Photo Source | Glenford Nunez via Glenford Nunez Photography
Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about everything you need to know about caring for your natural hair. We discussed some of the pros of going natural and some important musts that come with being natural, like keeping the hair moisturized. We’ve also learned how important it is to assess your natural hair, looking at things like hair texture and hair porosity and assessing any damage to your hair, which will all determine which products are best to use for your hair. Last week, we learned about some of the essential products you’ll need for your hair when building a hair regimen to help maintain the protein-moisture balance for optimal length retention.
All of these things are fine and dandy, but it's pointless and won't work unless you’re consistent with your hair regimen. Consistency is so important when developing a natural hair regimen. If you expect to see results, consistency is key. You won’t always find what works for your hair right away. It takes some experimenting to figure out what your hair likes and what your hair doesn’t like, and this could take a while. Like anything in life, it's a process, and by using your products consistently, you'll see results.
For the product junkies, it may be time go to product junkie rehab and narrow your products down to the essentials so you can see what actually works for your hair. Trying multiple new hair products at the same time "just because" isn't ideal if your trying to develop a solid regimen. As a recovering product junkie, I know it’s hard, but if your constantly using different products on your hair just for the fun of it, you’ll never know what’s working and what’s not working.
Quick side note: After using a certain product for a while, your hair develops some kind of immunity and gets used to it, causing your hair to not react to it the same way. Usually there’s a simple solution to this: Clarify your hair! If clarifying doesn’t work, it may be time to try something new. Doesn't mean go out and be a product junkie again! Just buy something to replace the product that's not working for you anymore and test it out.
Here’s a few tips to help you stay on track:
Set a Time Frame | Challenge yourself by setting a time frame to stick to some products. Try sticking to them for four-six months. Of course, if a product doesn't do anything for your hair the first couple uses or if it's drying your hair out, try something different. But if it's decent, give it a go for a while!
Set a Natural Hair Goal | Give yourself a goal and a time frame to accomplish it. When you set goals for yourself, you’re more likely to stay consistent and follow through with it because of your motivation. Also, try to set realistic goals. For example: Wanting to reach waist length when your hair is only shoulder length in three months isn’t realistic, since hair grows an average of 1-1.5 inches a month. You’ll find yourself disappointed setting unrealistic hair goals.
Selfie Time! | Well, not necessarily a selfie, but when you’re on a hair journey, it’s important to take pictures to track your progress. Before, I was just taking pictures because I thought my hair was cute, not thinking about tracking any progress, but pictures definitely help. I especially take pictures whenever I’m doing a blow out on my hair so I can see differences in length. Taking pictures is a good way to see if your current regimen is working or not. Seeing differences in length, shine, curl definition, and just overall health of your hair lets you know you’re on the right track, and it’ll motivate you to continue whatever it is you’re doing.
Re-stock | If you've found something that’s been working for your hair, you don’t want to run out of it, especially a conditioner/deep conditioner. To stay consistent, you need your products around! You don’t want to start using something different when you've run out of your essential products. When I’m buying products, I either buy large bottles of it, or buy more than one, especially with my conditioners since I’m always running out of conditioner since I use a ton of it (good thing the products I use are relatively affordable, right?)
Slow and Steady Wins the Race | Take it one day at a time with your natural hair journey. Have patience! It’ll take a while to see results, so don’t rush the process or give up.
Fellowship with Other Naturals | Talking to other naturals is a great way to stay encouraged and motivated on your natural hair journey. The love and support from the natural hair community is amazing, and it’ll just encourage you to stay focused. Reading blogs and watching YouTube videos are great ways to get some inspiration, some product suggestions and where to buy, and some info on how to care for your hair.
I hope you all enjoyed this
Natural Hair 101 series! You’ll continue to have to have to assess your hair
and build a regimen because things change all throughout out natural hair journey.
**This post was inspired by the ABCs of Natural Hair, a series from Krystal K. of The Feisty House. Check out her posts here:
**This post was inspired by the ABCs of Natural Hair, a series from Krystal K. of The Feisty House. Check out her posts here:
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