If you’re reading this post then you’re most likely a curly girl yourself. And if you’re wondering why I decided to mention my 3b hair type in the title of this post it’s very simple. The curly hair community is so large and full of variety, textures, curl patterns etc—that I felt it behooved me to be transparent about what I have been doing since growing my natural hair and what’s been working for me and my 3b hair.
1. Can’t Take The Heat
I guess I could start by saying that heat is the devil. It’s a silky smooth, sexy devil unfortunately—but no I gotta say no to heat! It’s done me no good over the years to straighten my hair. I’ve had an obsession with straightening my hair since age 11 when my mom first introduced me to my grandmothers hotcomb which she brought all the way from Eritrea. At the time, I remember thinking how old school, but authentic this method of straightening my hair was. It started then. I graduated to a flat iron in Junior High and I was never going back to difficult curly hair I couldn’t manage. I literally hadn’t looked back up until this past May when I gave up heat for good. When I think about it I don’t even remember what sort of curls I had. I genuinely had never known my hair potential. Didn’t even realize I had a curl pattern! In the short time my hair has been without heat, it’s been so incredibly resilient and steadily growing in length. It was the first step to really making this entire journey work. I stopped shedding all over my pillowcases, there’s virtually no more breakage and my hair is just totally headed in the right direction. There was just no way around giving it up. I wish I had come to do this a long time ago, but sadly it took an almost full head of split ends to make me realize there was no saving my hair. It wasn’t curly any longer and it was never straightening. It just was a mess.
2. Cutting It Out
The next thing to follow had to have been a trip to the hair salon for a trim. And not just one visit, but multiple visits with 3-4 months in between. I could count the amount of haircuts I’ve had within 10 years on just one hand before my hair journey. I use to think a trim here and there would suffice in reversing all the damage I’ve done to my hair, but no. I’ve come to realize that in order for my hair regrowth journey, it was going to take another baby step in the right direction. After that the second, third and fourth visits were exciting because I actually had regrowth! My hair was growing and actually it was growing quite fast! It’s uncomfortable, it’s scary, it’s an awkward transitioning phase, but trust me—the first cut was the deepest because I was so ready for my full potential.
3. Say No To ‘Cones’ Kids
The next step for my healthy hair journey was getting rid of any product that I had with silicones or dimethecones-or any cones really! I wanted to give my hair real nourishment with products that weren’t just going to lay in the surface and prevent true moisture and nourishment. These ‘cones’ tend to be great in providing slip and silkiness to your hair, but they’re sort of like a primer in the way that they sort of sit on top of your hair blocking anything else from getting in. So nothing but clean products for me.
4. Testing 1,2,3
Which leads me to my next step. Finding hair care products that were not only devoid of any of the nasty ingredients, but also ones I thoroughly enjoyed was important to me. So far the I’ve found a shampoo and conditioner range that has been my go to for weekly hair washing days.
5. 6. Let’s Get Real Deep
Next, remember that nourishment I was talking about? Well I started doing weekly deep conditioning treatments and a protein mask every other week to give me hair strength. Let me just say that I was really shocked how these treatments have positively impacted the health of my hair. My hair started to have more body and my 3b hair was starting to show itself.
7. The InBetween
In between my deep conditioning and protein treatments I made sure that moisture was my mantra. I made it a point to find a moisturizers/ leave-in conditioners I really loved and just stick with it almost always following up with some nourishing oil. My 3b hair loves oil!
8. 9. Wrap It Up
Usually for the sake of time, most of my hair moisturizing happened in the evening before bed. And if that was happening then I almost always follow with braids. My favorite braid style for an easy look tends to be cornrows just because I can easily undo it in the morning . If I’m not wearing braids at night then my hair is usually in a satin scrunch. Satin scrunchies are great because there’s no pulling or no ripping your hair out.
10. Good Inside And Out
This hasn’t been something that I implemented at the start of my 3b hair healthy hair journey. But since November, I’ve yet to skip a day of taking a tablespoon of Unsulphured Black Strap Molasses. Aside from the many benefits to consuming Black Strap Molasses, it’s also known to promote healthy, thicker hair and can even reverse grey after a period of time. While there are lots of natural curly haired girls who like to apply BSM as a hair mask, I prefer to just consume it.
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1. No Heat
2. Cut Hair Regularly
3. No Silicones/ Dimethicone
4. Shampoo + Conditioner
5. Weekly Deep Conditioning Mask
6. Bi-Weekly Protein Masks
7. Leave-In Conditioners/ Moisturizers + Oil
8. Braids
9. Satin Scrunchies
10. Black Strap Molasses
