Natural Hair FAQ's

Shea Butter is a natural moisturizer derived from the nut of the Karite tree in West Africa. It benefits both the hair and skin. It can treat a variety of skin conditions such as eczema, stretch marks or dry skin. Shea Butter is easily absorbed into the hair and skin and can be used on the face also it is not greasy. Many people mix shea butter with oils as an alternative to hair grease.

These days I only use heat for a couples minutes while deep conditioning. I've straighten my hair (blow-dry/flat-iron) 3 times since being natural. The last time I straighten was in
March (I think) 2002 and I have no plans to straighten again - I have no desire to wear straight hair again. I don't like the way my hair feels and all of the abuse of pulling and tugging my hair during the process. The maintenance drove me crazy (no rain/humidity, no sweating, rolling it up etc. etc.). It just wasn't worth it to me, after all that work, it only lasted a few days. Plus I like the way I look with my natural hair better. Besides all of that, I gave away all of my thousands of curling irons, flat-irons and pressing combs to the local women's shelter. :)

You can start by shampooing or clarifying your hair. For a deep conditioner, you could either use an expensive deep conditioner like Frederic Fekkai Hair Mask to inexpensive types like Elasta QP Remoisturizer or even household items like mayonnaise - which has lot of oil and protein. What I do is apply the conditioner to the hair in sections to ensure proper coverage and cover with a heatcap, which helps to heat up the deep conditioner with your own body heat, or sit under a dryer or use a hand dryer for up to 5 minutes. Then rinse the hair thoroughly then style.

From what I read, using heat allows the conditioner to soak in better by expanding the hair shaft. I found that I got much better results while using heat. The deep conditioner penetrated more and my hair looked and feels better. Without some type of heat (heatcap or dryer) the deep conditioner just sat on my hair. I suggest one week you try without heat and the next time try with heat and see how your hair reacts.

For people who concerned with using heat on their hair, using a little indirect heat for deep conditioning is not the same as using direct heat appliances such as hot combs or flat-irons.

Basically, hair that can not stretch at least one third of its length without breaking is fragile. You can take the elasticity test by taking one strand and place it between your fingers to
find out how much fragile your hair is. If you have different hair textures, I suggest taking a strand from each section. It is best to do the test on clean, dry, product free hair.

How I do my scalp massages:

Starting at the front hairline, I use my fingertips and make little circles all around the scalp. Proceed with this step all over your scalp. There is no need to be heavy-handed. Massage your scalp for just 5-10 minutes at a time a few days a week or even everyday. When you're done, you should feel a nice tingling sensation all over your scalp. If you're lucky, get your husband or partner to do them for you once in a while. ;)

Massaging the scalp helps keep your hair healthy by stimulating the blood flow, which in turn helps feed the hair follicles and can also promote hair growth. Often it helps to prevent and fight avoidable hair loss, and reestablish the natural development of healthy hair. In addition to all this, it is very relaxing & calming. Try to get in the routine for doing before bedtime, it really helps relax me. I usually do it in the evening while watching television or reading a book. It also helps me to relieve headaches.

You can also massage your scalp when shampooing or conditioning your hair. You don't have to use any products but if you do, make sure you use oils that easily seep into your skin like jojoba or almond oil.

Thanks! I wore braids for 6-8 weeks, took them out trimmed about 2 inches off, wore a wig for 2 weeks and got braids again. I did this cycle for a little over a year. When I came out of braids, I started off with 5 inches in Feb. 2001. I ended up cutting 3 inches off to make sure all the relaxed hair was gone and to even it out. Plus it was a bit damaged from wearing micros (I didn't properly take care of my own hair). The first three months of wearing my hair completely natural was so hard for me! My hair was breaking, it was hard and dry - only because I lacked proper information. During that summer I started to do the following and my hair changed dramatically:

1. Started deep conditioning at least 2 times per month.
2. Deep reconstruction treatments every few months.
3. Started to trim my hair regularly.
4. Starting taking vitamins (a regular multi-mineral/vitamin and a EFA and starting drinking lots of water.

By October 2001, I had about 8 inches of healthy hair. Between now and then I had 3 major haircuts and still trim like clockwork - I think that has been key for me for retaining length. (Note: my hair does not grow faster than normal, I don't take any "miracle" hair growth pills etc.) Also what helps me is rinsing daily if I am not wearing twists, flat-twists or braids. Fast forward to today, I still continue the deep conditioning, the massages and most importantly - I leave it alone and my hair thanks me. :)

Over-conditioning will cause the hair strands to weaken and thus cause breakage overtime. The hair strands only absorb so much. You can tell that you've over-conditioned you hair if it feels limp and/or looks weaker than normal. But if you use a light conditioner (like Suave or VO5) everyday to rinse/rinse out, your hair should be fine.

• Protein conditioners are designed to help build up, repair, and overall make your hair stronger. Protein treatments help fill any empty gaps and damage that your strands may have. Protein treatments don't need to be left on for longer than the recommended time on the bottle - it would be total overkill and is not necessary. If you have generally healthy hair, you don't need to do it more than once a month. ALWAYS follow up a protein treatment with a moisturizing treatment afterwards. Protein treatments will cause it to break off if you overuse it or don't fully rinse it out. Use with caution. Example: Suave Natural Care Vanilla Almond & Silk Protein Conditioner.

• Moisturizing conditioners are designed to make hair softer and add moisture to the hair by using humectants. Example: Pantene Pro-V Hydrating Curls.

• Leave-in conditioners are designed to add protein (in some cases), hold style, add luster, strengthens and protect hair throughout the day. Some leave in conditioners may also have moisturizing properties as well. Example: Infusium 23 Leave-In Treatment.

• Reconstructors: A reconstructor treatment is used to strengthen the hair. It penetrates the cuticle and repairs the hair from sun, heat and chemical damage. These normally contain protein and hydrolyzed human hair keratin protein. Leave this product on between 2 and 5 minutes and use with heat. There is no need to keep this treatment on your hair longer. Great for people with chemicals on their hair. Example: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor.

• Detanglers: Conditioners that aid in detangling the hair. They help to make the hair feel slippery, which helps the conditioner slide through your comb or brush. Make sure your hair is soaked with water first. Example: Biolage Detangling Solution.

• Thermal Protectors: This type of product is made for use with blow dryers, curling irons and hot styling tools. It is formulated to protect and prevent hair damage during hot styling. Example: Thermasilk Intensive Conditioning Thermal Wrap.

• Acidifiers: Also known as Clarifying Conditioners. Many of these types of conditioners contain citrus extracts, ascorbic acid/vitamin C, or apple cider vinegar in them. Example: V05 Kiwi & Lime Clarifying Conditioner.

• All conditioners should clearly say on the bottle or in the name of the product what type of conditioner it is. For example, "Suave Moisturizing Conditioner" or "Abba Nourishing Leave-In Conditioner".

I read that the purpose of getting a hot oil treatment is to restore the natural oils to the hair and helps to restore moisture to the scalp. I used to do hot oil treatments all the
time, but I never do them anymore. Most oils do nott have the ability to penetrate into the hair shaft - all it does is coat the cuticle. Once I stopped using oils, I no longer had that "hard" feeling in my hair.