If you’ve started your natural hair journey, welcome to the club. Or, if you’ve been natural for a while and simply struggling with maintenance, you’re also not alone. At the end of the day, being natural is a beautiful thing. It’s a way to honor your roots and show off your crown. But, it’s okay to also need a little support along the journey to keeping it healthy.
Thankfully, experts Scott Miller, owner of Elevate Salon And Spa; Dr. Ross Kopelman, a hair transplant surgeon at Kopelman Hair Restoration; and Quia Querisma, owner of Quia Querisma Beauty, are here to make our lives easier. “Natural hair is history,” Miller reminds ESSENCE. “It’s personal care and not just defined as textured, it’s the sweet essence of self love,” she says.
Below, find their top tips and tricks for making the natural hair journey easier.
How do I decide which shape works for me?
Natural hair can be styled in various ways to compliment your face shape and enhance your facial structure and features, whether worn in an afro, twists, braids or other styles. With natural hair, Querisma notes that working with a trusted beauty professional can “help you determine which styles best suit your face as well as your lifestyle.”
What are tips to keep natural hair healthy?
With proper care, natural hair can stay strong via moisturizing regularly, and avoiding excessive heat or harsh chemicals. Querisma and Miller recommend moisturizing the hair, protecting it with a silk scarf and pillowcase at night, and massaging your scalp daily. These tips will reduce dryness, breakage and also stimulate blood flow to support hair growth.
Additionally, to keep your natural hair healthy, make sure to get regular trims. Miller recommends getting a trim or cut every month and a half. “Don’t go more than two months without cutting it, as it starts to break from the bottom,” Miller says. Aside from this, for those who dye their hair or have coarse or fine hair, you can benefit from using a clarifying shampoo, hydrating shampoo, hydrating conditioner, and hair mask.
What about when it comes to protective styles and natural hair?
Querisma and Dr. Kopelman also notes to not use braids, wigs, and extensions as a crutch to neglect your natural hair. “In between styles, the hair should be cleansed, deep conditioned, and given a strengthening treatment,” Querisma says. “It’s to give your natural hair a break with low heat and low manipulation styles in between protective styles.”
What should one do for natural hair daily?
Miller recommends doing a daily pH check on your hair. “Know the signs of what your hair needs,” Miller says. “If the ends no longer curl up, add moisture. If the roots are oily or the hair is limp, add dry shampoo.”
What’s an easy wash-day routine?
On a typical natural hair wash day, the routine may involve multiple steps depending on the hair type. Start by wetting the hair and using a sulfate-free shampoo to cleanse the scalp and hair without stripping the natural oils. Follow this with a conditioner to hydrate and detangle the hair. If you prefer co-washing, utilize a deep conditioning treatment to nourish and strengthen the hair. Rinse thoroughly with cool water, as this temperature helps to seal the hair cuticle. Finally, apply a leave-in conditioner or moisturizer to maintain hair hydration, and use an oil to lock in moisture and protect the hair.
For curly and wavy hair, Miller recommends, after cleansing the hair, to use products like curl creams, leave-in conditioners, and gels that “encourage the natural curl pattern or wave of the hair.”
What are my other options?
There are other components to your natural hair. “The hair doesn’t have to be styled and worn in its natural state,” Querisma said. “‘Straight natural refers to people who have not chemically changed their hair texture, and prefer to wear a silk press.’”