Natural hair is a beautiful thing, but it can be hard to maintain. Particularly, if your natural texture has become a part of your life, you will face so many challenges that come with maintaining healthy locks. So, What’s the natural hair? How to do natural hair care? If you’re transitioning relaxed or permed hair to natural, you should know why natural hair is important? And what is considered natural hair?
This blog post will give you a detailed idea about natural hair tips for beginners, including shedding or trimming tips, straightening tips, etc. Whether you want to go completely natural or transition gradually, several things should do before embarking on this journey. So, if you don’t want to miss out on this awesome information, just have a look at this article.
What Is Considered Natural Hair?
The natural hair market is growing rapidly. Significantly, women of all ages choose to go natural for their own reasons. But as the trend grows in popularity, more and more misinformation about what’s best for your hair has been spreading.
Because this is a question, many people in the natural hair community do not seem to answer. There are too many different answers and opinions on what natural hair is.
The most common definition given for natural hair normally refers to hair that has not been processed in any way, such as relaxed or permed. However, when you discuss this topic with others, they will say that straightened hair is also natural. Because for straightening hot combs or straighteners used there is no extra chemical used. But this should not be an issue.
The thing is, does natural hair mean black hair?
Does Natural Hair Mean Black Hair?
The answer is No. Natural hair doesn’t mean only black hair. As most natural black hairstyles are available, people think about black hair. In reality, it’s not a racial term. Naturals come in all sorts of colors and shades. From platinum blonde to jet black and dark browns to strawberry blonde.
Natural hair simply means you do not use a chemical to alter your texture. It defines mostly by textures. Moreover, natural hair can be long or short in length. Kinky, curly, wavy, and even coily in the pattern.
Now, start with the most important point about natural hair care. How much is shedding normal for black hair?
How Much Natural Hair Shedding Is Normal/ How Much Shedding Is Normal for Black Hair?
It is a question asked many times. Some have even gone to extremes in search of an answer. However, there are no scientific proofs or studies that can give us the definitive answer.
We know that all hair grows from a single root, and it follows a cycle of growth & shedding. It works on a three-stage process called ‘Anagen,’ ‘Catagen,’ and ‘Telogen.’
In the first phase, the hair begins its journey through ‘Anagen’ and continues for 2-6 years, depending on length & skin area affected. This is the growth phase.
The second phase of hair growth is ‘Catagen.’ Here, your hair undergoes a rest, entering its ‘Telogen’ phase. It’s in this final stage, and about 10-15% of all hairs are shed each day. That’s why this is called the “shedding” phase. New hairs then replace these.
For most people with healthy scalp and hair, their follicles make up for all the lost hairs during telogen shedding, and new ones replace them until you reach maximum density. So, it does not depend on the hair color.
So stop that you can think of trimming your hair on regular basics. Yet, how often to trim natural hair for maximum growth? Let’s know about this:
How Often Should Natural Hair be Trimmed?
Cutting off damaged areas every six (6) weeks will keep the ends healthy without sacrificing length if you want your tresses much shorter than trim monthly once at the salon. In this way, you can give yourself regular trims at home utilizing proper tools and techniques.
To maintain healthy ends after cutting them, you must make the conscious choice to keep your hair moisturized, nourished, and tangle-free. For this, you can follow below:
- Use a wide-toothed comb every time you wash your hair to avoid tangles, resulting in snags and breakage.
- Apply your favorite deep conditioner weekly to infuse moisture into dry ends without weighing down your roots or making your scalp oily.
- Apply for heat protection before blow-drying or styling with hot tools such as air drying.
- Ok. Now think about black hair only as it becomes dry quickly.
How Often Should You Trim Black Hair?
Black hair can be an additional challenge because of its texture. It is very porous and absorbs water quickly, and is susceptible to dryness. Also, it grows much more slowly than other hair types.
But, the black hair growth cycle tends to last longer than another Asian ethnicity. That’s why it can lead to split ends and breakage if not properly cared for. So, usually, 6 weeks of trimming is normal for black hair, but you can do trimming earlier for proper hair growth.
How Many Times to Wash Natural Black Hair?
People ask this question all the time, how often should you wash your natural hair? It really depends on the lifestyle of each individual. You may need to wash more or less than someone else.
The only way to know is through trial because everyone’s hair has different needs. The best way to know when your hair starts looking dry, dull, or dirty. Another factor is that the number of times you have to shampoo your hair depends on several factors. Your water pH, the type of shampoos, and conditioners you are using.
Remember, washing and moisturizing go hand in hand. In general, it recommends washing natural black hair twice a week. However, If the hair has braids, twists, or extensions, it is recommended to increase it three times.
Just remember, excessive shampooing leads to scalp irritation which results in damage to the hair.
How Often Should Natural Hair Be Straightened?
There is no concrete answer to that question. It all depends on your hair texture, type, and lifestyle. Some people only go for the flat iron every 4 months. At the same time, others straighten their hair every 8 weeks or even more often. There isn’t a right or wrong answer to how often you should straighten natural hair.
The most important thing is to make sure you protect your hair with heat protection. Use different sprays/serums or by wearing a satin cap when using heat on your nappy tresses. Apart from this, there are some
variables that you need to consider before deciding how often you will be straitening your natural hair:
- The frequency of washing the hair.
- If you have tight braids or protective styles.
- If your hair is curl pattern in some sections of the head.
Even after taking precautions, your natural hair may get damaged. Let’s see how?
Can Natural Hair Be Damaged?
Natural hair has its own unique texture, for example, kinky. For this reason, natural hair can sometimes need to straighten. Straightening is also called relaxing or pressing.
It’s important to understand that any sort of heat tool damages the hair, including pressing combs and blow dryers. Heat tools cause damage because they “dry out” the hair. It means using heat tools. There will be less moisture in the hair strands. It means more tangling and breakage when brushing after product application.
The downside of straightening your hair is that the process of heat damage destroys protein bonds and hairs cuticles. It can leave you with brittle, dull, and weak hair.
Another way of hair damage is too much combing and brushing. Because combing with high tension can cause even more damage. So, to get hair beauty, we should stop hair damage, and hair shedding as our hair starts growing faster.
How Can I Stop My Natural Hair From Shedding?
It is a very common question, and many people find that they shed more hair after transitioning from relaxed to natural. It is most likely due to the fact that you are starting with healthier, stronger hair.
From the history of natural hair, it starts to lose its elasticity when your hair grows older and becomes dryer. When this happens, it can cause your hair to become brittle or break. At that time, if it does not moisturize enough, it results in shedding more hair.
So, if you have never done deep conditioning before transitioning, start now. Moisturizing regularly should minimize abnormal shedding after transitioning almost completely. As stated before, try adding some important oils like coconut oil or avocado oil into your conditioner for added benefit. Coconut water helps retain moisture as well.
Natural hair must be treated in a number of protective ways. Specifically, leave-in conditioners, moisturizers, oils, deep conditioning treatments.
The hair growth cycle can be observed by looking at your scalp to see if your hair is on a healthy trajectory. Natural hair can be easily cared for provided you are informed about the subject. Shedding can be an issue if not examined properly. This article can guide you through the potential pitfalls of caring for natural hair. If you have an additional issue with natural hair and would like for us to provide an article for you, leave your comments here.
Lastly, check out the mane caper shop.