Finding a time-saving routine for healthy curls can seem daunting with the amount of advice on products and afro haircare routines out there. This is especially true if you already have other commitments related to work, family and children at the same time. With this in mind, we’ve come up with five easy hacks that you can use to build your kinky hair routine that saves you time when caring for your natural hair.
Use Products That Have Good Quality Ingredients
To save time on your afro hair care routine, you need to ensure that you choose the right products that will keep it moisturised and healthy. This means looking at the ingredients list on products and avoiding anything that includes parabens, synthetic colouring, sulphates, or petroleum as they will dry out your hair.
It is also essential to consider any natural oils in your moisturising products like almond, avocado and shea. For instance, our Curl Elongating Gel contains flaxseed oil, resulting in stronger hair as it contains Vitamin E that helps treat hair loss and encourages new hair growth.
Shampoo Less, Condition More Often
Our afro curls crave moisture as it gives it more elasticity, which would mean that it would be less prone to breaking. In addition, your hair’s natural conditioner, sebum, forms a barrier on your strands when released from your sebaceous glands, which helps preserve moisture on your hair and scalp. But when your afro hair lacks water it can be more susceptible to single strand knots and breakages, which means that you need to spend more time on your hair care routine on your wash day.
While it is essential to shampoo your kinky hair at least once a week to remove dust, excess oil and dirt from your scalp and curls, shampooing too often can dry it out. This action will cause you to strip the natural oils from your afro hair. When shampooing, combine a sulphate-free shampoo once a week with a clarifying shampoo or treatment every 4 -8 weeks to eliminate product build-up. When applying shampoo to your kinky hair, massage it into your scalp only and then rinse, letting the residue run down your strands.
Then, condition your hair after this to provide your afro hair with the nutrients it lost when shampooing. Opt for a water-based conditioner that is curl-friendly and free from harmful ingredients like parabens, alcohol and petroleum once you’ve rinsed your afro hair after conditioning with cold water. Then, lock in the moisture with our Curling Creme With Coconut & Jamaican Black Castor Oils. This mixture will add body and bounce to your curls without appearing too heavy, and will give you an abundance of hydration to revive the shine of your natural hair.
It’s All About Your Ends
As afro hair has many curves, your scalp’s natural sebum will have a difficult time travelling from your hair shaft towards your ends. This results in your ends becoming dry, which adds more time to your afro hair care routine. To put a stop to this, regularly trim your ends at least every four months. You can also oil your ends to protect and keep them moisturised regardless of the weather or environment. Even more, you can reduce dry or split ends from occurring by reducing the amount of heat you use when styling your afro hair.
Think Gentle When Caring For Afro Hair
It’s easy for your kinky hair to get tangled on occasions. So, it’s vital to detangle your afro hair using your fingers so that you can gently release it from knots. Then follow this by combing your hair with a wide-toothed comb. Start combing your kinky hair from your ends and then work your way up to your roots to reduce breakage. Never brush your hair when it’s wet; this can cause further damage. With this in mind, use a microfibre towel to absorb the excess moisture first.
You can also make the process of detangling quicker and easier with our Everyday Curl Refresh With Coconut & Jamaican Black Castor Oils. A light spray of this water-based product can infuse moisture into your hair to prevent it from breaking before you comb through it. And that’s not all. You can also try splitting your hair into sections to cut down on your detangling time. By sectioning your hair and creating large twists, you can wash each area separately, then re-twist, apply conditioner and finally detangle with your fingers.
Invest In A Protective Style
As the British weather constantly changes, it will put your natural hair through a lot of stress and disruptions. Give your strands a break by using protective styles like cornrows, box braids, crochet braids and bantu knots. Low manipulation styles like buns and twists can also offer some protection and are kinder to your afro curls. You could also conceal your kinky hair under a silk scarf or bonnet before going out.
Regardless of your curl density, type, length or texture, loving your hair in all its versatility is the first step to having patience with your haircare routine. You need to understand your curls and what works for you before finding a routine that saves you time and makes looking after your hair more enjoyable.