How To Take Charge of Your Newly Natural Hair

The dryness, the tangles, the broken combs, the failed twistout. If your newbie natural résumé looks a lot like this, you're not alone.

Your hair is only out of control because you missed these simple secrets of handling it...

how to take charge of your newly natural hair

Why didn't somebody tell me natural hair was going to be this difficult? It's an all-too-common complaint as the natural wave sweeps over curlyheads the world over. But it doesn't have to be. We've put together a list of our most valuable natural hair lessons, learned the hard way and shared here so you don't have to. Here's how to deal: 

 

Expect more volume

Your naturally curly hair is inherently more voluminous than your straightened hair; embrace the fullness and use it to create styles in 3D that explore every dimension. 

You can choose from fros, puffs, rod sets, twistouts, braidouts and more. The bounce and variation from these styles have the power to frame your features better than flat straight hair ever could. To keep from being overwhelmed by this voluminosity when washing or styling, it might make more sense to deal with your hair in sections.

​Expect your hair to suck moisture up like a  sponge

Even if you had relaxed hair that played dead when anything stronger than setting lotion touched it, your hair's naturally coiled structure has such difficulty getting moisture and lubrication from root to tip that it's relying on you to keep it in regular supply. 

Those guilty stretches past wash day you might have enjoyed on the creamy crack are gonna have to be a thing of the past now that you're natural.

Natural hair does not take kindly to droughts. Be prepared to see your hair stiffen up to the point of unmanageability and literally break off in pieces if you don't hydrate it deeply or regularly enough.   
 

That deep hydration involves you drenching your hair in water, meaning you should wash and condition a minimum of once a week. Even the most moisturising leave in is no substitute for frequent, regular cleansing and deep conditioning when it comes to keeping hair flexible and manageable and yes, growing it long. Once you've cleansed your hair, layer your moisture and insulate your hair so you don't have to rehydrate daily.

Don't compromise on your products

 Choose the richest, most concentrated conditioners, treatments and moisturisers you can find. Your hair is worth a lot more than a bottle of conditioner, so don't do it damage just to save a couple of pounds on hair products. You'll get more bang for your buck using a more concentrated conditioner sparingly and strategically, than plastering your hair with a poorly formulated, watered down alternative.

Take preemptive action against tangles

Your curls love to wrap around each other and sometimes they won't want to let go. To avoid hours of frustration, soreness and soulsearching about why exactly you went natural, stop the tangles before they form – and have a good strategy and detangler on hand for when they do.

 Sectioning will save you the most grief: wash your hair, condition it and allow it to dry in secure sections, to avoid tangling. And use a slippery conditioner and a super slippery moisturising leave in to remove knots and prevent retangling.

Good slip is a must on naturally curly hair: it makes tangles less likely to form and easier to take out when they do appear. This not only saves you styling time, it prevents breakage, allowing your hair to grow to longer lengths. 

Keeping your hair in protective styles (as long as you keep it well moisturised) will also reduce  detangling  time,  but  you don't always have to put away your tresses.

Like wearing your hair loose and free? Then the  secret to avoid tumbling into the newly natural tangle trap is to go for more structured styles as much as possible.

Twistouts, rod sets, or simply sectioning and actively smoothing your curls into supercurls, rather than letting them lay where they fall, are all examples of these more structured styles. If your hair is seriously tangle prone you may well have to leave your fro for special occasions only; the separation of strands in this style makes it much easier for tangles to form.

Only comb when your hair  is  full of conditioner

It will make your life a lot simpler. You'll avoid much of the breakage from the friction and tension of combing through dry hair, and the whole process goes a lot faster. You can detangle on wet or dry hair, depending on what works best for your tresses (if you're new you'll have to experiment). Either way, make sure you saturate your hair in conditioner, whether leave in or rinse out, first. Then detangle from the ends up, slowly and steadily, in small sections.

Forget about that fine-toothed comb

For most naturals, it'll just get lost in the fullness and its too-close-together teeth can roughen up your hair's cuticle, making your tresses tangle more.

To avoid broken combs and broken hair, it's best to relinquish the fine-toothed comb now that your natural curls are back. Go for a seamless wide-toothed comb or a brush with flexible bristles, the tips of which do not scrape your hair. 

Schedule your haircare

Natural hair demands consistency. Really, all hair does, but your natural hair will let you know about any failings in this area very quickly. If you want to stay on top of it styling wise, you'll have to stay on top of it healthwise as well. Keep your appointments you make with yourself. For most heads of hair, a DIY wash and condition 1-3 times a week, a detangling session here and there, plus moisturising and styling is all it takes.
 

Understand curl definition

Defined curls are not the be all and end all of being natural. More than anything, the ubiquity of this hair goal can be traced to the commercial explosion that's happened in natural hair over the past few years.

Don't let a quest for curl definition dominate or otherwise overshadow your natural experience.

There is so much more going on in the natural hair realm than this tiny corner of styling options. Whatever you do, definitely avoid the trapdoor that says defined hair is better than undefined hair. It's not.

Some brief tips on definition: Some hair will naturally define more easily than other hair, but most hair types will define more readily when the hair is well moisturised. If your definition is lacking, up your moisture, and comb your hair less. Why? Combing causes separation and frazzles some hair types, which are then difficult to define until the hair “recovers”. Sectioning your hair then working the product in goes a long way, and gel over a good slippery leave in goes a lot further than most curl creams.

stay patient, stay focused & stay in love with your hair

By following these tried-and-tested tips, you can balance your haircare duties with living the rest of your life. Understand that it might take some time to truly understand your newly natural hair – after all, you've grown accustomed to dealing with a completely different hair type.  

Realise that your hair is not going to be quite like anybody else's and revel in that! Each strand comes with a combination of vulnerabilities and possibilities that is not repeated on any other head of hair in the world. Embrace this cool element of yourself and you'll have conquered one small but significant front in fully embracing and enjoying the true you!

​Image Credits

Monique Hilkus | gosheshe | Paul Stocker | Matt Reinbold | Remy the Quill