I’m Jasmine, a 22-year-old from Philadelphia, Pa and recent Temple grad working towards a career in psychology. Like many other women, I was given relaxers as a young girl and for a while, I didn’t know much better. However, once I finished high school, I decided that I wanted to embrace my individuality and dye my hair crazy colors! I knew that in order to achieve colorful, yet healthy hair, I would have to quit getting relaxers. That was four years ago and I am still loving my natural hair today!
Use Protein Free Products…and Moisturize A LOT!
In the daytime, it is very essential that I moisturize my hair, as it is for most naturals. About once a week, I will shampoo, condition and detangle my hair using protein free products.
After washing, I moisturize my hair with a heavy amount of a moisturizing product and then seal with an oil. During my non-wash days, I moisturize my hair by using a homemade spritz mixture. (Water, conditioner, oil, leave in.. Etc).
At night, I tend to spritz my hair and put it into two ponytails to prevent my hair from matting and shrinking while sleeping. Then I simply place a satin scarf onto my head and I’m set.
This is the part that scares many naturals but I always bleach my hair before dyeing! If done properly, bleaching can be a safe and effective method of achieving beautiful and vibrant color.
Once the hair has already been bleached, MOISTURIZE!
The key to maintaining lustrous hair is always to keep the hair in great condition. Especially after putting the hair through a stressful process such as bleaching and dyeing. But hey, it’s your hair, so enjoy it and have fun!
My all time fave products are the Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine leave in , shampoo, and conditioner. My hair enjoys these products since there are no added proteins. When I do feel the need to give my hair some protein, I usually go for the Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser deep conditioning treatment.
Take your time with the process of learning how to dye your hair.
If you have a friend that’s already skilled at dyeing hair, watch them in practice and take note of how the process works. Start small…Once you feel confident to dye your own hair, start with just a small section to see how your hair responds to this sort of process. Then once you get the hang of it, go wild!
Stay away from box dyes that both bleach and color your hair simultaneously.
Surprisingly, it’s better that you first bleach the hair, and then afterwards apply the color as a two-step process. That way, you can also mix different colors together if you wanted.
