Various factors can damage your natural curl pattern, such as too much heat, chemical treatments, a diet that lacks protein, hormonal changes, or a colouring service that has not been carried out correctly. If your afro curls do not spring back like they used to it is likely that, your curl pattern has been damaged.
This is especially true if your curls do not bounce back after being washed. Of course, if you damage your afro curls, the best solution would be to cut them off and start again. But, if you do not want to reduce your afro hair’s length yet, here are five ways to give your damaged afro curls a second chance.
Reduce The Amount of Heat You Use
Once any thermal styling tool burns your afro hair, it is a long, tedious process of waiting for new natural hair to grow. A simple solution to this problem is to ditch any styling tool for at least six months. During this time, you can restore your original curl pattern with the help of a protective style such as box braids, cornrows, or wigs.
You could also adopt a heatless style using our Curl Elongating Gel With Flaxseed Oil & Rosewater, which can give you elongated curls with definition and bounce. Alternatively, if you need thermal styling tools, use a heat protectant first. Finally, ensure that any heat styling tool is applied at a lower setting rather than a higher setting of more than 450 degrees.
Restore Moisture With A Hydrating Wash ‘N’ Go Routine
To repair your damaged hair follicles, you need to keep it simple. First, start with our Hydration Shampoo With Manuka Honey to gently cleanse your afro hair. Then follow this up with our Moisture Rich Conditioner With Manuka Honey & Avocado, which can give your afro hair the shine, body, flexibility, and elasticity it needs. You can also use this conditioning mixture to detangle your natural hair in the shower to reduce breakage. Lastly, our Leave-In Conditioner With Manuka Honey & Avocado Oil can also reduce breakage, restore shine and keep the moisture in your afro curls for longer.
Opt For Air Drying Rather than Blow Drying
Following washing and conditioning your natural hair, you can allow your curls to retain more moisture through a kinder drying technique. You can do this by gently patting your afro hair and then wrapping it in a microfibre towel so it can dry slowly. Once your natural hair is damp rather than wet, you can apply our leave-in conditioner to benefit from and soak up your wash day hydration.
Use Natural Styling Products Which Can Repair Your Damaged Afro Curls
When trying to repair a damaged curl pattern, you should opt for natural products which can condition and restore your curls to their formal glory. For instance, our Curling Crème With Coconut & Jamaican Black Castor Oils contains omega-fatty acids that hydrate, add more softness to your curls, and repair breakage and a damaged scalp. It can be used after your wash ‘n’ go routine to prepare your hair for waves or curls or as a pre-poo before washing your afro hair.
Our curl elongating gel can also treat hair loss and encourage new growth. At least once or twice a month, your kinky hair could also benefit from a deep conditioning treatment which you can mimic using our conditioner and shower caps. Additionally, if a deep conditioning regime does not do much for your damaged tresses, they could lack protein, so you need to craft a routine that restores the protein in your natural hair.
Protect Your Fragile Strands At Night
As well as drying your natural hair safely with a microfibre towel, you can also ensure your afro curls are preserved at night. Do this by investing in a silk or satin bonnet to wrap your afro hair while you sleep. Before wrapping your afro curls, apply a small amount of our Everyday Curl Refresh With Coconut & Jamaican Black Castor Oils to keep it hydrated and defined for longer.
As everyone’s curl pattern is different, you might need to wait for longer until your afro hair grows back. But our experience is that your original curl pattern will return once you start maintaining a regular hydrating haircare routine free from chemicals and excessive heat styling.