Category: co-washing natural hair
Nappy Hair is Strong Hair: Tasha Smith
I recently spotted this wonderful video of actress Tasha Smith discussing black hair and I absolutely love it!
One of the takeaway quotes for me was when she said:
“Nappy hair is strong hair.”
I love that!
For so long, many of us have deemed our kinky hair as being weak, broken, fragile but in actuality our kinks are strong.
I’ve heard many people (women and men equally) describe kinky hair as “tough” in a derogatory way but we need to swap that word with strong.
Tough gives the implication that our hair is hard to manage, hard to deal with but it’s not.
As us naturally curly girls know, with the right management and tools our hair is really quite easy to handle.
It’s far from being “tough.”
So, the next time someone says you have hard to manage hair, look them in the eye and tell them:
My hair is strong!
Check out the video below and leave a comment sharing your thoughts.
HAIR TALES_TASHA SMITH from MADFREEtv on Vimeo.
Victoria xo
4 Hairstyles That Will Make You Ditch Your Bonet
There’s a lot of controversy about whether hair bonets are a YAY or NAY for curly girls.
Although they’re great for protecting curls, many men and women feel as if they’re not exactly the cutest of choices when it comes to helping you look great at night time.
So, what’s a girl to do when she wants to look cute for bed but always wants to make sure her tresses are protected?
It’s simple.
She simply needs to check out these gorgeous hairstyle options that will make sure you can protect your curls whilst still looking smoking hot in the bedroom.
What I love about these styles are that they enable you to look great at night and then wake up with perfect hair.
If you like these styles, please share them with a friend. It could just help her to feel and look amazing during the day and at night.
4 FroHawks That Will Make Your Mouth Drop
I just love a frohawk!
Why?
Well, it’s easy to do, looks am-a-zing and is perfect for the slightly colder months and the humid months where it’s easy to get frizzed up.
Here are 4 gorgeous frohawks that will leave you in awe.
Check them out below and if you like them, leave a comment below sharing what your favourite hairstyle is.
We’re celebrating in the biggest way ever!
This year has been incredibly busy and the fact that it’s drawing to a close has forced me to reflect on some of the things I could have done better.
Clearly, the new year has the ability to give most of us the push that we need to make changes and it’s certainly done that for me.
One thing that I was yearning to do, but never found the time, was change the website and make it more up-to-date and pretty (because who doesn’t love pretty things, right?)
So, I finally did it and am pleased to say that My Curls now has a gorgeous, newly developed site that’s far easier to use but still contains all of our signature products.
I’ve now vowed to make a few more changes in 2017. For instance, updating the blog way more often and answering your burning hair questions at least once a month.
I’m also going to be more active on social media. We have well over 40,000 engaged Twitter and Instagram followers and they’re yearning for more hair inspiration so I’m making a commitment to post more frequently and share some of the great things that we’re doing at My Curls.
Finally, to celebrate all of these new goals and achievements, I’m holding our biggest ever sale and it’s open to all customers no matter where in the world you live. Yes, we now ship internationally which means that our American and Canadian sisters can try out our products with ease.
Click here to view our new website and grab the 30% discount (no coupon code needed!).
Now, it’s over to you.
What changes are you making in 2017?
What do you think you could have done better?
What would you like to see change in the year to come?
Share your thoughts and ideas below. I can’t wait to read what you have to say.
With love,
Victoria.
Founder, MyCurls.co.uk.
How Can I Find Out The Texture Of My Hair?
How do I figure out my hair type?
I have no clue what my hair type or texture is, help!
Is my hair 4b, 4c or 4a? I have no idea!
These are just a few questions that many naturalistas ask when it comes to the whole hair type debacle.
We recently came across a brilliant chart by the folks at BuzzFeed that makes finding out your hair type super quick and easy!
Take a look at it below and in the comments tell us what your hair type is based on the chart!
Hair Type Chart by @BuzzFeed
PS. It’s perfectly normal to have several hair types! Mine varies from 3b to 4b which means I have a lot of textures to deal with, understand and manage. It’s not always easy dealing with multiple hair textures but it is a lot of fun 🙂
Here’s to knowing more about your hair and loving every inch of it!
As always, if you have a burning hair care question tweet it to us @mycurlsuk and we’ll answer it in an upcoming blog post.
Victoria xo
24 Hour Flash Sale With Free Shampoo!
Just a quick note to let you know that it’s SALE time! Buy a Curl Smoothie and get a free Cleansing Cream shampoo!
No code needed. Simply go to MyCurls.co.uk, order a Curl Smoothie and your Cleansing Cream will be posted to you.
Order 2 Curl Smoothie’s and get 2 Cleansing Cream shampoos.
Offer ends tomorrow at 9pm BST. Grab it before it’s gone!
Hair Overwhelm: Has The Natural Hair Movement Has Caused More Harm Than Good?
As much as I love being a naturalista and I’m incredibly proud of how far the natural hair scene has progressed over the past decade or so, I can’t help but sometimes feel very overwhelmed by the amount of information, advice and trends that constantly crop up. The hardest thing is the fact that much of the advice is contradictory.
Some naturals claim that it’s great to detangle with a wide-toothed comb whilst others say that we should abandon combs all together!
Some say that brushes are best whilst others say that our fingers are the only combs we need. Which is it? What do you do?
To comb or not to comb? That is the question!
Then there are the claims about naturals who’ve achieved rapid hair growth through regimens like the LOC and inversion methods.
If you’ve tried either, you might have found a hair growth panacea that works for you or you might have discovered that too much of any regime simply drives you and your hair nuts!
I’ve been natural for several years now and I’ve been following the natural hair movement for probably around 8 years (yes, it’s been that long). Back in the day there were simply a few forums that catered to women who wanted healthier, longer hair but nowadays, there are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of blogs, websites, forums, Instagram accounts and Facebook pages that share a plethora of advice on natural hair care.
Whilst it’s great that we have so much more information available, it also has a downside.
Namely, the fact that when there’s too much information, you don’t know where to look or where to start.
It can be difficult.
So this begs the question, how do naturalistas find both balance and clarity in a wold that’s filled with contradictory advice and too many options?
How do we avoid becoming the victims of a choice paradox?
How do we find our own unique path to healthier hair?
What’s the solution?
Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the overload in hair care information?
How do you deal with it?
Leave a comment below sharing how you feel.
PS. This might have been my most honest and open blog post yet but I’ve come to realise that honesty and vulnerability are catalysts for personal growth. I hope that in sharing how I feel, I’ll open up discourse for other women who might be feeling the same way.
Here’s to hair happiness,
Victoria xo.
4 Simple Steps To Longer Natural Hair
On top of that, throughout my childhood and early teens I’d constantly been told that “afro hair doesn’t grow,” OR “black girls can’t grow long hair” which led me to believe that growing long hair was simply impossible for a girl like me.
Opt for hair accessories like ribbons, scarves and flowers rather than applying heat to your hair.
How Often Should Curly Hair Be Washed?
Do you sometimes wonder whether you’re washing your hair too rarely or too often?
As a curly or afro haired girl, it’s important to have a regular hair regimen which will make your hair easier to manage.
Keeping a good, healthy hair regimen will also enable you to look after your hair even when you’re super busy and pressed for time.
How often should you wash curly and afro hair?
So, how often should you wash your tresses?
Firstly, it’s important to remember that there are two types of hair washing.
Shampoo washing (simply washing your hair with shampoo and then conditioning it)
AND
Co-washing (washing your hair with conditioner only e.g. no shampoo required)
If your hair is out (not in braids, weave or plaits), you should co-wash it once a week using a silicone-free conditioner.
Typically, you should shampoo curly hair once a month and co-wash in between shampooing.
However, the looser your hair texture is, the more often you need to shampoo it. For example, if you have wavy textured hair, you’ll need to shampoo either once a week or once every 3-4 days.
If however, you have afro textured hair, you’ll only need to shampoo once a month. If your hair is mixed (e.g. contains a mixture of hair textures that vary from wavy to tightly curled or afro) then you’ll need to do a bit of testing to see how your hair responds to being shampooed less often.
You can then adjust your hair regimen to meet your mixed hair’s needs.
As a rule of thumb, you should shampoo once a month and condition once a week.
Now you might be wondering why shampooing too often is bad. For curly and afro textures, our hair has a tendency to be more dry and vulnerable to breakage. It’s therefore essential that we are cautious with it and handle our hair with care.
When you over-shampoo curly, mixed or afro hair, the hair’s natural oils are depleted which causes dryness, knots, split ends, frizz and tangles! In essence, it’s not good!
In contrast, if you condition your hair regularly, you’ll restore lost moisture whilst also keeping your hair tangle and frizz-free. Conditioning is quite simply one of the best things that you can do to your hair which is why it’s recommended that you condition once per week.
If your hair is in braids, a weave or any other ‘covered’ style then you’ll only need to wash it when it’s out. However, your hair is likely to be dirtier than usual because the dirt in your hair will have built up over time.
How often do you usually wash your hair?
Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
Victoria x
5 Life-Changing Secrets To Growing Longer Natural hair
“My hair could never be that long!”
“My hair’s too tough to comb!”
“Girls like me don’t grow hair to that length!”
These are just some of the many misconceptions that women of African heritage hold about their hair.
If you’ve ever made any of the above statements then this article was written for you in mind.
That fact is that although many of us have felt as if our hair is incapable of growing beyond shoulder length, this is simply untrue.
The actuality is that with proper care and caution, every one of us can significantly improve our hair’s growth and retain far more length.
Here are 5 life-changing secrets that will help you to drastically transform your hair’s length, strength and overall health.
Secret #1
The way you feel about your hair internally has a direct effect on its external progress.
In essence, this means that the way you feel about your hair, your self-esteem and your hair’s ability to grow has a direct correlation with your hair’s actual chances of growing longer.
Why?
Well, think about this. If you believe that your hair is ugly, impossible to look after and difficult to manage, you’re ultimately going to treat your hair as if it the bane of your existence. If however, you have a positive attitude towards your hair, see it as being beautiful and strive to improve it you’ll naturally feel the compulsion to take better care of it. Ultimately, that will mean that you’ll handle your hair with more caution, you’ll treat it better and in doing so, you’ll reduce the damage caused when handling it. Don’t believe me?
Think back to a time when you visited a salon and had your hair treated by someone who didn’t like or understand naturally curly or afro hair. Their disdain for it was evident and so they yanked your hair with a thin-toothed comb and practically ripped your hair out of your head! The way they felt about your hair had a direct correlation with how they treated it and the same applies for when you manage your own hair. Remember, the way you feel about your hair internally has a direct effect on how you treat it!
Secret #2
This secret is an extension of #1. Longer hair comes from great internal and external care. If you want to see your hair grow, start off by reciting positive affirmations to yourself on a daily basis. Examples include things like: “my hair is beautiful and I love it,” “my hair is getting stronger and longer every second of every day,” and “I love every kink and curl that God has blessed me with.”
By reciting these affirmations you’ll open up your heart and mind to a world of self-acceptance and personal growth. Furthermore, you’ll feel happier about yourself which is always a great thing.
Secret #3
Create your own unique, custom-made hair regimen. There’s a lot of talk these days about hair regimens and it can sometimes feel as if the advice you receive on how to care for your hair is contradictory. That’s why it’s essential that you get into a habit of not only finding products that work for you but also finding a regime that works specifically for your hair type.
Once you’ve come up with your regime, get into a habit of making it a daily ritual to look after your hair. For instance, you could spend 5 minutes each night moisturising your scalp and 5 minutes in the morning spritzing your curls with a home-made hair spray.
Secret #4
Stick with the fundamentals.
Fundamental hair care practices for curly and afro-textured hair include:
- Washing your hair with a sulphate free shampoo (about twice a month)
- Co-washing your hair (using conditioner to wash your hair rather than shampooing it) on a weekly basis
- Moisturising your hair every day without fail
- Trimming off unhealthy ends as you see them (also known as dusting your hair)
- Deep conditioning your hair once per month.
These 5 things are fundamental practices that natural (and even relaxed) haired girls should follow. Rather than getting distracted by the newest hair care craze, focus on making the above 5 things a part of your hair care schedule so that you keep your hair in great condition.
Secret #5
Last but not least, set yourself hair goals. For instance, science tells us that the average person (regardless of ethnicity) grows about 6 inches of hair per year. Therefore, you should aim to give yourself a hair growth goal that is in line with this. The main focus however, should be on setting yourself a goal that is realistic and attainable for your hair type. Also, try not to compare your hair’s growth to someone else’s because quite frankly, your hair is not the same as the next person’s and therefore your hair will grow at a different speed.
If you liked these tips, sign up for great free resources by joining our newsletter at mycurls.co.uk.
My Curls 