Moisturizing and sealing are one of the major keys to growing healthy hair, but when you don’t use the right products, it can work against you.
Heavier oils*, such as castor oil*, have the tendency to make relaxed hair stringy by weighing it down and clogging it’s pores. If the hair pores are clogged, it will stop hair from growing and allow buildup to collect on the scalp. This can lead to dandruff, hair loss, breakage, and many other time-consuming damages.
All relaxed hair is different, but because it is straighter than the kinks and curls of natural hair, lighter oils work better. Sealing with oils* like grapeseed*, avocado, or coconut* is ideal because they are light, give your hair a non-greasy looking, healthy shine, and they still effectively trap in moisture while allowing you to style however you’d like.
Wearing Partial Sew Ins
Full sew ins are one of the best protective styles because they are cute and versatile, but still allow your hair to rest and grow. Partial sew ins, on the other hand, still require you to leave your hair out which can lead to damaged leave out.
When you have a partial sew in, you always have to manipulate your hair to match the texture of the weave you installed. Sometimes this means you have to use flat irons* and curling irons* for your desired look.
If that one section becomes damaged, you’ll have to cut it and/or nurse it back to health; which ultimately means that your hair will be uneven until you can grow your leave out back out.
If you’re going to wear extensions*, install a full sew in or crochet braids because they completely cover your hair but still allow you to wash and care for part of it underneath.
Using Hairspray
When I was relaxed, I used hairspray by the bucket-load. Simply put, my hair was too straight and just couldn’t hold up in certain hairstyles–especially curls. Hairspray definitely did the trick, but the drawbacks definitely outweighed the benefits.
Hairspray would coat my hair like a light gel and harden onto it throughout the day. This wasn’t a problem until I noticed that I had to wash my hair every other day or else my hair would break off in my comb and brush.
Most hairsprays have harsh alcohols in them so not only do they dry out your hair, they make it brittle and limit how you can care for your hair between washes.
Like hair gel, hairspray can cause breakage after it hardens–this will obviously put a damper on any hair length goals you set for yourself. Your best bet is to avoid chemical hairsprays and look for natural hairspray and pomades to keep your hair in tact.