Curly Hair Don't Care: All Natural Curls

I was born with naturally curly hair.  I've always said that it is both a blessing and a curse.  Growing up I coveted straight hair.  My mother has very straight hair and it seemed to be so easy to manage.  I remember wishing I had straight hair when she would wash, detangle and style my hair.  My hair was rarely left loose, but usually up in pony tails with braids or twists and big bobo clasps on the bottom. When I was able to do my own hair I learned the best methods to straighten one's hair.  Before I owned a flat iron, I ironed my hair with a clothes iron.  I learned to blow out my own hair.  I mastered the doobie--well I thought I did, I still struggle with it til this day.  In short, I did all of the bad things to my hair to make it go against its nature and be straight.  I spent winters with straight hair and spring and summer trying to recuperate my curls.  

In March of this year, I noticed that my hair was very damaged.  My curls no longer looked the same, my ends were very straight and would not curl.  My hair began to become very brittle and dry so I decided to get my curls back.  I went on a mission to turn my heat damage around and to regain my luscious curls.  It was hard but I was determined.  Here are some of the first steps I took to begin my natural curl journey. 

1. RESEARCH!!!

I can't stress this enough. It is so so so so so so SO important to do your research.  There are products out there that are filled with harsh and damaging chemicals that may make your hair look good at first but will damage it in the end.  I know many people who became victims to a particular curly hair product that had its minute of fame but caused people lots of damage and breakage before they realized what was happening to their hair.  

Essentially you want to stay away from sulfates (these are very harsh on your skin and your hair), silicones (these are rough because this is a very common ingredient especially in shampoos and mousses and the like) and alcohol.  These ingredients can be very damaging for your hair.  Knowing your hair porosity and hair type is very helpful in doing research but that will be part of the next blog.  

Once you get the gist of what ingredients do what and what can be very damaging for your hair you may want to do a more in depth research on silicones.  Silicones come in different shapes and sizes (like any other ingredient). The concentration of such products depends on the type of silicones.  Some silicone may be good to style your hair if your hair can take it, but some people would prefer to stay away from it altogether.  Knowing your hair will help you make the right decision for you.  

Silicones can be water soluble, non-soluble in water but removable with gentle shampoos, non-soluble in water but not easily removed with gentle shampoos, and harsh silicones that need sulfates to remove them.  As you may have guessed the water soluble silicones would be the best for your hair because they can be rinsed off with water.  The non-soluble silicone that is easily removable with gentle shampoos are the next best thing.  It is best to stay in these areas because it is easier to remove the silicones from your hair.  The non-soluble silicones that are not easily removed with gentle shampoos, or that need sulfates to remove should be avoided because it is harder to remove these from your hair. 

WATER SOLUBLE SILICONES

Diamethicone copolyol

Lauryl methicone copolyol

Hydrolyzed wheat protein hydroxypropyl polysiloxane

All silicones starting with "PEG"

NON WATER SOLUBLE (EASILY REMOVED BY GENTLE SHAMPOO)

Amodimethicone

Dimethicone (can be found in many many products geared toward curls)

Dimethiconol

Beheonoxy dimethicone

Phenyl trimethicone

NON WATER SOLUBLE (NOT EASILY REMOVED BY GENTLE SHAMPOO)

Simethicone

Trimethicone

NEED SULFATES FOR REMOVAL

Cyclomethicone

Cyclopentasiloxane

Trimethylsilyalamodimethicone

Trimethylsiloxysilcates

This is a very daunting list, that does not cover all of the silicones, but the research can be very overwhelming.  Once you realize what silicones are damaging you can stay very far away from them. 

2. DIY- Natural Hair Masks

This part of the process was the most fun for me.  I was able to research natural products that are good for my hair and do it myself.  My favorite mask is with olive oil, honey, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar.  I rub it into my hair root to tip and leave it in for 30 minutes.  Once my 30 minutes are up I wash and condition as normal.  I wear this mask once a week for shinier, moisturized, and more manageable hair.

3. NO HEAT

Heat damage is no joke.   If the damage is not too bad, it can be reversed in time, but if the damage is really bad eventually it needs to be cut off.  As you can see from the photo above my heat damage was very bad, my ends refused to curl.  I had to trim off these ends to allow my curls to flourish.  I was so scared to trim my own hair because I'm not a professional whatsoever, but I immediately saw less breakage and healthier shafts once I did.  

4. BE PATIENT!

Sometimes it easy to look on YouTube and social media and see other "naturals" and want to compare your hair journey and curl progress to theirs.  In reality they will let you see what they want you to see.  It's easy to paint the prettiest picture of one's hair journey.  Your journey is unique and so is your hair.  No matter how similar your hair type or porosity may seem your journey will be different.  

Stay tuned for more tips and updates on my curl progress.