Category: Health and Hair
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
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.
Will dyeing my hair cause it to break?
Sometimes as a naturalista, you might feel as if your hair could do with a bit of a change. For some people change can come in the form of straightening their hair for a few days, adding clip-ins or wearing a weave. However, if you’ve been thinking about dyeing your hair and you’re unsure whether it will cause your hair to break, consider these things.
Hair dye can cause damage to your hair if your hair is already suffering from some form of damage. That includes breakage, excess shedding or scalp dryness.
To reduce the chances of your hair breaking when it has been dyed, it’s best to only dye your hair if it is in optimal condition prior. If you’ve noticed that your hair shows any signs of damage whatsoever, then don’t dye it. Simply wait until it’s in a better condition before going ahead.
Another thing to bear in mind is that semi-permanent dyes (which last for about 5-7 washes) are a better alternative if you’re simply looking to add colour to your hair or you want a quick change of style or a new look. permanent dyes aren’t necessarily damage-free but they are less strenuous on your hair.
Furthermore, if you want to avoid breakage when dyeing your hair, make sure that you keep your hair very well conditioned and moisturised after colouring it. Hair dyes are notorious for causing dryness which in turn leads to thinning and breakage and it’s for this reason that so many women experience signs of damage after dyeing their hair. To keep your newly coloured hair in great condition, deep condition it at least once a month and co-wash (which means washing your hair with conditioner only) on a weekly basis.
Be sure to trim any damaged ends and moisturise your hair like there’s no tomorrow! Seriously, moisturising can literally make or break your hair’s health. I can’t stress the importance of moisturising it.
If you’re unsure about how to moisturise, do the following:
- Co-wash your hair once a week
- Apply a silicone-free, moisturising hair lotion to it twice a day
- Follow with a good, natural oil like jojoba or olive oil
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 twice a day. Try moisturising once in the morning and once at night.
Keeping your hair in good condition after it has been coloured isn’t impossible. You just need to be more mindful of your hair’s health and fragility and moisturise on a regular basis.
How to keep your hair protected during the winter
It’s common knowledge that winter weather can wreak havoc on natural hair. It’s therefore crucial that in these very cold months, you keep your hair protected and cared for.
As a busy woman who’s preoccupied with your career, life and family, it’s important that you find ways to make protecting your hair as easy and effortless as possible.
So how can you do this?
One o
f our favourite ways to care for your hair during the winter months is to simply wrap it up by keeping it as covered as possible.
You can do this by playing with scarves, head-ties, hats and headbands.
What’s great about using accessories to protect your hair is that not only does your hair stay in top notch condition, it also keeps you warm and who doesn’t want to be warm during when it’s freezing outside?
What’s your favourite hair accessory for the winter season?
Leave a comment below sharing it with us.
Victoria
Founder, MyCurls.co.uk.
Music Inspiration For Curly Girls
Do you ever have those days where you’re feeling down about your height, weight, skin or your natural hair?
We all do. Even the most confident of naturalistas has a day or two where they feel a little less confident or a little less pretty.
I’ll admit that the other day, I had one of those days and I felt awful for it.
But then I heard a song that made me feel a little more beautiful and a whole lot more fierce.
That song was All About The Bass by Meghan Trainor. I am in love with this song and I think that the lyrics are fantastic!
If you haven’t heard it yet, have a listen below.
After hearing Meghan’s song, I realised that it would be great to share some of my favourite confidence boosting songs with you.
Listen to them below and don’t forget to leave a comment telling me what you love most about yourself.
TLC’s Unpretty.
Destiny’s Child’s Bootylicious
Natural Hair Rules: 7 Commandments Every Curly Girl Needs To Follow
Ever catch yourself look at girls with enviable poker straight hair and wonder what a ball of fuzz your curly hair is? Fret not! HereĂs a detailed guide on how to unlock those dread locks and transform into a goddess with a curly and bouncy gorgeous mane and ingredients to use to pamper your lustrous locks.
Oiling your hair before washing it has proved to be a great conditioner. Curly hair responds very well to jojoba and olive oil.
Deep conditioning always helps cases of unmanageable frizzy hair. In emergency situations, when you have to head out for a hot date or that fancy evening soiree, the best thing to do to control your curly hair would be deep conditioning. Find a protein conditioner that suits you and apply a dime size dollop into your hands and massage into your scalp. This keeps it soft and shiny for the rest of the day and also adds an extra texture to your mane. Natural conditioners like shea butter are very safe to use.
Most curly haired girls are conscious about their texture and often resort to styling methods to straighten out their hair and hide that uneven curly and wavy texture. These methods involve heating tools such as flat irons and clampers. You might want to ditch them as heating your curly hair will only make it weak from the roots and brittle in texture, thereby making your hair look like a frizzy mess.
In a hot weather, it is best to use mild shampoos and not ones that have strong chemicals that damage your hair. In case of too much humidity, when you sweat and you feel like washing your hair every day after a long day at work, use baby shampoo. The strong chemicals in regular shampoo makes curly hair all the more difficult to maintain stripping it from its natural oils from the scalp and with an extra frizz added to your hair. Using a mild shampoo for everyday use or in cases when you want to wash your hair more than the regular thrice a week regime, will make it soft and moisturized.
Split with the dead ends. Going to a hair salon and getting a short trim and cutting your split ends will enable your curly hair to grow stronger and make it look luscious and bouncy rather than rough and erratic.
Always use a wide toothed comb. This is not the eighties. You do not want an afro on your head and you know you have to detangle your hair ASAP! But how will you, with your hair getting stuck in those tiny bristles of that comb? So unless you want to indulge in an arm wrestle by yanking your brush out of your hair, detangle your hair with your fingers and a wide toothed comb and use this comb every day to brush your hair.
Applying salon products like hair serums and hair mousse while proving to be helpful could be very tricky to use. You do not want your hair dripping with greasiness for someone to be able soak it with a paper towel. Use hair products with great care and always scrunch them into your curls. Do not layer it all over your hair into a greasy lump. Honey with a tea spoon of milk gives a nice bounce just like a hair product would
And last but not the least, love yourself including those curls. Being confident is the best gift you could give your hair and yourself. You are unique and beautiful that way. Stay gorgeous.
Natural Hair Treatments: 4 Natural Ingredients Afro Hair Loves.
Do you envy girls who hop out of the shower with silky straight hair while you remain tangled in your curly labyrinths?
Then, youĂd be surprised to know that if you have curls like ringlets, you own one of the most enviable crown of heads.
Those girls you envy spend hours to get what you have been naturally gifted. So, instead of fighting those curls, work with them and make them stunning.
If you start adoring your hair and follow four simple tips provided herein, curly hair can make you look like a goddess every day.
Natural Oils
Oils are curly hairĂs best friend and although itĂs tempting to ditch the traditional regimen of oiling, nothing soothes your hair more than this session of a few minutes. Sometimes curlies have difficulty finding oils that don’t give their hair the appearance of being dunked in a grease fryer. Certain oils mentioned here would help you combat the havoc:
- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil – What it does is that it penetrates hair shaft; this is why it provides moisture.
- Grapeseed Oil – What it does is that it protects your hair temperature. You can also use it to fight dandruff.
- Sweet Almond Oil seals in moisture and soothes the hair shaft, which is an addition to highly porous hair.
- Jojoba Oil – It balances the production of scalp’s sebum.
Although olive oil and castor oil are heavy oils that are popular in the naturally curly hair community, these highly beneficial light oils can also be used for healthy hair.
Moisturize and Condition
Curly hair requires regular moisturising so that they do not break or frizz with dryness. The most important requirement is to find the right product that suites your hair. A shampoo that would suite one set of curly hair may not suite the other. Also, conditioning is a must after every shampoo.
Protein
Another significant treatment is to maintain the protein balance of your curls. A protein treatment has different protein properties that attach directly to the hair follicle and harden the cuticle layer. This places a barrier around the follicle, which protects it from further damage. There are four types of protein conditioner treatments: protein packs, re-constructors, deep penetrating treatments, and light protein treatments. The hair’s current condition will decide the type of protein conditioner needed for treatment. Use a re-constructor for severely damaged hair. For moderately damaged hair, use a deep penetrating treatment. For slight damage and routine treatments, use protein packs or light treatments. There are a lot of products in the market but only trustworthy ones should be used.
Heat Free Styling
Heat Styling Tools such as Flat Irons or Curling Irons do nothing but damage your locks and, turn your hair into a dry, brittle, unhealthy mess since you are basically frying your hair when using them. So the first thing you should do is get your split ends cut off, you can get this done at your local hair stylist of even do it yourself if you dare. As a curly haired girl, hopefully you already know that unless it’s Halloween and you’re in need of an afro, you should avoid blow drying or brushing your hair because it will just go Poof! To save the embarrassment, you can use styling products such as serums and gels and work them gently with your fingers.
Love is always reciprocated. When you love your hair and follow the above four simple techniques, they love you back by giving hassle free good and gorgeous hair days.
If your curls are in need of some TLC, head over to our online store to find a product that your tresses will love.
How Do I Get My Curls Back? 3 Steps To Transitioning From Relaxed To Natural
A while ago, I received a message from an aspiring naturalista who was stuck with a problem.
Question: ‘I relaxed my hair five weeks ago but now I miss my curls! Is there a way to get them back?’
For those of us who’ve been natural for a while, it’s easy to forget that going natural is a process. It’s nothing short of a journey that involves learning a lot about black hair and then applying that knowledge into our daily hair regimens. However, for women who have relaxed hair, it can often seem as if it’s easy to go natural and that it can happen over night. That’s not true.
Now to answer this lady’s question. If you relaxed your hair less than two months ago there will be no easy way to go natural. The simplest option is to cut off your relaxed hair and rock a TWA (teeny weeny afro).
However, before doing that, I strongly recommend that you take some time to really figure out if going natural is for you.
Answer these 3 questions:
- Do you know how to maintain natural hair or are you willing to learn about natural hair maintainaence?
- Are you committed to going natural or do you just want a bit of a hairstyle change? If you just want to switch hairstyles up, I recommend trying a natural wig or weave so that you can get the natural look without going natural straight away. Doing so will allow you to figure out whether natural hair is really for you.
- Are you self-conscious about your hair? Natural girls often have to be confident about their hair because natural hair isn’t the norm in most places. Furthermore, no matter how you rock your hair, it’s important to be confident any way.
If after answering these questions you decide that you still want to go natural, go for it!
Start off by doing some research on natural hairstyles, natural hair maintenance and find some natural hair quotes to give you inspiration.
Then consider either cutting off your relaxed ends or growing out your natural hair until you’re ready to cut the ends off at a later date.
Throughout the transitioning journey keep your hair really conditioned and moisturised so that it is in the best possible condition.
Transitioning can be a complex process but if you follow the above advice you should be in good stead to do it with ease.
PS. If you’d like more tips on transitioning don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter where I share advice, tips and hair care treats.
Now, in the comments below tell me how you transitioned to natural. What was it like? Did you enjoy it? What did you learn about yourself while transitioning?
Natural Hair Tips: How To Get Rid of Frizzy Hair
Over the past week or so I’ve been busy in the My Curls kitchen whipping together some sweet-smelling hair recipes. I’ll be sharing a few of the things I’ve come up with in an upcoming newsletter so make sure you’ve signed up so you don’t miss out! Click here to sign up (it’s free!)
Since frizz is one of the hottest topics amongst our Curlettes (that’s the name of our amazing community of curly customers and VIP newsletter subscribers), I thought it would be a great idea to create a cute but highly effective graphic on how to get rid of frizz.
How to get rid of frizzy hair
Take a look at the picture and if you learnt something new from it, leave a comment sharing it below.
Do you know anyone who might benefit from this blog post? Click on the social media icons below to share this with your friends.
PS. Go here to become a Curlette!
Have an amazing week!
Victoria x
How To Care For Thinning Hair
Have you ever felt self-conscious because your hair was thinning?
Have you had to cover it up with scarves and hats to hide thin spots or worried that it was excessively breaking?
Don’t fret because you’re not alone.
Women (and men) of all hair textures and ethnicities experience hair thinning at some point or another.
In fact statistics show that more than 21 million women in the USA alone experience hair thinning at some point.
How can you prevent or reduce thinning hair?
Here are some steps to take:
1. Ditch tight weaves and tight braids. Many women make the mistake of sacrificing their real hair’s health for the fun of wearing a glamorous looking weave or thin braids.
The truth of the matter is that many women fail to keep an eye on how tight their extensions are and as a result they experience traction alopecia (a severe form of hair breakage) because the hair has been pulled too tightly.
If you want a headful of luscious natural hair, avoid getting your hair styled too tightly and tell your hair stylist to be cautious with your hair.
Always remember that your hair is fragile and should be handled with care.
2. Don’t comb excessively. There’s an ancient Greek adage that says ‘nothing in excess.’ That definitely rings true when it comes to your hair.
Combing or brushing your hair excessively or harshly causes it to break, tear and snap. Be careful with how often you comb your hair and try to finger comb instead of always combing it with a brush or comb.
3. Be health conscious. Believe it or not, your diet plays a crucial role in your hair’s condition. If your health isn’t in check, it will often reflect in your hair’s condition.
Firstly, if you experience persistent hair thinning, go to the doctor and get checked out. It could for instance be a sign of an under active thyroid.
If however, you’re experiencing thinning hair despite the fact that you have no medical problems, you might want to pay closer attention to your diet by upping your vegetable, fruit and water intake.
Also, if you haven’t been working out, get moving! Aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and don’t forget that doing things like walking up a flight of stairs, jogging in your living room and dancing all add up.
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My Curls 