Happy Sunday Lovies,
As requested today's blog will be about NATURAL HAIR. Lol. I read the comments and messages so I shall give you what you asked for. With that said, I am NOT a natural hair guru. I do NOT have all of the answers to your questions nor will I pretend that I do. I am simply going to provide you with information that I have found helpful along my 5 years of being natural.
First thing first, I did not transition. I did the big chop. Mostly because I am impatient and I just feel like there is something extremely liberating about chopping all of your hair off. Lol. Then again, most of you know this about me. In all honestly, there is no wrong or right way to go about this. It really is just your own personal preference. So do what works for you. If you plan on transitioning you might want to seek advice from someone else because I know absolutely nothing about the process, considering the fact that I didn't use this method. For me, I encourage everyone to BC. It just makes the whole experience more fun.
Secondly, my most important rule of thumb is to find out your hair porosity. Hair porosity simply means the hair's ability to observe and hold moisture. Low porosity hair tends to have a tightly bound cuticle layer with overlapping scales that lay flat. This type of hair is usually considered the most healthy and it is very shiny. Low porosity hair repels moisture when you try to wet it and it is hard to process since it resists penetration of chemicals. Low porosity hair is prone to build up from rich deep conditioners. If you have low porosity hair you should stick to protein free, daily conditioners with products such as glycerin or honey in them. Low porosity hair requires moisturizers that have shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil and mineral oil. Choose lighter, liquid-based products such as hair milks because these won't sit on your hair and leave it oily and greasy.
Medium porosity hair requires the least amount of maintenance. The hair cuticle is looser, so it allows just the right amount of moisture to enter while preventing too much from escaping. Hair with medium porosity tends to hold styles longer. Deep condition occasionally with proteins, but do not include them in your daily regimen.
Lastly, high porosity hair has gasps and holes in the cuticles, which let too much moisture into your hair and leave it prone to frizz and tangling. Use anti-humectants (must not possess molecular traits that cause it to attract water molecules to itself and it is water repellent, which means insoluble to water) this will seal your damaged cuticles and prevent them from absorbing excess moisture in the air. High porosity hair tends to lose moisture quickly, so it's important to use a leave in conditioner, a moisturizer, and a sealer. By layering these products you are helping your hair hold on to the moisture you're giving it.
There are two methods that can be used in order to determine your hair's porosity and that is by doing the float test (which is the method I prefer) and the slip'n'slide test. With the float test you will need to take a couple strands of hair from your comb or brush and drop them into a bowl of water. Let them sit for 2-4 minutes. If your hair floats, you have low porosity hair. If it sinks, you have high porosity hair. If it stays in the middle, meaning it neither floats nor sinks, you have medium porosity hair.
The second method involves taking a strand of hair and sliding your fingers up the shaft (towards the scalp). If you feel little bumps along the way, this means that your hair cuticle is lifted and that you have high porosity hair. If your fingers slip smoothly, then you have low porosity hair.
Knowing your hairs porosity is the most important step in your natural hair journey. This determines what products will and will not work on your hair. It determines what reaction your hair will have to certain climates and humidity. This is going to be your best friend. So I encourage you all, if you don't know your hair porosity find out as soon as possible. It will make your natural hair journey sooooo much easier.
I hope this helps you out a little. Again, this is only the beginning. I will address curl pattern, coloring and dying, what products I use, the curly girl method, the LOC and LCO method etc in later blogs. This is just the basics and the start to a healthy natural hair journey.
Mwah,
Moeneak
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