Let's talk hair

For a long time now I have been completely obsessed with caring for and growing my hair. 

My interest in hair started about two years ago when I was in uni and living with a good friend of mine, Aisha. I'd listen to how she'd talk about her hair with such a loving and caring tone and think "who the heck pays that much attention to their hair?" And yet I'd be jealous about how long and luscious her locks were! And that's when it hit me - I'd never treated my hair with the care it deserved. {Oh goodness me, I'm about to start crying here.. My brother who's been pestering me all morning to make lunch just walked into my room with chips and sandwich for meeee. So adorable! Now back to hair}

So I started paying more attention to my locks. First thing I did was go through the internet searching for tips and the do's and don'ts of hair care. I read what Oprah's hair stylist had to say about how to treat your hair, went on online forums to learn more about what products to use and researched on what products worked on specifically on black girls' hair. 

I did things I'd never done before! For the first time in my life, I bought leave in conditioners (some of which that worked and some that sucked), would use avocado and mayonnaise to treat my hair and learnt how to do cornrows. My hair truly became a part of me that I deeply wanted to look after just as much as my internal organs or skin or nails. And that's when my hair took a turn for the better. 

I started getting comments on how long my hair looked. How healthy it seemed. How much bounce it had.. etc etc. Today I'd like to share with you some of the things I've learnt while on my hair journey. Things that worked and things that didn't. I hope you'll be able to come out of this with something useful that you could take up on your journey to better hair!!

Braiding: 

{Picture taken about a year and a half ago!}

1. From my experience, my hair breaks so much whenever I braid it - even if I have them in for only 4 -5 weeks. I started noticing that my hairline was what suffered the most and let's not kid ourselves here ladies, we need our hairlines in tip top shape. So I avoid it as much as possible. 

2. If you have to braid your hair, maybe because you're a swimmer or you work out a lot, then I'd advice you to buy products specifically meant to strengthen and protect hair while it's braided. I don't have much experience in this though.. sorry. 

3. I used to do this thing where if I was trying to undo a braid and it got stuck towards the very end, I'd just yank it out and break my hair as I do it. I really don't know what I was thinking as right now even the thought of even hearing my hair break makes my skin crawl. Gaaah. Don't do it!! It just leaves your hair looking uneven. 

4. I know the tighter the braid, the neater it looks.. but tight braids really puts so much strain on your hair! Plus you end up getting those annoying, ugly pimples on your scalp and especially around your hairline. So go easy on the braids ladies. 

4. As an alternative to putting braids, I would recommend doing cornrows with your own hair. But again, nothing too tight. 

Retouching: 

{Picture taken about 1 year ago. Pardon the creepy glare and smile. }

1. I currently use Creme of Nature as my relaxer which my hairdresser recommended. Because my scalp is rather sensitive and my hair is naturally soft, I usually go for the most mild option. So on the gradient from Regular - Medium - High, I'll go for the Regular relaxer. However, you know your hair type best and how sensitive your scalp is and what works for you so just always double check with your hairdresser to see that he or she is using the one you prefer. I always do!

2. Even though I've read on several forums and articles that you should relax your hair every 2 months, I always push it an extra month and do it every 3 months. I find that this works best for me as if I push it any longer, my hair starts to break. 

Washing & Treating: 

1. When I wash my hair at home I usually use Vatika Moisture Treatment Shampoo and Elvive Smooth-Intense Anti-Frizz Conditioner by Loreal. I will always pick products which have natural oils and help with moisture enhancement. The shampoo has almond oil, honey and yoghurt while the conditioner has protein and argan oil, all of which are great for hair. At my salon I believe they use Gliss' shampoo. 

2. Treatment is such a vital part of hair care and yet I never used to ask what treatment my hairdresser was using. Tsk tsk. There are usually two main types of treatments that you should go for: (a) Protein based treatments are usually meant to repair your hair and strengthen it. Sorta like what drinking milk would do to your bones. They’re usually pretty strong (not sure why) so you’re advised to only use it when your hair is pretty dry and brittle and damaged. Great example is Hair Mayonnaise by Vitals.  (b) Moisture based treatments are mostly meant to bring lustre to your hair and make it all soft and shiny. Good stuff like that. It’s not so strong so this treatment could be used a lot more often than protein based ones. Great example is Motions Moisture Plus. 

Other: 

1. I cannot emphasise enough how hair styling instruments can either be your best friend or worst enemy. It’s awesome how these tools can really transform your hair but beware that it does not come at the expense of your hair! It’s important to always, always use a heat protectant whenever you’re styling your hair! 

2. Greasy hair isn't pretty hair people. However, oiling your scalp is sometimes very necessary especially if it's really dry. So don't be scared about slapping some onto your scalp. 

3. Don't forget to use leave-in-conditioners!!! You hair needs to be conditioned, daily! Just make sure the leave in conditioner you use isn't too greasy.

4. If you massage your scalp for a few minutes every day you not only get to enjoy an amazing massage sesh but you also stimulate the blood flow in your scalp which helps with growth!

5. Drinking loads of water and eating veggies and fruits really helps prevent your scalp from getting too dry. So drink and munch on friends. 

6. A good hair serum gives your hair that extra shine minus all the grease. 10 points right there. 

7. There's nothing like a good puddle brush! Avoid using the really fine-tooth combs unless you want to style your hair in a particular way. I find that the fine-tooth combs break my hair quite a bit so I stay away. 

8. Make sure you trim your hair every 8 weeks or so! I'm guilty of going for as long even 6 months without a trim though. There's something about a pair of scissors next to my hair that doesn't sit well with me..
9. I remember reading somewhere that we lose about 50-70 strands of hair a day so if you brush your hair and notice a little breakage, don't worry yourself about that too much!

I really hope you were able to learn something new from this post! I was initially going to put up pictures of the products I use as well but this post will end up being way too long. I'll probably do that another time though. 

Thank you so much for reading!!

What products/tips do you have? I'd love to hear what you have to say!