Growing long, beautiful natural hair is not an African myth or legend. You can grow natural hair that is long, luxurious, voluminous and vibrant. While men and women have the blessing of kinky, coily or curly hair that does not require a lot of attention or care, the reality is that most of us must work at it. The good news is that with proper care and a basic understanding of natural hair care, it is possible.
Daily Natural Hair Care Regimen
Growing natural hair that is healthy requires a daily natural hair care regimen. Consistency is the secret to most natural hair care success stories. Whether you are just beginning your natural hair care journey or a natural hair maven who is growing weary with your current staple of natural hair care products, you will more than likely have to endure a period of trial and error until you can meet the needs of your hair porosity, texture, and type, you will want to be consistent.
Here are a few tips for growing and caring for natural hair.
Hair Hydration
Hair hydration helps to ensure that our hair is strong and able to withstand our daily manipulations which may range from protective styling activities to flat ironing to swimming in the ocean. Hair hydration helps our hair to have elasticity, reducing the risk for damage, hair fall, split ends or breakage.
Wear Protective Styles with Care
Thinking about wearing braids, twists, weaves or faux locs? Be careful to not place too much tension or stress on your hair or edges. If you decide to have a professional install your braids, twists, locs or weaves, be vigilant and comfortable telling the person who is styling your hair that they are placing too much tension on your follicles, edges, and scalp. This moment is not the time to be shy about doing what is best for your hair.
Do Not Ignore Natural Hair Damage
Natural hair breakage or balding can occur for multiple reasons. Split-ends, hair tangles, knots, frizz, thinning edges, and alopecia can all be indicative of natural hair problems. If any of these symptoms appear, you cannot ignore them, or they will get worse. Look at the hair care products you are using, recent changes to your hair care practices, new medications or hairstyle choices. Any of these things may be drivers of damage. Your goal should be to eliminate anything that is contributing to your hair issues and solve for it quickly.
Use Heat Smartly and Sparingly
Some mavens in the natural hair community do not believe in using heat on natural hair. They will tell you to stay away from it and learn to straighten or stretch your hair naturally. Ultimately, the decision to use heat on your natural tresses is yours to make. Should you choose to use heat on those kinks and coils, take steps to do so sparingly. If you elect to use heat frequently, ensure that your hair is healthy. You never want to apply heat to hair that is already experiencing damage or breakage. Always take steps to hydrate your hair and protect your hair with a thermal protectant.
Take Care of Your Scalp
Finally, to grow long, healthy natural hair, you must take care of your scalp. Without a clean and healthy scalp, the genesis of natural hair growth will not happen. Use oils like tea tree oil, almond, cedarwood, jojoba and clary sage. These oils are especially useful for cleansing the scalp, combating fungus and bacteria to reduce the risk of inflammation, irritation, and infection. Also, they help to moisturize the scalp and boost circulation to the area so that it receives the necessary nutrients to stimulate healthy hair growth.
Choosing the Best Natural Hair Care Products
Finally, your natural hair care regimen for growth will require a staple of quality products to get started. There are hundreds if not thousands of natural hair care products on the market that promise to deliver great results. We are pleased to present six of those products to help you get started building your natural hair care arsenalof products.
tgin Hair Products
The tgin hair care line offers multiple products that cater to the needs of your natural hair. Here are a few of their products for you to consider.
tgin Moisture-Rich Sulfate-free Shampoo, 13 oz
tgin Moisture-Rich Sulfate-free Shampoo cleanses your hair and scalp without stripping it of its natural properties or creating gaps in your hair’s structure like some other shampoos that are not sulfate-free and contain parabens. A little bit of this shampoo goes a long way to get the job done.
tgin Triple Moisture Replenishing Conditioner, 13 oz.
tgin Triple Moisture Replenishing Conditioner restores hydration and vibrancy to your hair. It helps to seal in moisture seal in moisture, enhancing your hair’s elasticity and flexibility and ability to withstand heat and excessive manipulation from styling. This conditioner reduces the occurrence of frizz, breakage and heat damage.
tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer for Natural Hair, 12 oz.
tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer for Natural Hair is a fan-favorite thanks in part to its ability to soften hair, deliver hydration, improve circulation to the scalp, and restore shine. tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer for Natural Hair contains shea butter and vitamin E which have vital roles in boosting the overall health of your hair’s structure. You can use this moisturizer as a part of your daily hair care regimen to ensure your hair always remains adequately rich with hydration.
Another group of products you might consider is Karen’s Body Beautiful products.
Karen’s Body Beautiful Ultimate Conditioning Shampoo, 8.5 oz.
Karen’s Body Beautiful Ultimate Conditioning Shampoo is free of parabens and sulfates which makes it an attractive product for naturalistas looking to avoid the risk of using products that strip or damage their hair. This product nourishes your hair and cleanses your scalp without removing your natural oils which are necessary for healthy hair growth.
Karen’s Body Beautiful Lavender Vanilla Complete Hair Conditioner, 8.5 oz
Karen’s Body Beautiful Lavender Vanilla Complete Hair Conditioner moisturizes your hair and repairs hair that is experiencing damage. If you have hair that is coarse or thick, you might find this product to be especially useful since these hair types can sometimes be more prone to experiencing dryness than others.
Hydratherma Naturals
Finally, Hydratherma Naturals is an excellent product that promotes natural hair growth. This line of products is winning big praises from its faithful users for delivering results.
Hydratherma Naturals Daily Moisturizing Growth Lotion, 12 oz
Hydratherma Naturals Daily Moisturizing Growth Lotion reduces your risk for breakage. This product also helps to seal in moisture, decreasing the chance for shedding and enhancing the texture of your hair with softness. This product is lightweight, so you don’t have to worry about your hair being overwhelmed by heavy products.
These are just a few tips and products to get you on the path for growing healthy natural hair. Pay attention to what does and does not work for your hair and make adjustments.
