The above items are items you will need that are essential in caring for your hair. I recommend using your fingers to detangle and comb the hair, but if you want to comb your hair, a wide tooth comb is best for natural hair. Only comb natural hair while it is wet to prevent breakage. To comb natural hair properly start by applying detangler to wet hair, such as the Ambrosia Hair Satin Curls Detangling Leave-In. You can also detangle the hair while it is still saturated with conditioner after co-washing or cleansing. When you begin to comb start at the ends of the hair and work your way up. You can also use a detangling brush to remove tangles from the hair. Naturals rave about the use of Denman brushes. There are several types of denman brushes on the market with differences in how may rows of teeth and the spacing of the teeth. It’s best to experiment to see which brush type is best for your hair. Personally I use the Conair detangling brush. I modified it by removing a few rows of teeth and I only use it to  remove shed hairs. I do not run this brush from the root to the tip to prevent breakage. I only use it from the half point of my hair to the ends.

Butterfly clips are essential during styling and detangling. They hold the hair out the way and help you section the hair off making your detangling and styling easier and efficient.

Purchasing a spray bottle will help you during your natural journey when styling and moisturizing your hair. A lot of natural styles work best if the hair is styled while it is damp. It will also help when you need to dampen your hair while detangling. Keeping a spray bottle around will make styling easier for you, but if you plan on putting aloe vera, glycerin, and water in it, remember to keep it in the fridge to prevent bacterial and mold from growing in the bottle. Remember anything containing water that does not include any preservatives has a high chance of bacterial and mold growth. Water is the key to any and all lifeforms.

You will also need to sleep with a satin or silk bonnet, pillowcase, or scarf at night to prevent your cotton sheets and pillowcase from absorbing moisture from the hair. It will also prevent your hair from being tangled in the morning.

Natural hair may be more stronger and healthier than chemically treated hair, but you will still need to clip your ends. Hair shears are another recommendation to your natural haircare kit. Use them to clip your ends between 3 and 8 months to get rid of split ends.

Last but not least, a hooded dryer which should be used to deep condition the hair weekly. I do not recommend using it to dry the hair. Natural hair looks and feels it’s best when it dries naturally.

The Grow Natural Black Hair Technique

I have broken my technique down into 3 simple parts. Cleansing, Conditioning, and Moisturizing. The Grow Natural Black Hair technique will virtually eliminate breakage and damage to natural hair, it will help you maintain a proper moisture balance, and it will allow you to add length, growing your hair to the longest possible length.

Cleansing

A healthy head of hair starts with a clean scalp and clean hair. Black hair should be cleansed ever 3-7 days. I recommend co-washing the hair (conditioner washing), with a silicone, mineral oil, and petroleum free conditioner. You will then cleanse the hair with a sulfate free shampoo at least once per month.

The Technique

1. Section the hair off into 4-6 sections and secure with butterfly clips. Rinse your hair with warm water that is set on a gentle stream (like the strength of a rain shower). Separate your hair and rinse as much product as possible from your hair and scalp. This process should take about 3-5 minutes depending on the amount of product buildup. If you are using natural products it will take less time because it won’t be a lot of buildup in your hair.
2. Apply your conditioner to the hair and detangle with fingers first. Next use a wide tooth comb to gently detangle the hair from the ends to the root. I like to use the Ambrosia Hair Coco Passion Honey Hair Nectar deep conditioner. To remove shed hair take your detangling brush and run it from mid point your hair length to the ends. If you scalp is really itchy use a bit of ACV rinse on your scalp and massage the scalp in a zig zag motion to remove excess dirt and oil.
3. Rinse the hair thoroughly smooth your hairs in the direction of the running water to remove the conditioner and any remaining shed hairs..
4. Once hair is thoroughly rinsed twist each section of hair into a large 2 strand twist and secure with a butterfly clip. Apply a leave in conditioner followed by a moisturizer or styler and style as usual.

Conditioning

After properly cleansing your hair, hair must be properly conditioned to keep it strong, healthy, and soft. With natural hair a deep conditioner and a leave-in conditioner should be used. Deep condition your every 2 weeks, and apply a leave-in conditioner every time you cleanse your hair, even when you deep condition it.

To deep condition the hair apply conditioner of choice to the hair gently working it from root to tip through out your hair. Next cover the hair with a plastic cap and sit under a hooded dryer for 20-30 minutes. After you have conditioned rinse the hair gently with warm water removing all traces of the conditioner. Finally, add your leave-in conditioner to the hair working it from root to tip as well.

Moisturizing

Natural black hair needs all the moisture it can get on a daily basis. Using the right type of moisturizer is critical because most moisturizers available for our hair type is filled with heavy greases and laden with cheap oils and waxes like petroleum, lanolin, beeswax, and mineral oil. Some even contain all these ingredients! These ingredients along with protein should be avoided in hair products for our hair. The key ingredients in a good moisturizer for natural black hair is water, oil, and a humecant such as glycerin or sorbitol which will draw moisture from the air into our hair.

Another natural alternative is using the glycerin, water, and aloe vera spray followed by unrefined shea butter to moisturized the hair. It’s natural and much cheaper than purchasing a moisturizer from the beauty supply.

Moisturizers should be applied on a daily basis. One great way to hold moisture in your hair is to apply Kinky-Curly Curly Custard to the hair. This natural curl defining hair gel not only imparts a healthy glossy sheen and defines your natural curl pattern, but it holds moisture in your hair as well. This product was a Godsend when I started growing my hair naturally. I wore a TWA(teeny-weenie afro) and my afro looked so gorgeous. It was curly and shiny. My hair smelled delicious and my hair was always soft and moisturized. Curly Custard helped me love my natural hair because my hair never looked frizzy and dry when I used it. Another moisturizer that is great to use is the Ambrosia Hair Honeybush Replenishing Hair Milk. This moisturizer is packed with tons of moisture and it also smooths the hair because it contains coconut milk.

Sealer

Natural hair must have a sealer applied to the hair after moisturizing to lock in the moisture. Always remember to seal your ends at night before going to bed to prevent breakage. The following are good oils to use to seal natural hair:

• Organic Virgin Coconut oil
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Jojoba oil
• Grapeseed oil

I seal my hair by first misting my hair thoroughly with water. I then apply a bit of oil to my hair to seal in the moisture. I put on a satin bonnet and I’m off to bed. Doing this every night really helps to lock moisture in my hair. My hair is always soft and manageable the following morning when I do this.

In this article you will learn how to embrace and love your hair in it’s natural state. Once this is accomplished you will be able to transition and or care for your natural hair easily

Why kinky and curly?

Based on past traditions from what our mothers, grandmothers, and even the hair care industry itself; We have been led to believe that our hair is doomed to be frizzy and unmanageable. Our mothers and grandmother’s use negative words such as “nappy” and “bad hair” when referring to our hair type. Even the hair care industry which is laden with products to alter our natural hair texture such as relaxers and texturizers are guilty in this matter. We as black women think of our hair as a curse instead of a blessing, but this is far from the truth! Our hair is made the way it is for a reason and once you understand why you will learn to embrace it.

If you look at all the parts of the world and pay close attention to the weather conditions you will learn to understand why God made your hair the way it is. In European and Asian countries the hair is straighter because it is colder and not as much sunlight. The scalp and skin does not need as much protection from the sun as it does in Southren countries. This even goes for the skin color. Melanoma helps protect the skin from the sun, but in conditions where sunlight isn’t in abundance, this isn’t needed as much.

Now take a look at Africa, sunlight is abundant. The weather is hot and dry so our hair is curlier and/or kinky to protect our scalps from damage from the sun. Or skin contains more melanoma as well which aids in protection from the sun. God made us the way we are because it actually benefits us. Your hair is not a curse, but a blessing! Isn’t that a beautiful thing?

Learn to love your beautiful black hair in it’s natural state and rid yourself of every negative thought you have about your hair. Once you can achieve this then you are ready to transition to natural hair.

Read more about the origin of natural hair

Hair is made of 3 separate layers:

• Cuticle - The thin, protective, colorless shield, that protects the cortex and makes the hair waterproof. The cortex is made of several layers from 6 to as many as 11 layers. African American hair has more cuticle layers than any other race.
• Cortex - Cortex provides the strength, color, and texture of the hair. In this layer is wear the curly kinky hair texture originates from, as well as the amount of melanin to create your own unique hair color.
• Medulla - The innermost part of the hair. No one really knows what this layer’s function is, but it is only present in large thick hairs.

African American hair is made up of 88% protein known as keratin. This is why protein treatments can help preserve the length if you aren’t protein sensitive. Within the keratin our hair contains 4 different bonds including the Hydrogen Bond, Salt Bond, Cystine Bond, and Sugar bond. Each bond is important in understand your hair’s growth, health, and how to maintain healthy hair.

Hydrogen Bond - This is what makes the hair elastic and allows you to temporarily change the shape of your hair with the aid of water (i.e. wet sets, twist outs on wet hair, etc.). These bonds are responsible for 35% of the hairs elasticity and 50% of it’s strength. During a chemical process such as a relaxer the hydrogen bond is broken down and reformed making the hair more prone to breakage.

Salt Bond - To sum this bond up in lamen terms, this bond is also responsible for 35% of the hair’s elasticity and 50% of it’s strength.

Cystine Bond - Also known as the sulfur or disulfide bond of the hair. This bond is responsible for holding the actual hair fibers in place and the hair’s toughness.

Sugar Bond - This bond gives the hair some toughness and strength (about 5%) and even provides some moisture.
Hair Growth
Your hair has 3 stages of growth, which is important to understand so you can not only make realistic hair growth goals, but so that you will understand the cycle to better care for your hair.

The 3 stages of hair growth:
1. Anagen – Growth Phase
2. Catagen – Transitional phase
3. Telogen – Resting Phase

Anagen Phase (Growth Phase) - Approximately 85% of your hair is in the growing phase. The Anagen or growth phase can vary from 2 to 6 years. Hair grows on average about 6 inches per year.

Catagen Phase (Transitional Phase) - At the end of the Anagen phase your hair enters into the Catagen phase which can last between 1-2 weeks. During the Catagen phase the hair follicle shrinks to about 1/6 of it’s normal length. The lower part is destroyed and the dermal papilla(the base of the hair follicle that provides nourishment to the hair) breaks away to rest below the scalp.

Telogen Phase (Resting Phase) - The resting phase follows after the Catagen phase and normally lasts between 5-6 weeks. During this time your hair does not grow at all, but it stays attached to the follicle while the dermal papilla stays in a resting phase below the scalp. Approximately 10-15 percent of all your hair is in this phase. At the end of the Telogen phase the hair follicle re-enters the Anagen (Growth) phase and the dermal papilla joins with the base of the follicle again. A new hair begins to form and if the old hair has not already been shed, the new hair pushes the old one out and the growth cycle starts all over again. This is the complete cycle of hair growth.

If you take a look at the above pH chart you will see that vinegar lies between 2 and 3. Keep in mind that our hair is a pH of between 4.5-5.5. Taking that into consideration if you are using too much vinegar it can be damaging to the hair because of how acidic it is.

You may be thinking: “It’s not that acidic. Its only  between 2 and 3. My hair is a 4. How much of a difference can that really be?”

Its a major difference:

This image shows how much a difference PH is. Comparing the hydrogen ions to the vinegar and our hair, our hair being between 1,000 and the vinegar being 100,000- this shows a major difference. With that said you can use too much ACV vinegar in your hair.

So how much should you be using?

In 1 cup of water it only takes about a teaspoon of ACV to change the pH of the water from a neutral 7 to an acidic 4. With that being said, if you are using vinegar to restore the pH levels of your hair all you need is 1 teaspoon of ACV per cup of water. Try using less vinegar and see the difference. Your hair will love you for it!

• chemical use
• use of heat
• rough styling
• lack of moisture

As you may know my hair is chemical free and I use all natural products. I’m gentle on my hair when styling. I do not comb my hair unless it is wet and saturated in conditioner. I also do not use heat in my hair and I moisturize regularly. As I continued my search I came across a video that also stated lack of protein.

Lack of protein? With my hair being protein sensitive I hadn’t used protein in my hair in years, but I began to think maybe I do need protein in my hair. Maybe this is the answer! I honestly couldn’t think of anything else that would cause my hair to behave like it was. At first I was going to purchase a protein treatment like Aphogee from Sally’s but I couldn’t get past the fact that the product was very unnatural. I then came across another video on youtube by the lovely Naptural85. She used Greek yogurt to deep condition her hair. This was a cheaper and much more natural alternative to any product at Sally’s so I went to the grocery store and purchased a big tub of plain Chobani Greek Yogurt.

As stated in Naptural85‘s video I mixed the following ingredients:

• 4-6 tablespoons of plain greek yogurt
• 1-2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
• 10-15 drops of lavender essential oil
• 10-15 drops of ylang yland essential oil *

*Ingredient I added

I mixed the above ingredients together, misted my hair with water, and applied to my hair but not at the roots. The yogurt treatment was applied about 2-3 inches away from my scalp. I covered with a plastic cap and waited approximately 25 minutes(DO NOT add heat). I then rinsed my hair thoroughly in the shower section my section. After each section was rinsed I’d applied a bit of the Ambrosia Coco Passion Honey Hair Nectar to my hair work it through and rinse again. I have to tell you this treatment left my hair so soft, stronger, and detangled. When I used the greek yogurt treatment I didn’t even need to use my leave-in detangler to detangle my hair!

As the week progressed after using this treatment I noticed a dramatic improvement in my hair. It was not splitting as much and I hardly had any fairy knots. Its amazing how fast my hair responded to this treatment! I now use the Greek Yogurt Treatment every 2 weeks alternating with the Coco Passion Honey Hair Nectar. This is a permanent staple in my hair care routine and I can now say that even protein sensitive hair needs a little protein every now and then!

Try it for yourself and let me know your results!