Hair Care Regimine

Ok, so a few weeks ago a friend of my mom's came over to our house.  I don't know how we got on this topic, but she ended up asking me about my hair.  She has a young daughter who is half-black half-white with hair that is similar in curliness to mine.  Now, pretty much all molato's like me have hair that varies a ton in curliness with mine being among the most curly that I've seen.  It has however loosened up a little bit, but the following pictures can give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

I get asked the question a lot, "How do you maintain such curly hair?".  Trust me it isn't easy.  I have to follow several rules, and I thought I would offer these as tips to the curious, or those who are looking for a different hair care alternative.

1.  Never brush when dry.

My hair cannot be brushed when it is dry, period.  If I brush it when it is dry, the curls separate into individual strands and it turns into one giant poof ball... a la...

As you can see it is very frizzy and horrible looking :(.  Actually that isn't even the worst since I'm pretty sure that my hair had been tied back in a bun and thus self-straightened and not as bad as it would have been if I just went and brushed my hair when it was fully curly.  Anyways, I digress, never EVER brush when dry.

When I was younger I used to brush in the shower using a natural boar bristle brush.  I found this worked great, I would brush while I had conditioner in my hair to help the brush work its way through.  I feel this is a great way to go if you are sensitive to the tug of the brush through your hair.  As a kid I hated having my hair brushed because it hurt so much, but using this method I gradually got used to it.  Now I don't brush my hair in the shower, I brush it afterwards with a wide toothed comb.

2.  Use a regular leave-in conditioning treatment.

Leave in conditioning treatments have been a godsend for me.  I have gotten into the routine of applying a leave-in right after I shower and letting it sit in my hair for a bit before I start brushing (usually while I get dressed).  If you skip it once, don't worry, but I find that I need it at least once per week to keep my hair soft.

My absolute favourite was the Leave-in Soothing Milk from Biolage.  However I haven't been able to find the product in Canada.

I have found many less pricey products that work just as well for me.  This Sunsilk leave-in for curly hair can be bought for $2.00 from dollar stores!

Another great one is the Curl Sculpting Cream Gel from Fructis. Again it is another cheap product ($3-4) and it is one of my favourites because the cream-gel combination means that you hair also gets a bit of hold without being stiff or sticky, feels completely natural!

I think that any of those are my favourites.  A minimum of once per week and my hair feels great!

3.  Always brush out 1 inch at a time.

You never want to attempt a full brush from roots to tips or else you will cause yourself great pain and lots of damage.  When you are brushing you need to be patient, working out 1 inch at a time starting at the roots.  If you come across a tangle, pick at it slowly rather than just ripping it out.

4.  Never blow dry.

Blow drying gives my hair the same effect as brushing it out when dry does.  It turns into a giant poof ball!  Great for a fashion statement if you want to go that way, but also damaging.  I always let my hair dry naturally, all I do to help it along is give it a quick pat down with a towel after I've gotten out of the shower.

So there you have it, those are the rules that I follow for doing my hair.  My hair is happy and healthy and i always get comments on how soft and shiny it is.  I do straighten my hair on occasion, but I will save information about that for another day.

If anybody has any questions, feel free to ask!