Moisturize Natural Hair, Natural Hair Care
“In the crown and top of my head my hair is curly and it keeps moisture well. On the other hand, the sides and the back are really kinky. It’s so dry in those areas. What can I do to help keep the moisture and shine? I know it won’t be a curly as the top but I would like for it to look just as healthy.”
There is often a learning curve with handling more than one texture of natural hair and learning how to keep them both equally moisturized. There are a few things you can do to make taking care of your hair easier and much more enjoyable. Here are 10 expert tips on how you can manage natural hair with different textures.
HOW TO MANAGE NATURAL HAIR WITH DIFFERENT TEXTURES
First, make sure that you fully understand how to moisturize natural hair, so pause here and go read: Moisture 101: The Ultimate Guide To Moisturizing All Natural Hair Textures. The most important part to learning how to manage natural hair with different textures and keep moisture in two textures of natural hair is first understanding moisture and how to properly moisturize natural hair.
PAY ATTENTION TO WHICH PARTS OF YOUR HAIR NEED MORE OR LESS MOISTURE
As for your hair care routine, let’s say you wash and condition your hair and then finish with a light leave-in. You still may find that one texture or section of your natural hair is fine after this step but soon after, the other/opposite section is dry as a bone. That’s a sign that your moisture steps are not working for that section. To address this effectively, ask yourself: “Should I be adding a heavier leave-in to my other textures?” or “Do I need to seal with oil?” Simply, just playing around with the textures of hair that are not responding to the way you treat your overall head is the answer to multi texture moisture woes. You may even find that by finding the correct product that’s marketed to work on your kinkier texture works for your entire head.
FIND THE PERFECT LEAVE-IN THAT WORKS WITH YOUR MULTIPLE TEXTURES OF NATURAL HAIR
With a great leave-in conditioner, you can take over the world! Okay, maybe not, but you can start to see a difference in your hair really quickly. From your frizzy curls being smooth to your hair feeling softer and more manageable. You may not need a leave-in depending on which creams you use to style your hair, but we think a leave-in is a must for those of us with multiple textures. There are few really good ones at the drugstore that you can start with. See: Moisturizing Drugstore Leave-In Conditioners You May Have Missed
BE SURE TO USE A DEEP CONDITIONER THAT HAS A LOT OF SLIP TO PREVENT TANGLES
When your conditioner has a lot of slip, you don’t have to worry about ripping your hair out when you detangle. Having multiple textures of hair means that your risk for ripping your hair out could increase especially if you have a mixture of fine and coarse hair as well as kinky and curly to wavy hair. Be gentle when you comb or brush your hair. How To Properly Brush Wet Curly Hair (A.K.A. How To Not Rip Your Hair Out) and Combs 101: The Best Combs For Your Curly Hair are great places to start with tips.
BLEND YOUR MULTIPLE TEXTURES BY SETTING YOUR HAIR IN UNIFORM CURLS
When you want to mix things up and have uniform curls, you have a few options. You can do a wet roller set or curl your hair after blowdrying it. If you are struggling to get your hair to hold a curl, be sure to read our easy hacks and tricks in: 8 Simple Beauty Hacks For Getting Your Straight Hair To Hold And Keep A Curl
DON’T GET FRUSTRATED WITH YOUR HAIR
It’s easy to get frustrated with not knowing what to do with multiple textures of natural hair. And you may not find success overnight because you will have to tweak as you go along, but you will find that if you stick to a moisture plan to address your issues, you’ll get to where you want to be with your natural hair. If you think you’re too hard on your hair or if your hair is not “growing” like you want it too, see Six Ways You Are Destroying Your Hair “By Accident” And How To Stop Right Now and Girl Stop! 7 Bad Hair Habits To Finally Break For Your Healthiest Hair for tips on how to get the hair you want.
BE GENTLE IF YOU HAVE A TENDER SCALP
Having a sensitive scalp, thick hair and or multiple textures can be a nightmare if you are not gentle with your hair. Slow down! Your hair does not have to be the enemy. Read, How To Easily Manage Your Thick Natural Hair When Your Have A Sensitive Scalp for really easy tips for how to manage natural hair with different textures.
DON’T LET FRIZZ OVERWHELM YOU
Headed to a special event and need your hair to act right? We feel you. Sometimes, hairspray and a really good frizz serum is your friend. Sometimes that’s all you need (plus this little trick) to keep frizz at bay.
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR MULTIPLE TEXTURES OF HAIR
As for shine, kinkier textures of hair traditionally does not have shine – and that’s because of how the hair strand is curled and kinked in structure. Kinkier hair often has sheen but not much shine on average. However, once you get your hair properly moisturized, you will see a difference in the sheen of your hair and how it reflects light because dull, dry hair does not. By sealing your hair with olive oil, you can get that shine you want and add a healthy product to it all at the same time. Not sure what oil to use or hate olive or coconut oil? Check out: Not In Love With The Coco? Here Are 8 Equally Great Alternatives
CELEBRATE YOUR HAIR AND MULTIPLE HAIR TEXTURES
We often spend so much time trying to change what we have to make it “better” when it’s already great. Yes, there are a few things you can do to make sure your natural hair is healthy and vibrant but don’t overlook the fact that probably perfect just the way it is — multiple textures and all.
