The Smart Guide to African Hair Care

Artist - art_sabe

If you read our post last month then I'm sure you may be wondering what more can you do to keep your hair healthy and growing. This month we look at a few steps you can take to keep great hair. If you want to understand how hair grows then look at the previous post; click the link below to see the post.

https://adonmu.blogspot.com/2020/05/understanding-your-hair.html

First Step - Know your Hair Type:

Hair Type can be sub-classified based on the following

  • Texture - Your hair is either Thin, Thick, Curly, Wavy or Kinky
  • Feel - is it Dry, Normal or Oily?
  • Porosity (How much water it can absorb) - High, Low or Medium porosity
  • prone to dandruff.

On an average, African hair is thin, curly, dry and more fragile. It's also a great idea to know and understand your scalp : is it Oily, Dry or normal. Is it sensitive such that it tends to get easily irritated, or it reacts to products you put on the scalp?

These information is vital to guiding you on your specific hair care routine. We will be focusing on African Hair Type in this post.

Hair is made up of three major layers of dead cells, with the outer layer being the cuticle. The cuticle itself starts off with about 6 to 10 layers that overlap each other, at an angle, and can break off to expose the inner layer - we DON'T want that. The more the layers of cuticle break off, the more damaged hair becomes. Since the hair cells are dead, most damage done to hair cannot be repaired, they can only be managed.

What Causes Damage to Hair?

Hair can get damaged from Chemical or Mechanical conditions. 
Mechanical Damage is basically damage caused by friction, when the hair gets stressed from combing, stretching, heating, curling, tight braids, or when the hair strands rub against each other.
Chemical Damage is damage done when the chemistry of the hair is changed from the use of harsh haircare products like perming and dyeing.

To keep your hair happy, reduce the instances it is put to the above condition. Use gentle haircare products that reduce friction, nourish the hair strands by penetrating the follicles, and protecting the hair by providing an outer layer that seals in this nourishment.

So what practical steps should you take to care for your African hair without so much stress?


Pugtha "Comb EZ" Leave-in Hair Conditioner Spray

Un-styling and Grooming Your Hair

When your hair is styled, either plaited, woven, braided etc, you should reduce putting strain on it when the time comes to loosen the style.
Start off by wetting the hair a bit to reduce friction and use your fingers to loosen any tangles. Using a spray conditioner here works best - try our "Comb EZ" hair spray.
After working out tangles, use a large toothed comb to comb the hair out, and apply some moisturizer or oil to keep the hair happy :D.
This step is basically your pre-poo routine, which reduces the chances of damage to hair during a wash. Now you're ready for the next step - shampooing.

Washing Your Hair

Use only shampoos made for your hair type, as well as scalp type. Generally for African hair, look for mild and gentle shampoos for dry hair. Keep these in mind:


  • Do NOT wash your hair everyday, wash about once a week, or once in 2 weeks. Too much washing strips the hair of the needed oils that keep it in good shape.
  • Use a conditioner for your hair type, a leave-in conditioner works better for African hair.
  • When drying your hair, do not rub the towel into your hair, you tend to break off the cuticles or hair strands them self. Gently pat the hair with the towel, and leave to air-dry.
  • Apply some hair moisturizer or oil after conditioning to seal in the moisture. Depending on your hair’s porosity (high porosity hair looses nutrient quickly) you may need to oil your hair about 2 to 3 times a week to keep it moisturized and healthy.
  • Avoid excessive heat styling (hot blow drying, curling/straightening iron etc). This causes damage to the hair strands.

Pugtha "African Gold" Natural Oils



Styling

When styling your hair, avoid anything that will add friction to it: so avoid tight braids, excessive combing and brushing, etc. Generally speaking, avoid anything that will cause pulling and stretching of the hair
Use wide-toothed combs to work out any tangles. You can dampen the hair a bit ("Comb EZ" works really well here) to reduce friction when combing.
When adding oils or butters to your hair, work from the roots to the tips, massaging your scalp as you go to stimulate the hair follicles, and thus stimulate growth. Do this at least once a week.
Products you can use to moisturize your hair are our "Butter Supreme" and "African Gold".

Pugtha "Butter Supreme"

Other Good-Stuff for Your Hair

Our hair covering also plays a role in the health of our hair, some assist the overall condition of our hair while some cause harm to our hair.
Its best to moisturize your hair when you will not be going out so you have time to allow the moisture seep into the hair. Cover your hair with a silk scarf or cap after moisturizing and keep it covered for at least 30 minutes. The scarf will work with your body temperature to assist this step and it will not absorb the needed moisture, unlike cotton and other fabric scarves and caps.
Sleep on satin pillows or wear a satin hair bonnet to prevent drying out and crushing your hair while sleeping.
Trim the ends of the hair regularly (at least once or twice a month) to remove any damage and encourage growth.

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