3. Shampoos with Sulfates
It seems that more manufacturers are producing shampoo products that are free of sulfates. Those harmful agents that cause the foaming lather of our shampoo are what strips our hair of it’s natural oils*.
I think about the fact that if I would have avoided those shampoos when I was relaxed I wouldn’t have felt the need to pile so many oils* and product onto my hair in an effort to “fix” a dry hair problem that could’ve been avoided in the first place.
Although shampoos with sulfates were drying they didn’t harm my hair as much as it does now. Because natural hair is harder to retain moisture due to those twists and turns along the strands, sulfate-free shampoo is a necessary component to keeping every bit of luster we can.
4. Not Getting Regular Trims
Before I chopped all of my hair into a pixie, I had shoulder length hair that I was trying to hold onto every bit of. I think I got a trim maybe once a year. Yes, there was the noticeably thin ends but I felt like it just wasn’t that big of a deal. I wanted length but didn’t really understand the importance that the quality of the hair matters more.
I had to let that go when I went natural because I notice how much a trim really effects your style. If I compare the results of a twist out pre-trim and post-trim, the post-trim definitely wins because the ends of my strands don’t taper down and are well defined. In addition, my fro appears fuller and there’s less frizz. Also, most importantly, since hair growth is definitely on my radar, ensuring that I don’t have dead or split ends traveling up my strands makes all the difference in the world.
5. Heat Heat and More Heat
Heat is definitely up on the list of things I had to let go of. I had no concern with heat damage in the past, as I was one who flat ironed my hair daily.
For me, the maintenance of keeping up with a short, tapered pixie was a lot. I tied my hair down at night but if I wanted curls in the morning or a flipped out bang I had to pull out my flat iron*. Every. Day. Yes, I know, so much heat but as I stated earlier the good thing with having a short hair cut is that you are in a constant rotation of cutting monthly and allowing fresh hair to grow back, thus avoiding having to deal with massive damage.
Now as a natural, I notice how heat can fry your hair and mess up your curl pattern. I am definitely loving my curls and don’t want to do anything to compromise them so I am leaving the heat alone as much as possible!
Michelle Freeman says
Regular trims was something I was never a fan of when my hair was relaxed, and later on texturised, but I definitely embrace that practice now.