Natural hairstyling and haircare restrictions since the year 2020, among other things, were marked by the state-wide closing of hair salons and barbershops resulting from Covid-19 versus safety restrictions. Countries across the world went into lockdown and so did the natural care hair movement. nIt has almost been a year since the peak of the pandemic, and we still must abide by Covid- 19 protocols through social distancing, wearing masks, and proper sanitation to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Therefore, in an era of social distancing, how can we maintain our different black natural hair textures? In an era where we cannot visit the salon or our braiders as much as we would like to, what are we expected to do with our hair? I know that social distancing can evoke feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Still, we should not view hair care as a chore but rather a blissful self-care moment. We can do so much for our hair ranging from developing a hair regiment, doing protective styles, and experimenting with hair color, or even sewing down afro-textured wigs.
Hair Care
Remember those instances, especially as children were getting our hair blown out, silk pressed or braided felt like the hairdresser was pulling and burning our scalp off. That experience should be the exact opposite among different types of curly-hair women today. The first step to gentle hair care is to never do our hair while frustrated, in a hurry, or weary. This prevents us from being the reason we break or tangle our hair in the process. It's just best to put off your hair care until you feel better.
The best-known hair care secret is developing a hair regimen designed for your hair type, hair porosity, and schedule. To succeed in anything in life, consistency is always vital, and that is no different with our hair. So, think of your hair regimen as your scalp's specialized meal plan to ensure your hair is healthy and achieve your hair goals. A structure can also help our hair care seem less overwhelming as it breaks it down into practical steps.
I like to believe that four (4) must-have products go into the successful crafting of a hair regimen: A cleanser, a leave-in moisturizing conditioner, a deep conditioner treatment, and scalp and/or hair oil. Cleansers, whether non-sulfate shampoos or co-wash are essential as they help remove product build-up irritants and excess oil from the hair follicles nearest the scalp from our hair. Hence, try to cleanse your hair with gentle moisturizing shampoo at least once to every 1.5 weeks.
Due to the structure of our curly hair, it is often drier than our straight counterparts. Leave-in brings in extra moisture into our hair and helps with detangling. Additionally, during each shampoo, we are removing essential oils secreted naturally to benefit our hair and skin. A deep conditioner is the pinnacle of natural haircare while protective styling with clip-in hair extensions, sew-in weft hair, or your own hair and particularly braided hairstyles with bulk or crochet loose hair.
After all the tugging, pulling, and brushing of our hair during the week, the process of deep conditioning allows us to relax as the product restores moisture and shines into our cuticles. Hair oil is the icing on top of our hair; locking moisture a lot of oil has additional benefits, whether EVOO (olive oil), jojoba oil, black castor oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. It takes time to develop a solid curly hair care plan. What might work for someone with natural 3c curly hair might not work for someone with natural 4c afro curl.
If you have not found your holy grail of products for your hair care routine, keeping a hair journal is the best way to find them. In your journal, you can record and rate the different products you are using, determining how they make your hair feel and how they mix with different products. At the end of the day, make sure your hair routine is designed and works for you. Do not forget to think about morning and evening routines, including moisturizing your hair in the morning and sleeping in a satin scarf, bonnet, or pillowcase at night. Other aspects that go into hair care may include diet and vitamin intake.
Protective Styling
The realm of protective styling is expansive with numerous hairstyles and installation processes. Do not be intimidated by the notion of doing your own protective style since, as a community, we have utilized our creativity to develop styles and installation processes for veteran naturals and beginner newly natural women of color. Especially since we live in a generation with access to the internet and social media, there are an endless number of video tutorials and visual inspiration for our next protective style. Private Stock Hair™ is among one of the finest Black weave and wig companies that support protective styling options for every hair texture and phase of hair growth.
If there is one style that provides easy versatility in color, length, and texture, it has to be different types of curly hair wigs. As long as our wigs are not too tight and ripping our edges off, this style provides ultimate protection for our hair stands against the elements; especially when we maintain a proper braid foundation beneath your wig cap. To learn about the best wig cap options to best meet your needs, review our About Wigs page here. Silk and lace wig hair texture has evolved significantly over the years. We are now seeing the rise of afro-textured wigs and wigs customized for African Americans to include the full spectrum of natural hair types.
Luckily for us, who cannot lay a wig to save our lives, we have options with our headband wigs or glueless wigs which do not require adhesives or laying baby hair. to put on our heads and dress it up and go. What is best is the security that comes with well-constructed wigs such as the Private Stock Hiar™ collection, which are adjustable back straps, elastic band, combs or clips. A pro secret tip in turning any lace wig into a glueless wig is to get yourself a wig grip; this relieves the wig's pressure onto your scalp and makes the process much faster!
Crochet styles offer as much versatility as wigs; the best part is recreating our favorite braid styles with them. This is the ultimate style for beginners and busy naturals since the process is simply pulling extension hair under a part or cornrow and styling from there. If parting and gripping is something you struggle with, try the rubber band method. So, get yourself a crochet needle and create passion twists, faux locks, bohemian braids, or a long afro straight style with coarse yaki hair extensions from our Blow Natural™ and straight human hair products.
Sometimes, we do not want to have all the crazy extensions in our hair and would rather have a simple, easy-to-maintain style. This is where mini twists and braids come in. You can make this style as small or big as you want, dress it up with accessories (beads, bands, jewels, or glitz bobby pins), and it is extremely easy to maintain and refresh. However, what happens when you have that Zoom call and your hair is refusing to cooperate. Well, turbans and headscarves are your best friend; these materials allow us to create an illusion and hide our messy hair underneath. They will definitely last your entire meeting, ensuring you look polished and trending! We love the turbans and patterns from Turbanista by Aissata (@turbanistaparis).
We must remember that protective styles are designed to protect our hair, not damage it. So do not keep your protective style in for too long. Wash and refresh the style as you have it and make sure the style is not too tight throughout your scalp, and especially your edges and nape-- often the weakest part of our hair. Lastly, takedown is vital; Be gentle and kind as you detangle your hair post-protective style.
Experiment
Being quarantined at home is the best period to experiment with your hairstyles. I advocate for careful experimentation, so we avoid damage at all costs. If there is a color you have always wanted to try, go purchase hair paint online, wax, or temporary spray. clip-in hair extensions from Private Stock Hair™ are ideal when added length, volume, or color is in your hair plans. Another way to experiment is creating your own hair products out of items in your kitchen. This is affordable, and you can test what organic ingredients make your hair flourish. Research is key in this process; make sure you understand how different items work and how to make these products. Popular kitchen items used in DIY hair care include avocado, honey, coconut, and rice water.
I hope your hair care journey during this pandemic is peaceful, fun, and educative. Hopefully, these tips further your hair journey. Lastly, do what makes you and your hair happy!