“I’m young black girl with thick hair; what should I do with it?”
dear apricot,
I’m going into my first year of high school and I have no idea what I should do with my hair throughout the year. My mom is so controlling when it comes to what is done to my hair I don’t know what to do! I’m a young black girl with thick, slightly curly hair so it does get tough. I’m growing out of braided styles and my mom isn’t leaning towards a perm, so I’m completely bewildered! Do you have any suggestions or tips for how I can take care and style my hair?
– KT
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KT,
I think your mom is smart for not wanting you to perm (also known as a relaxer) your hair just yet. A relaxer, though simple to do, is a huge commitment, & there’s no telling just how your hair is going to respond to having those strong chemicals applied on it. Even so, there are a lot of things you can do with your hair without needing a relaxer! You just to have be flexible to certain styles & different methods of keeping up your hair.
(for product information, click here.)
{photos courtesy of google.com}
For curly styles, you first want to make sure that you’re using a really moisturizing conditioner, because curly hair tends to get dry & frizz very easily. After shampooing your hair, try Neutrogena Triple Moisturizer as a conditioner & leave it on for several minutes. It’s a deep conditioning mask that won’t leave your hair feeling heavy with residue. & because it’s highly concentrated, you won’t need to use that much for your hair. A quarter-sized amount will do just fine.
After rinsing the conditioner from your hair, towel dry your hair to get as much moisture out of it as possible. Part your hair in the middle — or perhaps to the side, & then, on your semi-damp locks, apply a bit of Redken Fresh Curls curl definer lotion. Scrunch your hair a bit to keep your natural curls tight & defined. Finish it off with Redken Fresh Curls Anti-Frizz Shiner, which seals off your hair, protecting it from frizz throughout the day, while keeping your curls intact & fresh. This style should take you 15-20 minutes to do.
{photos courtesy of google.com & marieclaire.com}
Straight styles require a little extra work, but are still easy to maintain. They can also last for several days, if you decide not to wash your hair right away.
After washing your hair, dry it thoroughly with a blow dryer. (It helps if the blow dryer has a fine-toothed comb attachment on it, so that it straightens more while you dry. I like the Gold ‘N Hot dryer.) When your hair is completely dry, apply Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide serum. Not only does this product help smooth down your locks, there is also a heat protecting agent to ensure that your hair will be protected while straightening. You only need a few drops of this serum. Then, apply a few drops of Proclaim’s Natural 7 Olive Oil, which will bring & keep moisture in your hair. Now you’re ready to straighten.
Part your hair in thin sections & run the flat iron slowly through your hair. (To see how, check out this video. She makes flat-ironing your own hair look so simple.) Make sure that the flat iron’s heat isn’t up too high because you’ll risk burning your hair, which causes breakage. Keep it at a low setting at first & see how your hair straightens at that number. Flat irons get extremely hot, so having it at a very high number isn’t necessary.
After you go through all sections of your hair & everything is straightened, finish the look with a little bit of Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair butter. It gives your hair shine, smells terribly good, & puts the moisture back in your hair that the flat iron’s heat can usually take out.
Need more tips & tricks for your beautiful hair? Check out these websites:
Also, feel free to show our discussion to your mom. She might feel a bit more at ease knowing exactly what you want to do with your hair & what products & styling it entails.
Good luck! & have fun.
— apricot.
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