It's also less damaging than dry detangling the hair by reducing breakage risk. 

3. Shampoo in applicator bottle. This is probably one of my favourite tricks. You ever tried clarifying your scalp but the shampoo doesn't exactly reach the scalp with your fingers? Try putting a little shampoo into an applicator bottle and add water. Shake the mixture until is lathers, and apply to scalp. It's similar to how you'd do a hot oil treatment. Let it sit on the scalp for about a minute and then wash it out. 

4. Change go-to hairstyles. We all have that one hairstyle that we do for any and every occasion. It may be a protective style or something a little more fancy. For me, my go-to hairstyle is a high bun. However, it's important not to rely on one hairstyle too often because the hair can be negatively affected. My constant use of high buns caused the hair at the nape of my head to be much shorter than the rest of my head. This was because the hair tie would rest just at the ends of my nape hair, eventually breaking it off. Another example is using ponytails at the middle of the head. Overuse of this style causes stunted hair growth at the center of the head where the hair tie rests. In order to avoid unnecessary breakage try alternating a few hairstyles. 

5. Change products to suit hair needs. It is important to know and understand your hair and its needs. For example, when I'm doing a relaxer stretch my hair tends to get dry faster and the previously used moisturizers don't work as effectively. In cases like this, I tend to reach for thicker or more moisturizing products. In other cases, I've had moisturizers that worked well for my hair for a great length of time but eventually would stop penetrating the hair shaft leaving a greasy coat. When I notice this I know it's time to switch moisturizers. 

6. Get regular trims. Some people are fearful of trims, but trimming is one of the best things you can do if you want healthy hair. I can't stress enough how important it is to rid of those dead or split ends that can work their way up the hair shaft. It is recommended that you get your hair trimmed every 4-6 months. It really makes no sense carrying around dead ends just for the sake of having longer hair. The hair will grow, so let the rest go! 

7. Eat Right. It's very simple. What you put in your body will affect the health of your hair and its ability to grow. It's like gardening, if you don't water the plant, it can't grow. Eating healthily will ensure you stronger, more healthy looking hair. Yes, you can take supplements to help with hair growth but that should not be substituted for a healthy, balanced diet. 

Back to Natural?

It's obvious that natural hair is trending now. Whether girls genuinely wish to embrace their roots or just fall into the trend, its very noticeable how quickly this natural hair trend is spreading. Honestly speaking I think it's great that women of African descent are ditching the 'creamy crack' and showing the world that black hair is beautiful. However, would I drastically drop everything just to go back natural for a sense of freedom, empowerment or whatever other reasons women come up with these days? No.

I refuse to join the crowd. It's so crazy how women with relaxed hair that just need a little TLC are giving up in a second and going back natural. Like, are you'll truly prepared to deal with your natural hair? Do you remember how to care for your hair in its natural state? Are you planning to take better care for your natural hair than you did your relaxed hair? Will you get fedup of breaking combs again and reach for the relaxer kit? Do you really want to wear a mini afro until probably 3 years later when your hair grows to a decent length? Does this look fit your lifestyle or your personal style? These are some of the questions women should be considering before they drastically (or intentionally) decide to go back natural. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the change, but it is a huge step that should be carefully considered rather than be a quick escape. 

Personally, I have goals for my hair (in its relaxed state). I have a hair timeline which does conclude with going natural, as well as, going ras (aka dreadlocks). For now, however,  I enjoy the freedom of relaxed hair and personally like the styles I can achieve with relaxed hair. I'm definitely not ditching that for a fro right now! My hair is very healthy and I intend to upkeep that. As previously mentioned on my About page, I hastily relaxed my hair on the day of a big event because I simply could not comb my hair! I was about 15 years old at the time and although it was not planned I always knew in my heart that I did not want to wear braids and canerows for the rest of my life. My hair was simply too thick! That's the reason I even accepted the hasty decision to relax my hair that day; and to this day it is still the reason I choose to maintain my relaxed hair as best as I can and not follow the natural hair trend (because if you didn't realize already, I'm not easily swayed by trends lol ). I watch pictures of girls and women with their big afros and I'm actually intrigued by the styles they can achieve with such a massive amount of hair. I laugh too because I know I would trump all of them if I decided to unleash my natural mane! Haha. However, I remember the texture of my hair very well and it's not that easily manageable. Also, I live in the hot Caribbean and there is no way I want to walk around with a big sweaty afro. At the end of the day, that's simply not the look I personally want to portray right now. As a matter of fact, I have been able to achieve some of those styles with my relaxed hair, so it's a win win for me! 

On the topic of hasty decisions, I find many girls have relaxed their hair in this way as well. We use the relaxer as an escape from the norm; and now some women are using the natural trend to escape relaxed hair either for a genuine change or a chance to start over; and well of course they're those escaping the fact that they've neglected to properly care for their relaxed hair. But thinking back on it, most girls fall into relaxed hair without even knowing how to care for it. It took me at least 10 years and I'm still learning. However, with the help of various blogs and Youtube channels, I honestly hope that women learn how to care for their natural hair and give it the time and effort it deserves (Lord knows they'll need patience. Phew!) As I said, I don't mind seeing women embrace their roots, but at least do it for the right reasons, and put in the work necessary to upkeep it. I won't be joining the crowd anytime soon. Maybe 20 years down the line the trend might be back when I'm ready to go back natural. If not, pssh I'll just stand out on my own! Lol

Til Next Time. Xoxo, Shanz

I Was Spoiled!

Ok, so I know I mentioned in my personal description that I'm absolutely opposed to braid-outs and twist-outs. But! You wouldn't believe it. I'm so hooked on it right now! 

I can't even believe it myself, but it's true. I got spoiled by my first real braidout. I had tried it before but was never fond of the look. My hair was much shorter at the time, so that could probably account for my disinterest in the look of it. 

On my recent relaxer (November) I had decided to try more braid-out styles in order to protect my freshly relaxed hair. I wanted to do this because I realized I was experiencing a lot of breakage leading up to that date. Yes, I used to flat iron my hair religiously every week, once a week on my wash day. However, it's so hard to upkeep my hair when new growth comes in. At the hairdresser's, she told me I had indeed reached bra-strap length (my goal) but due to breakage and the need to level my ends, I allowed her to give me a professional trim. So currently, I'm just a little further than armpit length. I'm not bothered by that, I like when she trims my hair, and I'd much rather have a head of healthy strands root to end.

Enough of that now. I washed my hair a week after relaxing (Yes, I need to, I get a lot of buildup). Then attempted my first braid-out. I applied my products, parted my hair into four sections, and gently detangled and braided each section. I let it air dry overnight. Oh My Gosh, I was too excited to open those braids the following morning! When I did, I was so in love with the result. I had these big soft pretty curls that looked as if I were naturally curly. I couldn't believe it! For the entire week I kept my hair out, and that's So not a norm for me. My hair was literally so Soft and bouncy! I was absolutely in love! I experimented with a few styles, nothing fancy. For the most, I either did a high messy bun or half-up half-down style.

  I'll definitely be doing a lot more braid-outs. I also plan to try different options like bantu knots, twist-outs, pin curls, flexi rods, etc. All of these techniques I have tried already, but now I'll work on perfecting them. I feel so much more free and happier with my hair like this. It suits me well because I'm not a person who loves having perfect hair. Messy buns and loose waves have been my go-to everyday and special occasion styles for a while (Except if I have a performance, then I'll go all out). By the way, haha, by the second week of washing, I happened to flat iron my hair and that didn't go well. I felt so restricted, it didn't have much movement. I couldn't stand having my hair up against my scalp; and from the time I saw hairs breaking off to style it, I co-washed it within 4-5 days. It's immobility could be due to the fact that I tried a shea butter pre-poo treatment and didn't shampoo it out properly. 

Anyway! I've found my new do! I'm gonna try to use these protective styles as much as possible now.

 

Til next time. Xoxo, Shanz