3. Trying everything that’s trending
Have you heard of peer pressure? Peer pressure by definition is:
The social influence a peer group exerts on its individual members, as each member attempts to conform to the expectations of the group (Dictionary.com).
Social media is the biggest peer pressuring “bully” and we are all guilty to giving in sometimes. Specifically focusing on the natural hair community what you see trending mostly are hairstyles and methods that are usually labeled as pretty, fierce, chic, simple, easy and whatever marketing phrase used to get you to try it.
Not everything that glitters will glitter on you. Yea I know that’s not the saying but work with me here. Just because that bantu knot out looked so great on that girl does not mean you have to do it too. You don’t have to subject your hair to fit into the most popular hairstyle that everyone is doing.
Nor subject your pocket book to buy the products that everyone swears is their holy grail. Let me tell you something, a lot of those people who are holy grail-ing that product are being paid to shout it from the mountain tops. If you already have a regimen involving products and styles your hair likes and thrives on then stick to them.
Ok try something new every blue moon but always keep your foundation. Do you know why our children and even some men’s hair grows so well and strong? Their regimens are simple and minimal.
You are not doing a new style on your child’s hair every week because that’s what is trending. You are keeping it simple and minimal. If you are constantly changing with the natural hair masses then you don’t know “who is your natural?”
4. Moisturizing daily with water. Maybe you shouldn’t?
In my video “Daily Moisturizing Might Not Be For You” I discuss how moisturizing daily might be a method you should not try. When I say daily moisturizing I am referring to methods such as “wash and go” using water or water based products.
The constant saturation of water, raking of product and tedious defining might be too much wear and tear on hair that has high shrinkage. When high shrinkage hair is left open and free our strands interlock usually resulting is pesky knots and tangles.
Even if you don’t leave it free and open, our wet hair still shrinks within that braid or twist so it meshes together. That’s why when you take the braid down you experience some tangling. Speaking of tangling in my video “They Say 4c Should Not Wash and Go” tells it all.
For my nappyfu friends I went through the “wash and go” experience and I think I can confidently say it’s not for high shrinkage club members. No matter how you do it. This type of daily moisturizing is not ideal for hair that shrinks up more than 2-4 inches its true length.
You can moisturize every hour if you want but if you are a high shrinkage natural this might not be the route you want to go if healthy hair and growth is your goal. If your regimen is on point you can manage to skip a few days in between moisturizing.
Raynisha Renee Jackson says
That was a very insightful article!
MsCDweller says
I don’t know…YouTube was a godsend for me in my journey. I viewed styling videos of lots of hair types and then followed the ones that looked most like mine.
MsCDweller says
I don’t know…YouTube was a godsend for me in my journey. I viewed styling videos of lots of hair types and then followed the ones that looked most like mine.
NaturallyReena says
I think the artarticle had some good advice the rest needed to be taken with a grain of salt. To speak in such absolutes as if the writer’s opinions were facts could discourage some new naturals who simply don’t have enough experience to know better. One’s personal truth isn’t always the personal truth of another person.
NaturallyReena says
I think the artarticle had some good advice the rest needed to be taken with a grain of salt. To speak in such absolutes as if the writer’s opinions were facts could discourage some new naturals who simply don’t have enough experience to know better. One’s personal truth isn’t always the personal truth of another person.
Krysta Stovall says
I feel like I need a dictionary to understand this. As a mixed black girl who didn’t grow up with my black side of the family I don’t know a lot of terms and things like “4c” confuse me beyond belief. I really feel like I couldn’t understand what I was supposed to be learning
Kim says
If you Google “hair types” or “curly hair types” that will help you out. There might actually be a chart on this site to be honest with you.
Kim says
If you Google “hair types” or “curly hair types” that will help you out. There might actually be a chart on this site to be honest with you.
Furo Dublin-Green says
I found this article really hilarious….was laughing whilst reading it! It’s the absolute truth.
Furo Dublin-Green says
I found this article really hilarious….was laughing whilst reading it! It’s the absolute truth.
Ami Williamson says
Im a white mother of a mixed race little boy. I refuse to cut his hair because I love his curls…or what I now think would be called coils? This is all new to me and Im trying hard to learn how to properly care for his hair. It appears I have a long journey ahead of me. Wish me luck ladies 🙂
Tabatha says
This is going to be long winded and lengthy, so here we go.
I’m going to say that I’m mostly 4 type and I don’t agree with all of this article. I think that you aren’t going to know what works for your hair until you try that includes using a plethora of products and tools that you see others use whether they are your same type or not. I tried to use products that 4’s raved about. Thank GOD I kept the receipts because my hair HATED those products, so I decided to just try what I saw and amazingly enough though I have 4 type hair there are some products that work great in my hair that 3’s have raved about. To stay specifically in your type of whatever is just plain dumb. Bare in mind that since you have a specific type that some products may work better than others, but don’t take it as gospel (THAT WAS MY MISTAKE). Figure out what works for you and throw specific rules out the window. This is about learning about your hair not conforming to what people tell you that you should be doing with your hair due to your type. I love my Denuman brush especially when I’m defining my curls, it helps distribute the products through my hair (I keep it nice and slow, I don’t just rack it through) I don’t always wet my hair, but if my hair is having a hard time of parting then yeah I wet it, it helps me do my hair without having to fight with it and further adding damage. Yes my hair shrinks a lot, but my hair also gets dry FAST! Which is funny because if I wet it too much then it takes forever to dry. =)
Who is my natural? Well heck my natural is Bipolar. One day it loves cream, next it likes oil. It does the same through all seasons because in CA there isn’t that much of difference when it comes to the weather and the seasons. One day I’ll try this method with my hair next time my hair may not want that method, so I’ll switch it up. I’m flexible. People need to be patient and flexible. I see this article POSSIBLY upsetting and POSSIBLY intimidating newer naturals which really when it comes down to it, you make your own rules, you buy your own products (no matter what brand or what’s in it. If it works then it works). But it is a good thing to follow someone that has close to your type hair because it does give you the realistic idea of what your hair will look like. I follow Naptural85, BUT I have gotten a lot of hairstyles and tricks from girls that are no where near my type, but their styles were doable and sometimes quicker and/or easier to do.
So that’s my 2 cents and my experience.
Tabatha says
This is going to be long winded and lengthy, so here we go.
I’m going to say that I’m mostly 4 type and I don’t agree with all of this article. I think that you aren’t going to know what works for your hair until you try that includes using a plethora of products and tools that you see others use whether they are your same type or not. I tried to use products that 4’s raved about. Thank GOD I kept the receipts because my hair HATED those products, so I decided to just try what I saw and amazingly enough though I have 4 type hair there are some products that work great in my hair that 3’s have raved about. To stay specifically in your type of whatever is just plain dumb. Bare in mind that since you have a specific type that some products may work better than others, but don’t take it as gospel (THAT WAS MY MISTAKE). Figure out what works for you and throw specific rules out the window. This is about learning about your hair not conforming to what people tell you that you should be doing with your hair due to your type. I love my Denuman brush especially when I’m defining my curls, it helps distribute the products through my hair (I keep it nice and slow, I don’t just rack it through) I don’t always wet my hair, but if my hair is having a hard time of parting then yeah I wet it, it helps me do my hair without having to fight with it and further adding damage. Yes my hair shrinks a lot, but my hair also gets dry FAST! Which is funny because if I wet it too much then it takes forever to dry. =)
Who is my natural? Well heck my natural is Bipolar. One day it loves cream, next it likes oil. It does the same through all seasons because in CA there isn’t that much of difference when it comes to the weather and the seasons. One day I’ll try this method with my hair next time my hair may not want that method, so I’ll switch it up. I’m flexible. People need to be patient and flexible. I see this article POSSIBLY upsetting and POSSIBLY intimidating newer naturals which really when it comes down to it, you make your own rules, you buy your own products (no matter what brand or what’s in it. If it works then it works). But it is a good thing to follow someone that has close to your type hair because it does give you the realistic idea of what your hair will look like. I follow Naptural85, BUT I have gotten a lot of hairstyles and tricks from girls that are no where near my type, but their styles were doable and sometimes quicker and/or easier to do.
So that’s my 2 cents and my experience.
charvyshair says
I think some really good ideas are mentioned here but I rather disagree with #1. To me, that implies that going natural is some scientific intellectual process that you have to fully educate yourself on ahead of time if you want to be successful. Sort of like “make sure first you are smart enough to be the real you.” Hmmm. Not feeling that at all. Plus, tackling all of that pre-research may cause some to become so overwhelmed that they conclude the journey is not worth the effort. And that will so rob them of a wonderful experience. That being said, I do believe it would be helpful to seek advice from someone you know personally who is natural (we probably all know someone among friends, family, workmates, etc.), to get tips and perhaps personal guidance.
TrinNY says
This is one of the best no I’ll say the best article I’ve read on natural hair. Thank you