Sometimes too much knowledge can get over whelming and confusing. This is something that seems to be occurring in the haircare community. As many of us learn how to take better care of our hair we look to forums, youtube, and blogs. There is a ton of haircare knowledge sweeping the web and just recently, bookstores. There seems to be a lot of product junkies still struggling with their hair and a lot of women that think “natural hair is hard to take care of” not true at all!

Here is a great youtube video by Kaice Alea “Basic Natural Hair Care Regimen (Beginner Friendly”. I agree with her completely, it doesn’t take much to take are of your hair.

Checklist:

1. Shampoo- If you use an “all natural” shampoo, if you can find one, try to stay away from anything that cancels out moisture.  Most shampoos tend to strip all the moisture in my 4c hair, so I try to stay away from shampoos that cancels out moisture.

2. Conditioner-  I honestly think if you figure out what your hair needs this is a simple choice. Need to clarify and remove impurities? Get a natural conditioner with Ashwaghanda or bentonite clay seems to work very well for me.  I just ad it when I’m in the shower. Slow hair growth? Try one amla or bringraj. Read reviews and narrow it down to 2 or 3 companies.

3. Leave-In conditioner- You need your leave-in to moisturize so, you need to look for water as the first ingredient. If you feel like you can’t find a leave-in you like, try a water and vegetable glycerin mix (50/50). Water and glycerin are usually the first 2 ingredients in most leave-ins.

4. Sealant/oil: Your options are endless here. You can use shea butter, mango butter, avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, vitamin e oil, the list is endless. Some oils are lighter than others and even penetrate the hair shaft to moisturize (coconut oil).  When I want just a basic oil I go with Tropic Isle and when I want to handle my shedding or get more growth I go with KeraVada.

5. Gel- is great for styling but I would avoid damaging products like Eco Styler gel (although this holds soooo well uuuughhh) and Gorilla snot (Love this for my edges… hate it for my hair and my health). You can even make your own gel with flax seeds or use aloe vera gel.

One thing I will suggest is making sure you are not sending you hair on a PH roller coaster ride. This is something I suggest being aware of when you start mixing ingredients and using “homemade” hair recipes. Just because it is natural doesn’t mean it is great for our hair.  I tried red raspberry leaf and although it is great for growth… my 4c hair felt like a dry bush, girl bye!

Also, the products found in the stores are usually already tested for PH, this is why most companies suggest you use their shampoo along with their conditioner.

Remember, women have been growing their hair since the beginning of time and they didn’t have all these product lines, they kept it simple.