One thing I realized about the natural hair community is that there are all of these rules to follow. I have even been criticized for not following rules but I have recognized that while these guidelines are very beneficial, they are not necessary for hair growth or maintenance.
With that said here are rules I don’t follow:
Pineappling my hair at night
I do not think my hair needs to be pineappled to be maintained. My hair is almost always in protective styles, so there is really no point to having it up. If I’m going to tie up my hair it will be in a bun.
All Natural hair products
Natural hair products are very expensive and as a college student, there’s not a lot of room for me to buy all natural hair products. While natural products are awesome I think trying out other nontraditional products are just fine as well.
Also, I think that checking all the ingredients to make sure the products have shea butter*, olive oil*, and other good products
Trimming my hair 4-6 weeks
I want to grow my hair out to at least bra strap length so this is definitely a rule that cannot make the cut. I only trim my hair when there are split ends, damaged ends, or just when my hair needs it.
For me, the best defense is a strong offense and that means that I should cut out the bad hair and leave the good to grow. It also means that taking care of my hair is a must.
Deep conditioning* once a week
I love to deep condition, but for me doing it once a week is too much. I am a student and like those who do not have endless time to just do hair, I think I will pass on this “rule.”
I deep condition every two-three weeks and my hair is just fine!
Using vitamins* and hair pills to grow hair
I do not believe in taking miracle pills and I know that everything has a side effect, so I have to be careful with using pills.
I want to be healthy and I believe that taking vitamins* are good, but I’m not going to take vitamins* just for my hair.
I believe in taking care of the whole body, not just to make the appearance good but to make sure that one’s overall health is great. I do believe in reducing stress, exercising, eating well and making sure that you are getting enough sleep. For me, living a healthy lifestyle rather than taking pills keeps my hair in better shape.
I always though the only rules were to keep your hair clean, conditioned and moisturized, and everything else were just guidelines anyway. Several of the things you don’t do are things that I have to do to keep my hair at optimum health, like finger detangling, deep conditioning with every wash and keeping my products as natural as possible. My hair thrives when I do these things and if I slack on something, I can tell quickly. I think the most important takeaway is: Do what works for you.