Are we hair snobs in the natural hair community?  After all, the bulk of us have had a relaxer experience at least one point in our lives otherwise there would be no such thing as a natural hair journey. In fact many of us even share the experience of begging our moms to allow us to get a relaxer so we wouldn’t have to deal with those dreaded detangling sessions. Yet many of us still continue to come off as though we are on some pedestal now that we are natural.

I know for me I could care less what any woman chooses to do to her hair. All women are beautiful no matter what they choose to do relaxed or natural.  However two things do annoy me.

1. Statements  like, “Well you have that good hair, that’s why natural hair looks good on you” or “I wouldn’t look right with natural hair, you have the face for it”. These statements automatically lead me to believe that the person has just been brainwashed to think this way and although I find it ignorant it doesn’t make me look down on them.
2. Black women who demean women with natural hair by calling them “Nappy Headed Hoes”- Nicki Minaj. While I will still bump a Nicki track because I like her music this statement was utter garbage. Everyone takes it so lightly when members of our community spew this ignorance but when someone like Don Imus does it all hell breaks lose. This shouldn’t be okay for anyone especially our own people.

For those who have been use to wearing their hair relaxed or straightened this is not a process that is going to happen overnight. It’s a big change from what you are use to seeing in the mirror and if you are new to the whole experience finding a way to make it work for your specific look can be challenging. When you have others around you who are not understanding of your decision to go natural and you still have unsure feelings this makes things even more complicated.

Two things will help you along your journey as a new natural. Being comfortable with your decision to go natural without regard of what others think and mastering your hair care routine. Once you are comfortable with who you are, you have learned how to keep your hair healthy, and how to style it others will notice this as well.

When I first went natural to be honest I was not too fond of it. Although my relaxed hair was thinned out and breaking I didn’t want to let go of my brittle strands. As my Aunt chopped away my scrawny strands I cried even though this is what I had requested. For whatever reason, in my younger years I always equated my hair with my femininity and with each strand that fell away from my head I felt as though it were escaping me.

During my beginning stages I had not a clue as to what to do with my hair and as soon as my hair reached a length where I was able to put it in a ponytail, I clung to my ponytail weave. After some thought, I grew tired of clinging to my weaves and I grew tired of feeling like I needed them in order to look good.

Losing some of my hair to a weave accident didn’t help too much either. Matter of fact, it was probably one of my defining moments where I knew that for me, weaving my hair up on a consistent basis was no longer an option.

From that point on I was happy sporting my natural hair styles and some of the ignorant comments that I got here or there didn’t mean much. Besides all the people of importance in my life loved and were in support my look so for me that was all that mattered.

While I do not mind wearing a weave as a protective style from time to time or pressing my hair for something different I do not have to or feel the need to do this to look beautiful. No matter how I choose to wear my hair as long as it looks good I am cool.

According to Naturallycurly.com, “A 2010 study of 100 African-American women found that there was a correlation between women who sport natural hairstyles and high self-confidence (“self-esteem”)”. Call us bougie if you want, but natural women are just proud of who they are and although hair is not our defining aspect our self acceptance plays a major role.

Whenever any heat appliance is used on your hair it depletes your hair of moisture and alters its bond. So is heat training a form of heat damage? Yes, however the damage that you experience is minimal compared to if you were simply over using heat on your hair on a consistent basis. Since the usage of the heat used during heat training is gradual the effects are less detrimental.

Many naturals who have pressed their hair and then continue to wear their hair in its natural state may notice those few straight strands that dangle among your curls. Unfortunately even with the application of heat protectants nothing can be done about this when you use high heat on your hair. To prevent this from happening you may want to instead use a lower heat on your hair and even still there will be a possibility that your texture will be altered. However with a lower heat setting the change will most likely be not as drastic and may simply loosen your curl pattern.

Now there are many naturals like me that cannot stand those straight ends when they rock their curls so if this is you, reduce the temperature of the heat when you press your hair. For those who enjoy wearing their hair straight regularly but do not want to use chemicals heat training is an alternative. You just have to be mindful that you want to space out the time that you use heat styling tools on your hair, for example every 2 to 3 weeks, this is not an every day application of heat.

Brittany of the My Beauty Marc Channel Explains More

1. Be Selective in the Products that You Use

Some products like sulfate shampoos are not safe for usage on color-treated hair because they strip the hair of too much moisture and your color-treated hair is already thirsty. Stay away from sulfate shampoos and when purchasing shampoos or conditioners make sure that they state they are safe for usage on color-treated hair.

2. Increase Your Deep Conditioning

After you have dyed your hair you are going to want to deep condition at least once a week. Make sure you are deep conditioning with a quality conditioner that is meant for deep conditioning otherwise you are not going to get optimal results. Bargain conditioners like Suave are great for a quick rinse out conditioner or even for usage as a leave-in however, they are not effective deep conditioners. Brands like Giovanni or BioInfusion are great starting points. Try to use them with a sit under dryer, if you cannot do this, then leave on the conditioner  for 35 to 40 minutes.

3. No Hot Water

Not only will hot water fade out your color, it will dry out your hair. For shampooing and conditioning use cool to luke warm water. If you haven’t tried this already you are going to see a big difference in the way your hair feels afterward and how much more moisture you are able to retain.

4. Protein Treatments

Protein treatments help to re-pair the protein that you have lost during you color treating process. Just remember to avoid protein overload because this will result in dry breaking hair as well. Try using a reconstructor after the second week that you have colored your hair and wait a couple a months before you reapply this treatment. Once you have applied protein treatments they stay on the hair for a few weeks so there is no need to overload your with this product.

Our Nap Photo of the Week,  Nkissinsi shows off a beautiful twisted locked natural hair style.

Here is what our feature has to say,

“This corkscrew look is one created by my mother, I love my hair this way!”- Nkissinsi

Nkissinsi’s two-toned twisted do looks amazing and makes for a great protective hair style. Although she has locs, you can accomplish this look  by simply two strand twisting  your hair and for a curled look similar to hers you can bantu knot your twists, braid them, or curl them with rollers.

Her color gives her skin an exceptional glow and it looks absolutely incredible. Ladies, you can dye your hair just remember to care for it because color-treated hair can suffer from hair breakage without the proper precautions. Try to work in deep conditioning treatments weekly, add protein treatments to your regimen if necessary, ditch sulfate shampoos, and cool water rinses preserve your color as well as your hair’s moisture.

If you would like to be featured as Nap Photo of the Week, use our contact page, send Black Naps a clear picture of your hairstyle, your name, where you are from, and tell us about your style. (Feel free to include your website info as well).

View Cyndal, Our Previous Nap Photo of the Week.

Water is one of the best sources of moisture there is for our hair yet many of us still fear it will cause dryness. There are 3 reasons why you may think that water is drying out your hair and it isn’t always necessarily the usage of water alone.

Cut down the heat

Dousing your hair with water that is too hot takes away from the moisture that you could have retained. Try turning down the temperature to cool or lukewarm water instead for both washing and conditioning. For those who are use to using hot water, when you make this change you are going to see a big difference in the softness of your hair after your cleansing and conditioning routine.

You may have a hard water problem

Unfortunately some of us reside in areas where the quality of our water is not so great. Hard water leaves mineral deposits on our hair which leads to dryness and hair breakage. You have two options when it comes to this issue. To solve your hard water problem you can get a shower filter to purify your water or you can purchase chelating shampoo to treat your hair.

It’s not the water, it’s your shampoo

While sulfate shampoos may be useful for removing product buildup consistent usage can lead to dry hair and an itchy scalp. If you don’t want to completely eliminate sulfate shampoos from your hair care regimen, reduce your usage of these products to once or twice a month at the maximum.

You would think that because our hair is so dry there is no such thing as over moisturizing your hair but there is. When your hair is over moisturized you suffer from hair breakage just like you do when your hair has experienced dryness. However, there are certain symptoms that let you know that over moisturizing is the cause.

• Hair that feels too soft
• The hair feels limp or gummy
• Even when you are gently manipulating the hair it breaks off easily

As with anything in life too much of a good thing can be damaging for the health of your hair. Hair that is constantly kept in a wet state or over conditioned may suffer as a result. What hair needs is a balance of protein products and moisturing products.

After balancing the use of these two different products in your hair care with proper application you will see a change in the health of your hair. If you were to over use protein products you would have hair breakage as a result, only instead of soft gummy hair you will end up with dry hair that feels rigid, and breaks with the slightest touch.

Keep in mind the differences between a protein product and a moisturizer. True moisturizer’s have water listed as their first ingredient and have humectants such as glycerin included to aid in moisturizing your hair as well.  A protein product may come in the form of a reconstructive treatment or a conditioner and includes proteins in its ingredient list, some examples include amino acids, soy protein, or milk protein.

Happy Birthday Cyndal : ),

Cyndal is our Nap Photo of the Week, here is what our lovely feature has to say,

“This was my hairstyle for my recent birthday. I have it styled in a fro-hawk.I am using two great products;Shea Moisture’s ‘Curl Enhancing Smoothie’ & also Queen Helene’s All Natural ‘Royal Curl Shaping Creme’!” – Cyndal

The frohawk is one of my all time favorite natural hair styles because its an awesome look that is fairly easy to achieve. Many people opt to use cornrows to accomplish this look, but for those who are not advanced braiders the best route is doing a simple yet elegant pinup such as this.

For curl definition twist or braid your hair. Then simply shape the sides of your hair as if it were a mohawk and pin your sides in place with bobby pins. For an extra special touch add in one of your favorite accessories like Cyndal’s flower as shown above.

Thank you for sharing your style with us Cyndal!

If you would like to be featured as Nap Photo of the Week, use our contact page, send Black Naps a clear picture of your hairstyle, your name, where you are from, and tell us about your style. (Feel free to include your website info as well).

View Kaky Moody, our previous Nap Photo of the Week.

Another reason why you may experience dryness is the over usage of protein products. Protein treatments work best on hair that is already damaged and porous (dry not retaining  moisture).  When used on hair that does not require protein treatments you are left with dry hair and unfortunately hair breakage.

After protein treatments are applied they continue to work for 4 to 6 weeks after the application, so there would be no need to apply it on your hair the next week for example. Extending the time to apply your next treatment, evaluating whether your hair actually needs the treatment, and following up with conditioning should reduce dryness issues.

Just like with anything else, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. You can over moisturize your hair, over heat it, and you can certainly over kill it with protein treatments. Make sure everything that you do for your hair is done in moderation to keep your hair healthy and balanced.

Mistakenly some people believe that oil is a moisturizer and some oils are also advertised as moisturizing when this simply isn’t so. The purpose that oil plays in your hair care regimen is that it works as a sealant.

Many of us complain of wetting our hair and moisturizing it only for the moisture to leave as soon as we seem to put it in our hair.  This is where the use of oil comes in. After applying a water based moisturizer, the oil is used as a final measure to prevent the moisture you just applied to your hair from leaving.

How long your hair will stay moisturized depends on your hair type, the weather (whether its hot or cold), the type of moisturizer used, and the type of oil that you used. You also have to keep in mind the natural look and texture of your natural hair. Kinky textures may appear as if they look dry but when you touch it, it may feel soft meaning that your in good shape, its just how your hair looks.

Mineral Oil and Petroleum are both highly criticized in the natural hair community. However, even though they are cheap oils and there other oils that you can choose from, if it were used to seal moisture into your hair it would get the job done.

As far as using it on your scalp you may not want to use these products because the thick layer that they create to prevent moisture from getting out may clog your pores. If you have a moisturizer or a styling product that works well for you and it contains mineral oil or petroleum then you do not have to toss it just because they contain these oils.

Just remember that a quality moisturizer will list water as its first ingredient and if it contains mineral oil or petroleum then it should be further down on the ingredient list.