Love your hair! Just in time for BTS, we’ve gathered the
best hair care tips for GL gals with
African-American locks. Follow these ten tips to score perf tresses for the
first day.
1. Avoid daily
shampooing. Try shampooing once every 7-10 days with a mild moisturizing
shampoo with a low pH level (pH 2.5-3.5). Your hair probably has a pH level of around
pH 5. Shampoos with pH levels lower than 5 has more conditioning while shampoos
with higher pH levels are created for cleansing out stubborn residue.
Eventually, high pH level shampoos can make hair dry and brittle. If you sweat
on a daily basis, try rinsing hair with water to avoid drying out your locks!
CHI Curl Preserve System Low pH Shampoo (32 ounce), $29,
amazon.com
2. Snip often It’s
a myth that African-American hair grows out more slowly than other types of
hair. However, the natural, curly texture of the hair does make it appear to grow
more slowly. It’s important to cut any type of hair every two months to restore
and maintain health. Haircuts help minimize brittle and split ends.
3. Conditioner is
your hair’s new BFF. Condition hair after every shampoo with formulas
containing essential oils. A GL tip?
Try running a pea-sized amount of lotion or oil on hair ends to give it a much-needed
kiss of moisture! Otherwise, deep condition on a weekly basis.
4. Avoid 2-in-1
shampoo and conditioners. They don’t do dry hair any favors! Also avoid
volumizing shampoos that can strip dry hair of its natural oils in order to
create lift.
5. Wrap it up. Some
swear by wrapping hair in a satin scarf before hopping into bed. There’s a
reason for that! Cotton pillowcases can actually zap away moisture in your hair
as you sleep. So wrap your head in cute and colorful head scarves. Who knows?
It could be the new sleepwear fashion statement!
6. Use a wide-toothed
comb. Brush through hair when the hair is damp (not when it’s soaked with
water!). Hair is most fragile when it’s wet.
7. Put down your
weapon. If you come across a tough knot or tangle as you’re brushing, put
down your weapon (err, hair comb)! These tough spots should be handled with
care. Use your fingers to gently loosen the knots before brushing through to
avoid yanking and breaking locks.
8. Brush often.
Throughout the day, brush your hair with a soft, natural boar bristle
hairbrush. The boar bristles help distribute the oils at the scalp to the rest
of the hair giving it shine and locking in moisture.
9. Don’t over-color
or over-relax your hair. You should wait a minimum of 6-8 weeks before
going in for another process. When using these processes, make sure to
condition (condition, condition, condition!).
10. Find a perf
product to help control frizz. Dealing with frizz on an important day? Use
a hair product that helps control frizz before a blow-dry. We recommend Urban
Therapy’s Twisted Sista Blow Dry Creme. This little miracle-worker helps create
salon-perfect, shiny shapes while smoothing out frizz. It’s also formulated
without parabens or sulfates! Sulfates give shampoos a nice lather, but it also
breaks down the protein in your hair. This means that heavy sulfates can make
your hair a disaster in the long run. Yikes!
become a contributor
