
This post was inspired by a conversation I had with fellow curly I met in Macys concerned about enduring hot ass weather this upcoming holiday weekend. Although it is still technically Spring, we are experiencing Summer like weather conditions. This weekend the weather man promises high temps and humidity so you know what means….natural hair alert!!!! Weather surpassing 90 degrees, humidity and smoke filled barbeques with the family this weekend all pose a threat to your coifed mane. We women, especially naturalistas, put a lot of energy into our hair; searching the blogs and vlogs for haircare tips, forever looking for new products. There’s nothing worse than spending hours on your hair only for it to fail half way through the day.
First off, no matter what the weather, length, occasion, etc. your hair always needs these 3 essential things:
1. Water – must add moisture, must add moisture, must add moisture. I don’t care how many times it’s documented in the blogaspheres of natural hair, dryness is still a chief concern simply because of the nature of natural hair. You can’t go wrong with good old H2O as well as water based products.
2. Leave- in conditioner – if you have not incorporated a good leave in into your regimen, please do so. It is imperative to combating dryness and breakage.
3. Sealant – after you’ve added moisture, you want to keep it. How do you do that? By sealing it in. *Holds 2 fingers to throat like Martin* “Lock it in”
That being said, there are some additional risks when it comes to warmer temperatures. Summer tresses are faced with uphill battles against humidity and frizz which can make it difficult to maintain your look. Here are a few quick suggestions for this weekend:
1. Do a prepoo process to help with frizz using olive, coconut, jojoba, or argan oil. (whichever your textured hair responds to)
2. After shampooing/co washing – rinse with cold or cool water, which helps seal the cuticle.
3. After wet styling leave it alone. I am super guilty of hand in hair syndrome. Sometimes I fluff and fluff while its wet and 99.99% of the time, it ends up in disaster. Not allowing the hair to dry naturally without intervening, is a quick way to allow unwanted frizz into your life. Also use a climate control product to help repel humidity.
4. Heat – why bother? I know it’s tempting to see how much length you’ve gained or want to try something new but heat is not the answer on a day like this. For one, a natural hair blow out followed by a flat iron cannot withstand the humid conditions. Chances are it will succumb to the elements before you even arrive at the cookout. For two, most likely your hair will soak in all of that smoke from the grill cooking up all that tasty cookout food and you will end up wanting to wash it out anyway after all that work. Talk about a waste of time.
5. Protect – of course protected styling is always great to combat heat. It’s off your face and neck, the ends are hidden, #whatmorecanIsay. One cure for lack of creativity in the styling department is to try a hair ornament like the grecian or boho style headbands that are all the rage right now. This is a good way to play up a very simple hairstyle.
*Obviously, it goes much deeper than these few things when it comes to dealing with hot weather; there’s dew points, humectants, anti-humectants, yada yada yada…so much more on the topic which requires a separate post.
Sharing hairstories and life experiences from a curl’s perspective. Find Tammy at her blog, Curlychics, on Twitter, and Facebook.
To combat the hot weather, i've been doing wash n go's every day or every other day. I also spritz with an aloe vera juice, jojoba oil, and water mix when my hair looks dry.
I've been experimenting with wash and goes and I am LOVING IT! The key is using a good moisturizer, sealing it in and keeping your hands out your hair! My hair doesn't get frizzy or tangled when I do so, it can last for several days and make cute updos after. So far I end up redoing every few days and co washing is a breeze and there's hardly any knots =)
Good refresher article, thanks.
hair damp with a sealant and im out the door
Ashley L
I sure didn't avoid disaster yesterday at the beach!! Right now I'm deep conditioning my hair to put moisture back into my salt water ravaged hair. I will definitely keep up with my wash and go's because they last at least 4 days and I don't have to worry about damage!
Haha! Braids!!
Went to Ulta and got the Redken smooth down butter it was buy 2 get 1 free and i love it!! I also got the Ouidad hydro something ad the curl define cream and the AG fast food the big bottle which was $36. Combining and will be rocking a wash and go for the weekend!! Thanks Nikki for all your help:) Bajan Rhonda
And walking with a bottle of water to add some moisture while at the bbqs…
Yup. Summer is here and georgia is playing no games.Im doing the curly girl method so alot of those preventative measure im not going to take. I plan on just staying out of the heat. I do plan on swimmming with my neice and nephew and hopefully getting my sis to BBQ. I hope everyone has a great weekend
hi all what can i do to protect and keep a lot of moisture in my very dry hair which is in braids fulltime???
zainab s
I found that since i started using lotta body setting lotion for my styles (mainly the bantu knot out), i havent had to worry about humidity at all! it really is the best.
@ maya i would say the best tip is to just do you and not worry about what anyone has to say about your hair **if they are not trying to help you. There will be "bad hair days" but it will get better and it is totally worth it in the end.
I am a new natural…TWA. My name is Maya S. I am in the 7th grade at a mainly white school, what are some tips u have for new naturals. Any encouraging words to keep me strong arond the haters?
thanks for the pre-poo tip. I am preparing myself for the Texas heat with a scarf and spritzing bottle in my work bag. and i also have the hand-in hair syndrome
We have to admit it. Our hair is just so fascinating that hand in hair is a habit. Strangers and kids want to touch it all the time. Maybee we need some support groups;).
I'm wearing my own hair cornrowed up in a cute style!:)#easypeasy
I plan to either keep my twist in & do a random updo with them or take them down & do a high knot bun. Cause I certainly don't like all of this hair on my neck when it's hot.
Brooke B.
I plan to either keep my twist in & do a random updo with them or take them down & do a high knot bun. Cause I certainly don't like all of this hair on my neck when it's hot.
Brooke B.
Sister twists til Sunday!! Whoop!!
Taja C.
Thank so much for those tips, I really needed some advice considering I am still learning how to my hair in natural protective styles and not trying to use any heat this summer because it is just hot as Hades in Chicago right now so I am good at trying to blow dry of flat iron lol.
so people who keep stretched styles and spritz their hair with water, how/when do you do it without getting too much shrinkage ( i keep stretched for healthy hair not really style ) thanks!
I plan to keep it simple and keep a leavein spray bottle handy at all times. hahaha
we have boiling hot weather over in england, so these tips were just in time. My hair is bone dry at the best of times and hopefully by trying these tips it will improve.
I have my headband and bobby pins on standby.This is my first year as a natural AND first time dealing with the 90 degree temp this weekend!We shall see. BTW, what is some good climate control products for hot ,muggy weather????
will definatly try these techniques i am also guilty of having my hands in my head i think i do it out of boredom to be honest i dont even realize i am doing it…lol
Afro plus headband to keep the sweat at bay.
Nicol C.