3 Childhood Haircare Practices That Can Improve Length Retention

I know that many of us had a variety of hair care regimens when we were children. Some of us had moms who braided our hair and some of us had moms who let us rock afro puffs.

Some moms used conditioner on our hair and some didn’t. We all had different regimens that our moms (or dads, aunties, grandmas etc) used to care for our hair when we were younger. The thing about hair care is that there are more than one ways to get to the same goals.

With that said I am sure many of you have said more than once ‘ When I was little my hair was so healthy and long’. The thing one has to wonder is what did mom do back then that can be applied to our hair regimens today.

Below, we share with you 3 childhood hair care practices that can be applied to our hair regimens today to improve length retention,

1. Incorporating braiding into your styling and washing regimen

Remember those 3 or 4 braids that our parents used to put in our hair when we were younger? They lasted a good while and looked great even after long periods of time.

Braids are also a great way to keep the hair stretched and free of tangles. If we applied this same concept to our hair regimen today we can keep our hair stretched and eliminate those pesky single strand knots as well. For one most of us are not children any more so the braid concept only works at certain times.

If you have problems with tangling during wash day, you can detangle and put in a few braids to eliminate tangles as you cleanse and condition your hair. You can also take these same braids and use them to stretch your hair for the hairstyle that you want that day or the next.

2. Using heavy sealants

I have a question which grease was a favorite in your household? Blue Magic? Dax? Softee Coconut Oil*? Castor Oil*? or the down home favorite, Dixie Peach?

I remember in my household grease was the conditioner, leave in , moisturizer, and the sealant. When your head was dry, what was grabbed first? Grease. Even though heavy sealants such as these have a bad rep, when used right can provide many benefits.

Heavy sealants do wonders on wet to damp hair. They are usually very effective with regards to sealing and reports are rolling in that they can make our natural hair feel like butter when used after a hydrating conditioner.

Even though many of our parents may have used grease on our hair many of us do not like whole petroleum thing but the concept can still be applied. Thick sealants such as shea butter* pomades and castor oil* are excellent petroleum-free sealants and can get the same job done without the chemicals!