A few years ago I watched a YouTuber put herself on an all natural challenge for about 6 months. The gist of the experiment was to see if she could care for her curls using only all natural ingredients.
Now when I say all natural I do not mean product you purchase from the store that says all natural on the front with all unnatural ingredients on the label in the back.
I mean she used powders, homemade deep conditioners and other things from her fridge and pantry to cleanse, condition and style her hair.
The results? — EPIC! She achieved longer hair, better curls, more moisture and overall amazing results! Now this is extreme because most of us do not have the time to make every single product we need to care for our curls but we want the most out of them anyway.
In this post, I want to make 7 suggestions that can help you get the most out of your curls on a yearly basis. Let’s go!
1. Stop using shampoo
Shampoos with sulfates are designed to strip your hair of gunk, dirt, and debris that your hair collects from the environment and other hair products. The problem with them is that they also strip your hair of so much moisture that it is difficult to get your hair back in balance.
What we recommend is using apple cider vinegar* as your clarifier instead of harsh shampoos. There are shampoos on the market that are designed to be so gentle that you can use them and still be remain within your ‘no shampoo’ rules. Read the ingredients on your shampoo bottle very carefully, try to avoid sulfates and other damaging chemicals found in mass produced products.
2. Sleep in a hair mask once or twice per week
You can use healthy deep conditioning* products for this because they often contain great moisture based ingredients, and they can strengthen your hair while you sleep.
Sleeping in a mask is great because you guarantee your deep conditioning* for the week your curls will literally drink it all up and you will have moisture for at least two days. Apply the mask on your hair before bed, put a plastic cap on, and cover with a satin scarf.
Use a towel on your pillow just in case any of your masks decides to slip out while you sleep. In the morning just rinse and style!
3. Stop touching your hair
This is hard because most of us suffer from hand in hair syndrome but I promise you the less twirling, tugging, combing and assaulting we do of our curls the better they are.
Try to allow your curls to dry untouched and remain untouched as you go about your day. This ensures that you are not popping your strands by accident or manipulating your hair too much on a daily basis.
