Happy new year everyone and apologies for going silent on you. Just needed a few weeks off to recuperate from the previous year, unwind and focus for 2016. I am now back and have also missed you :-) !
Now let's talk about our plans for making our hair healthier and getting it to flourish even better in this new year. Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to add more to your already challenging new year's resolution list. Simply put, I am asking you to see this as a re-assurance that you have it in you to do better this year; and if you take it a week at a time, by the time the year ends you'll be astounded at just how capable you are.
Lessons I've learnt since my healthy hair journey started in April/May 2014
- Caring for natural hair is only hard work if you perceive it that way and convince yourself of that. Remember in life, anything you believe comes to pass. Whether it's with your health, your beauty, your dreams or anything else - if you believe you aren't strong enough to exercise or don't have it in you then you'll remain unhealthy and unhappy, and if you believe you are ugly and can't achieve anything; trust me other people will see you as ugly and your dreams will only be alive in dreamland during your sleep. Change your mindset!
- Long hair doesn't come about because of hair products! There aren't any miracle products out there, trust me. Anyone who markets their products as magical and promises you phenomenal miraculous growth is simply taking advantage of the innate longing for luscious long hair that women seem to have been born with. Hair grows when you take care of it through a religious process in a similar manner as you bath everyday, brush your teeth and get dressed.
- You have grown to accept your daily grooming requirements of waking up, bathing (for some, boiling the water first), applying deodorant and body lotion etc. So why can't you do the same for your hair and you prefer an easier, 'lazier' route?
- Every woman is different, and thus has a unique hair journey. Some people have a very remarkable fast rate of growth, some have super voluminous hair and some seem not to experience breakage at all. But this doesn't mean my hair (which possibly exhibits the opposite traits) is less beautiful. Embrace your tresses, the more you love them and care for them, the more you'll be surprised as to how much beauty exists on your own crown, your head!!
How to have healthier, fuller, longer natural hair this year
- If you don't have a hair regimen yet, build one. I have a guide on how to build a hair regimen here and this works for both natural and relaxed hair. Relaxed hair can be grown in a healthy manner too.
- If you already have a regimen, pay attention to what you aren't doing consistently and change that. For example you might already be deep conditioning once a week for moisture but fail to revive the moisture every morning (or every 2 days) depending on your hair needs and weather conditions - so why not add this to your regimen more consistently and observe how your hair responds. Some of us live in Africa where we get summer days for most of the year, therefore harsh drying conditions that suck moisture out of hair, therefore we might need to moisturise much more than an average person.
- Get protective styles so that you keep your hands out of your hair. The less you manipulate your hair the better it will grow. Don't forget to still care for the hair underneath that protective style.
- Hair care is all about a balance between Keratin (protein in hair strands) and moisture. So make sure your deep conditioning incorporates both. However pay attention to the frequency and time needed for protein treatments as these could lead to hair damage if done excessively. For example if Hair Mayonnaise says leave-in for 15 mins, do not exceed that time as you will end up hardening your hair and causing breakage from hardened hair strands.
- Enjoy your hair regimen process by incorporating it into your normal lifestyle. Don't try to have a separate time that is only for wash day etc. Rather, do your hair while watching TV with family or while doing house chores. If you solely allocate time to doing your hair, you'll end up bored and even fail at keeping up with this time requirement.
Love -AfroMoriri
