Scenario: I post a picture of my hair in a beautiful wash n go or a video of me doing one of my client’s hair, and someone comments: “I have the same hair type, what products did you use?”
I blame the natural hair influencer community for creating a culture surrounding junky collections of products. I understand the desire to learn what’s out there that could possibly work for you. What I don’t get is the disconnect behind the assumption that you can achieve your desired style result from a bottle. This brings me to the point of this blog. Products don’t create healthy hair; your habits do.
This means that what you do to your hair often matters most. Products will only bring out the best in your habits. Dry hair will be dehydrated when styled, just as moisturized hair has a healthy hydration level when styled and set. So instead of focusing on products, let’s shift our attention to our hair habits.
To get a grasp of your current regimen, answer these questions:
- How often do you cleanse with shampoo and conditioner?
- Are you using raw oils and heavy butters or products that list them within the first five ingredients on the label?
- Do you wear protective styles for weeks or months at a time?
- Do you get regular and routine professional trims?
- Do you dry your hair with heat or air dry?
Depending on your answers, the products you use won’t matter. The way your hair turns out may still be unfavorable regardless of which product you use. Your results could be dry, frizzy, and undefined hair. If you don’t mind these results for your style, you don’t really have an issue here. However, I have found that my clients and students don’t invest in my products and services to get the types of results you can easily find online.
Okay, let’s talk about habits and what that should look like for everyone, no matter your hair type.
Weekly cleansing with regular shampoo and rinse out (not deep) conditioning, styling product for your style and goal, and trims every 2-3 months on healthy hair and more frequent on hair in need of repair.
Now let’s talk about your exact type of products. Your shampoo and conditioner should be specific to your hair needs, which could vary depending on the condition of your hair and lifestyle.
Your styling products should be:
- Leave in conditioner for an afro
- Gel for a wash n go
- Mousse for twists and curl sets
Notice I shared particular styles that are all loose natural styles without extensions or wigs. Any decision to continuously wear a style for longer than a week, especially artificial hair, without cleansing will lead to poor health of the hair and scalp.
Don’t forget: products don’t create healthy hair, your habits do.
Products don’t create healthy hair; your habits do. So let’s prioritize focusing on a clean and simple approach to your natural hair care.
Clean and simple hair is not a unique method, technique, or quick fix. It’s simply cleansing, conditioning, styling, and setting a lifestyle routine. This routine is ALL the hair needs, no matter what anyone you know and especially any non-experienced stranger on the internet may have told you.