Making mistakes with your natural hair is inevitable, but you should learn from them and avoid making the same mistakes again. Whether you’ve always had natural hair or are reverting to your naturally curly hair or 4c hair, there’s always something new to learn about caring for it. So, to assist you in maintaining the healthiest possible state of your lovely natural hair journey, we’ve compiled a list of ten common natural hair mistakes to avoid during the process.
1. Not Knowing How To Moisturize Your Hair
Moisture is essential for healthy hair development. If you don’t know how to moisturize and keep moisture in your hair, it will suffer as a result.
Moisturizing isn’t just about damping your hair; it’s about a lot more. You must understand the porosity of your hair as one of the most fundamental foundations. Hair with high porosity or a low porosity can significantly impact how it maintains moisture.
Some of the tips to retain moisture in your hair are:
- Hot oil treatment
- Protein treatment
- Deep conditioning
- Rinsing with lukewarm water
2. Not Paying Proper Attention To Diet
It’s essential to pay attention to your nutrition if you want to grow healthy natural hair. If you don’t get enough nutrients in your diet, it might show up in your hair.
Omega 3 fatty acids, for example, are essential for maintaining the health of your hair. Vitamins will help you develop hair faster, while proteins are vital for keeping healthy hair.
A lack of a suitable diet containing nutrients and minerals can harm your hair development by causing excessive hair loss. So, it is always advisable to eat well and grow well.
3. Using The Wrong Hair Care Products
It’s essential to take your time while selecting the best hair products for your hair type. Hair damage and slowed growth are the results of using the wrong products.
Is it true that your hair is thinning? Choose shampoos that have a mild cleaning agent or that promote collagen synthesis for fuller, longer hair.
Do you have greasy hair? Purchase shampoos that can aid in the removal of excess oils.
Is your hair drier than usual? Shampoos with mild, natural chemicals may be the most effective in moisturizing your strands.
Moisturizing products can help hydrate and moisturize dry, flaky hair, while protein-rich treatments can help revitalize hair that breaks easily after washing or styling.
4. Not Trimming Your Hair Regularly
On your natural hair growth trip, it’s essential to get a trim now and then, but there is no set regimen to follow because everyone’s hair is different.
Some people trim their hair every few months, whereas some do it twice every year. It solely depends on the speed of your growth, but make sure you get a trim when it is time. If you are not sure, check out few pointers below to know when to do it;
- Rough ends/more split-ends
- Excessive breakage or shedding more than usual
- It gets harder to comb/detangle hair
- Loss of volume or slow growth
5. Not Having Patience
People find it difficult to wait for their hair to grow. Just take it easy and let your hair grow. Please familiarize yourself with your hair type, texture, density, form, and porosity while growing slowly but gradually. After that, continue with your hair care routines that are appropriate for your hair type. Additionally, try not to focus on the length of your hair. It is more essential to have healthy hair. Having lengthy hair with no health is as good as having no hair.
6. Using The Wrong Hair Styling Tools
The importance of hair tools cannot be overstated. Using the incorrect ones might result in significant hair damage. If you’ve been using combs with narrow teeth, they’ll rip your hair out and cause damage.
Curly hair, for example, is highly fragile, and the strands can easily break due to their form. If you decide to comb your hair, use a wide-tooth comb or untangle your hair with your finger.
Some hair brushes are also too abrasive for your fine hair. If you’re going to use a hairbrush, make sure it’s one with a soft bristle. If you have thin hair, this is even more crucial.
7. Compromising Hair With Your Sleeping Habits
This is a common mistake that everyone makes while caring for and growing healthy hair—sleeping on rough surfaces or with exposed hair. Not only will sleeping with these habits tangle your hair, but it will also dehydrate it. As a result, your hair will be brittle, weak and breakage occurs because of the friction with the surface.
Make sure to cover your hair with a hat or a silk scarf every time you lay down to protect it and keep it looking lovely in the morning. Investing in satin pillowcases and silk bed linens is an alternative to these.
8. Over Styling Your Hair
It is understandable that with curls, you get that feeling to experiment with various new styles. And while some of those styles involve a lot of hair manipulation, doing so too often can result in dry strands, breakage, and frizz. Always choose styles that don’t need a lot of pulling and stretching to maintain healthy hair.
9. Using Too Much or Not Enough Hair Products
True, taking care of natural hair is difficult, but it is not impossible. Knowing about your hair is essential for properly caring for it, and knowing your hair’s density, porosity, and thickness will help you choose the right products. A thickening shampoo may be too heavy if your hair is thin, whereas coarser hair would require heavier formulas or more product. It may seem insignificant, but it may have a significant impact on the health of your hair.
When you use too much product, your hair will feel heavy and greasy, while not enough product can leave your hair lacking in definition and moisture. It’s usually preferable to start small since you can always add more if necessary. Always be aware of the type of hair you possess and use products accordingly.
10. Excessive Heat Treatment
Heat treating your hair excessively with flat irons and blow dryers causes heat damage over time. Hair that has been heat damaged is dry, stiff, and brittle. Due to alterations in the hydrogen bonds that keep your hair together, heat causes hair breaking.
The optimum treatment is to avoid heat entirely; however, this may not be possible for everyone. Always apply a heat protectant if you cannot style your hair without heat. To further decrease the risk of heat damage, utilize the low to lowest heat setting on your dryer to maximize the protection of your natural hair.
When it comes to our natural hair, we may all make mistakes. Hopefully, by following the above advice, you will avoid most of them and focus on discovering what actually works for your hair.