If you’re like me, then you want a low maintenance natural hair care routine that doesn’t take up a lot of time. In this blog post, I’ll share simple natural hair regimen, some tips that help me maintain healthy hair and my go-to routine for keeping my hair feeling good during week. I’ll also share some tips on how to keep your hair healthy and hydrated!
How To Maintain Healthy Hair
On my own natural hair journey, I learned that there are so many things in a healthy hair routine that really make a difference. In fact, there are many different factors when it comes to maintaining healthy hair. A few of those include: proper nutrition, regular trims, and a natural hair regimen put in place. And if we break those three things down then we can go into more detail.
Maintain Proper Nutrition
First, it is important to make sure you’re eating a well balanced diet. This will help ensure that your hair has all the necessary vitamins and minerals it needs to stay healthy and strong. Eating foods such as salmon, eggs, leafy greens, nuts and avocados are all great sources of vitamins and minerals that can help with hair growth. Pumpkin seed oil and olive oil are also great additions to your diet, as they can help with hair growth and reduce hair loss.
However, I don’t think there is enough of a conversation around nutrition when it comes to maintaining healthy hair. Personally I had a short period of time where I was dealing with some hair loss. And in that journey I had to do a lot of educating myself and a lot of food logging.
I came to understand that a healthy hair shaft can sometimes be directly linked to the foods we eat in quite an interesting way. Much like various foods can cause a reaction in our skin or our bodies, it can also do so in our scalp.
I’m no expert and I’m only speaking from experience of my own, but once I was able to find that there was a correlation between inflammatory foods and the inflammation occurring in my scalp, I was able to do something about reversing that from the inside.
Yes it’s important to make sure you’re getting the nutrition your locks need like protein, biotin and iron, but it’s also important that you’re aware of any potential triggers for hair loss or scalp irritation. This is a topic a lot of people don’t discuss and it can be a very important one especially when we’re talking about hair loss, hair growth and hair health.
Get Regular Trims:
It’s also important to make sure you’re keeping up with regular trims on the ends coily hair. Your hair follicles are really only as good as your ends. And that’s because when the ends of your own hair strands are frayed and split, the follicle has to work harder to keep up with the damage. This just results in your hair strand becoming thinner and weaker and then splitting in two.
So it’s important to keep up with regular trims, but you don’t have to do them too often as that can also cause damage. I like to get my hair trimmed every 3 months or so. And trust me, I use to be that girl that wanted to hold onto every inch of my hair length for dear life, but the truth is getting trims will help make your hair stronger and healthier in the long run.
Additionally, the damaged ends of your hair can turn into knots. So trims can definitely make it an easier process to detangle your hair.
Incorporate A Hair Regimen
Finally, you want to put a healthy hair regimen in place. A hair regimen consists of the products and techniques you use to maintain your natural hair.
This includes shampooing, conditioning, moisturizing, a moisturizing deep conditioner, conditioning and protective styling. Some wash days may call for gentle shampoo versus a clarifying one. Some weeks you may find that you need a moisturizing shampoo, deep conditioner verses protein treatments. It’s all about working in alternate products to your already set routine.
This can mean that sometimes you might need a simple as co-washing every other week. And maybe once a week you incorporate some sort of intensely nourishing treatment. The key here is consistency and getting your hair use to the regimen. it is important to establish a healthy hair regimen based in your natural hair care routine because you want to make sure that your hair is getting the necessary care it needs to maintain moisture throughout.
My Low Maintenance Natural Hair Care Routine
Now that I’ve discussed the basics of natural hair care regimen and why it’s important, I want to share my low maintenance natural hair care routine. Once I got a better understanding of how nutrition and regular trims were impacting my hair growth, I started incorporating certain steps into my routine to ensure that my hair was taken care of:
– Cleanse and condition once a week
– Use a treatment hair mask once a week
-Apply a leave-in conditioner
-Use protective styling
Shampoo
A shampoo is necessary to remove dirt and product buildup from my scalp. Everyone’s natural hair routine will be different, but most weeks I will head over to the gym and so when I do work out, Thursdays are usually my wash day. And if you don’t have curly, kinky black hair then you may not understand the idea of washing your hair once a week. Some natural hair women will wash their hair once every couple of weeks or even once a month!
It’s really due to the fact that kinky, curly hair really thrives with lots of moisture and oils. So, if you cleanse too often, then you will actually strip your hair of these natural oils and leave it feeling dry and brittle. However, unlike black hair, if you have straight hair then most likely your hair needs to be washed with more than one shampoo often.
Even shampoos can very depending on what I need for that week. There are some weeks where I may have a lot of product in my hair, specifically hair root spray. In that case I may need a really good cleanser to get it squeaky clean. On another week I may just need a simple co-wash that’s going to be a bit gentler on my hair.
Conditioner
After shampooing, I always apply a deep conditioner to my hair. I find that for me it’s necessary to keep my hair moisturized. This helps to keep my curls hydrated and bouncy! And sometimes I’ll even do this. Conditioning helps to restore moisture to the strands and is essential for kinky curly hair. Now while I’m at this step I will use a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair.
Conditioner is essential for keeping your natural curls hydrated and nourished. Look for a conditioner specifically designed for curly hair and make sure you leave it on for the recommended amount of time before rinsing.
Hair Treatment
Depending on what my hair needs that particular week , I like to use a deep conditioner or hair mask. Doing this once or twice a month will help keep your hair soft and nourished. I also like to apply an oil-based product such as shea butter or coconut oil before my wash day to give my curls some extra moisture.
Some wash days I may go with a protein treatment to help my hair stay strong and bounce back from any damage. If I find that my hair is particular dry then I tend to go with my favorite deep conditioning hair mask from Nexus.
Deep Conditioning: This is something I do once a week or every other week depending on how much moisture my hair needs. Deep conditioning helps lock in the moisture from the conditioner and protects your hair from heat damage.
Strengthening Mask: I also like to do a protein-based strengthening mask once or twice a month. This helps give my hair extra strength and keeps it feeling soft.
Scalp Oil:
I don’t do this as often as I should, but I do love my blends of herbs and essential oils to stimulate my scalp. Occasionally my scalp can get quite dry and itchy so I love using a blend of essential oils to soothe it.
With their ability to eliminate dead skin cells, bacteria and balance sebum production, essential oils are an ideal way to promote scalp health. Plus, they improve circulation which further supports the overall health of your scalp. There are different ingredients that can help you achieve a healthy scalp which ultimately means healthy hair. Creating a healthy hair bed is essential for long-standing healthy hair especially for natural curly hair chicks.
Massaging them into your scalp can help you maximize their benefits and, most importantly, give you a luxurious spa-like experience in the shower.
Leave In Conditioner:
Leave-in conditioner is a must for natural curly hair! It helps keep your curls hydrated, keeps frizz at bay, and makes styling easier. Just make sure you don’t use too much or it can weigh down your hair.
Seal In Moisture: This step is especially important if you live in a humid climate. After moisturizing your hair, add an oil or butter to help seal the moisture in damp hair. I usually like to mix equal parts of shea butter and coconut oil for best results.
These are my go-to steps for keeping my natural curls looking great with minimal effort! With this routine, I’m able to maintain healthy and beautiful hair without spending hours on it every week.
Hair Oil: Hair oil is a great way to keep your curls hydrated and nourished. I like to use natural oils like: jojoba oil, avocado, and almond oil to give my scalp an extra boost of moisture.
Protective Styles:
You don’t have to wear your hair down all the time! Protective styles are great for keeping your ends tucked away and healthy while still looking amazing. Try braids, buns, or updos for easy and fashionable looks.
Braids: Braids as a natural hairstyle are one of the most popular protective style for natural hair. They’re easy to do, and they can be dressed up for a night out on the town or kept casual for everyday wear.
These are just some of the tips and tricks I use in my own natural, healthy hair care routine! Keeping your curls healthy is all about finding what works best for you, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different techniques.
I hope this post helps you create a low maintenance natural hair care routine that works for you! Happy hair care!
