Nesbug NaturalsThere is a saying, ” If you wouldn’t put it in your mouth don’t put it on your skin.” The skin absorbs anything we put on it. Our skin is made up of many cells and fluids. If we want these to thrive in an optimal environment we have to be as concerned about what we put on our skin, as we are about what we put in our mouth. But when it comes to Natural Afro Hair Care, the black hair community has continued to use products that contain too many synthetic chemicals.
Often we don’t think twice about what we are putting on our heads. All in the name of beauty! But how can we be naturally beautiful and healthful when our cells are being renewed in an environmental chemical soup?
Even children are being exposed to these chemicals from a young age. I think this should be against the law. Having grown up in this community, I have personal experience of how these chemicals affects our hair and our bodies.
Actually, the chemicals found in certain hair care formulations may increase the risk of fibroid growth.
Check out this blog for more information on this aspect of caring for our health – Holistic Treatment for Uterine Fibroids.
Natural Alternatives
By focusing more on natural living in regard to hair care, we can find so many natural alternatives that will promote good health as well as enhance the beauty of our natural afro hair.
To take responsibility for our health we need to know what ingredients are in certain beauty and skincare preparations. We need to choose for ourselves whether or not we will allow these products on our body. This means we can choose what we put on our hair and scalp. We can then have joy in caring for our afro hair and our children can have positive memories of a hair care regimen that fostered their health.
Afro Hair Care Regimen
The following wash day regimen for afro hair provides an outline for Healthy Natural Living in regards to natural afro textured hair. Follow once a week for best results. The process may seem tedious at first glance, but once you become familiar with the routine, you may find it is actually relaxing and enjoyable to set this time aside to pamper yourself and care for your beautiful natural afro hair.
Preparing the Oil
- Pour your oil of choice into a small heat proof mug or cup. You could use Virgin Coconut oil, Virgin Olive oil, Avocado oil, or an Ayurvedic oil. You can add a bit of Castor oil to the mix if you like.
- Heat water in a medium saucepan, then remove from heat and place on a heat proof surface
- Place the mug of oil in the saucepan; cover saucepan with a lid and leave the oil to warm for 15 minutes.
- Remove the oil from saucepan and allow to cool slightly; so that it is nice and warm, but not too hot to place on your scalp.
Oiling Natural Afro Hair
- Take hair out of its current style and allow to hang loose.
- Lightly dampen hair with Rosewater or brewed herbal tea such as hibiscus or rosemary.
- Gently divide your dampened hair into 2 to 4 sections. If your hair is long enough you can place each section of hair into a loose Bantu knot or braid. Otherwise use small satin scrunchies to hold each section in place.
- Next, take one section of hair down and pour a small amount of the warmed oil onto that section of your scalp. Gently massage it into your scalp with the pads of your fingers, spreading the oil around the entire section you are working on.
- Once the section of scalp is oiled , continue pulling the excess oil down through the section of hair you are working on, gently finger detangling as needed.
- Continue doing this section by section until your whole scalp and all your hair is well oiled.
- As you complete each section, be sure to put it back up in a Bantu knot or braid. This will prevent your curls from becoming overly tangled during the oiling process.
- Once you have oiled all sections of the hair well, wrap your hair with a thick towel, microfiber hair turban, or heat cap. Marinate for at least one hour. You could do some chores, a workout, or do some reading while you wait. Alternatively, you can do this step the night before going to bed and leave the oil to marinate on the hair and scalp until the next morning if desired.
Washing Natural Afro Hair
Undo a section of hair and and rinse it thoroughly under running water.
Wet an all-natural sulphate free shampoo bar and gently rub it on the scalp around the section of hair you are working on. Rub gently slowly cleaning and creating a lather. Use the pads of your fingers to continue cleaning this section of the scalp thoroughly. Put the section back into a Bantu knot.
Repeat this step on all sections of the hair.
100% Olive oil soap bars are another great option for gently cleansing natural afro hair.
This is why regular use of shampoos that contain sulphates is especially drying to afro hair. These shampoos were designed with the idea of cleansing more oily hair types. Many people with afro hair have been very surprised at how much more moisturized their hair feels when they start using less drying cleansing agents on their hair.
African Black Soap is especially healthy and natural option for cleaning black hair without drying it out too much. Afro hair is often on the dry side…so a key way to maximise its growth and health is using cleaning agents that are not overly drying.
Conditioning Natural Afro Hair
Place 1 Cup of warm water in a small water jug.
Add 4 tsp of Apple Cider vinegar to the water.
Rinse each section of the hair with a portion of this mixture.
Alternatively, you can make a Herbal Hair tea mix to use as a conditioner. I will share some DIY recipes for this in a future blog. You could apply a natural deep conditioner at this point if you prefer.
Sealing Natural Afro Hair
Use the LOC method to seal and condition each section of the hair before styling.
(L)iquid – Use rain water or an herbal rinse to moisturize each section of hair.
(O)il – Use a carrier oil to lightly seal in the moisture. Simple oils like Coconut oil, Olive oil, or Avocado oil are all great options. You can add Castor oil or an essential oil like rosemary oil to the carrier oil for more benefits.
(C)ream – Use a natural hair butter to seal the moisture in on another level. Natural Shea butter is a great option.
Nesbug Naturals Etsy Shop has all-natural hair and body butter options available for you to purchase.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR NATURAL HAIR BUTTER!
Styling Natural Afro Hair
If hair is long enough, divide each section into several twists after sealing with oil or butter.
After sealing and twisting all sections of hair, place all twists into a loose ponytail tied with a satin scrunchie. Protect the ends of your hair by tucking the ends of all the twists up into the hair.
Wrap hair with a silk or satin bonnet or scarf… allow hair to dry while covered this way for about a day or overnight. This step ensures the moisture from wash day has time to penetrate the hair shaft more deeply while drying; so the hair will stay moisturized longer. It also allows you to gently stretch the hair if you so desire. This is a good step to take before styling your natural afro hair into updos, braids, braidouts, twistouts or twists.
Of course if you prefer to wash & go and let your fro be wild and free after sealing, go for it!!! That’s a beautiful look too. In this case you may need to lightly wash/rinse and remoisturize your natural afro hair each day to ensure your hair stays moist and less tangled. This is a great option for shorter afro hair.
Even hair that is stretched after washing and kept in twists or braids does best with a little remoisturizing and sealing a couple times during the week.
The main thing is we do have many options when it comes to styling and showcasing the beauty of our natural afro hair while caring for our bodies and enjoying a lifestyle that is all about natural healthy living.
Yours Sincerely
