Like with all ventures going natural is a journey all about trial and error and figuring out what works best for you. However, many of us have picked up quite a few bad habits along the way which can hinder our hair growth and health.
Making mistakes is all a part of the natural haired process, it is only after making quite a few errors that we learn how to care for our hair.
Doing your hair when you are tired
Some days the task of washing and styling hair can feel like a mammoth undertaking. But rushing through the process can be detrimental to our hair. This is especially true for the detangling process.
It is important to always protect our hair from damage and be gentle when handling our curls. So detangling our hair when we don’t have the time or patience can often result in tugging at knots, leading to breakage.
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To avoid this choose a day to detangle when you are least busy, like a Saturday or Sunday. Most importantly if you don’t feel like doing your hair don’t force yourself; throw it in a quick and easy protective style like a bun and leave it for another day when you’re not so tired.
Having too many hair idols
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the natural hair community and become mesmerized by the natural haired veterans and their gorgeous curly manes. Hair crushes are perfectly fine but the problem arises when we hang onto the every word of other naturals and envy their hair.
Everyone’s hair is unique and copying a popular natural’s regimen is not guaranteed to give you the same results. Also by focusing too much on the beauty of other people’s hair you may lose sight of the beauty of your own and focus on trying to make your hair into something it isn’t.
To prevent yourself from becoming obsessed with another curly’s hair I would suggest taking a break from personalized blogs and YouTube channels. Focus on gaining knowledge on general haircare and avoid the trap of relying solely on a particular natural.
Using too many hair tools
Our hair can be very delicate and split and break from the rigors of day to day styling. However damage can become excessive when certain styling tools are misused. Heavy reliance on brushes to smooth the hairline can cause it to thin out and recede whilst using styling tools on the length can cause hair to break and the ends to split. Try to minimize how frequently you use styling tools by using your hands to detangle your hair and smooth your hairline.
Remember to detangle from the ends to the root gently and slowly when using tools like brushes or fine toothed combs to smooth out the hair prior to doing styles like rodsets, rollersets and twist or braid outs. It also helps if you detangle your hair with your hands prior to using any detangling tools.
Styling too often
Hand in hair syndrome is a serious disease that many naturals suffer from. The need to constantly play in your hair and try every new hairstyle that you see on a blog or YouTube can be fun but also detrimental to the health of your hair. Over-manipulation places unnecessary stress on the hair which can cause it to weaken and break. This is especially important for curlies who are trying to retain length.
Give your hair a break by creating a hair regimen that dictates how often you can wash and style your hair then stick to it. When possible, wear your hair in a protective hairstyle.
