Natural Hair Problems

I've been natural all my life however I've started taking serious care of my hair since November. Even though many of you may believe that it may be easier for me as I haven't transitioned from relaxed to natural or because I haven't done the big chop, don't be fooled! I have natural hair problems as do all of our fellow naturalistas! Below I'll list some of my common problems that I face on a daily basis;

• Washing my hair - Hair feels so fresh and clean after washing but I've vowed my whole life to use minimal heat so I let my hair air dry. AIR DRY. Let's just let that sink in for everyone. When washing my hair, I dedicate two consecutive days to it because in order to restore my hair back to its natural length, a lot of stretching needs to take place which can be boring and time consuming. 

•Shrinkage - I think I share this opinion with almost all of my fellow natural friends when I say that shrinkage is the bane of my existence. I can step out of my house on a hot summers day with a fantabulous Afro and return home to see my hair and shrunk down so much that I struggle to tie it into a ponytail. This makes my hair styling very restrictive!

•Hair products - You walk into the hair shop on the hunt for a new conditioner only to be swamped by an abundance of products. The staff have very minimal knowledge on black hair and the best products for specific hair types so your having to wade through a jungle of products not knowing the first place to look for a conditioner. This can be infuriating and tempt you to give up! 

•Protective Hairstyles - The vital part of growing long, healthy natural hair is to keep it in protective hairstyles for the majority of the time. This is a fairly easy task but if you're like me then you get bored of hairstyles very quickly. I find that I run out of protective hairstyles that I can do on my hair making it a pain to do!

You may share one or perhaps all of the same problems that I have but I'm here to tell you that there is a solution to each;

1. Hair washing without heat can sound impossible however it is completely doable. Simply stretch out your hair once dry by wrapping thread around. Make sure it is tight and leave it over night. This should give your hair the blow dried look without the heat, keep repeating until you reach your natural hair length.

2. Shrinkage is such a common problem for naturals that there have been many products which have been developed on the market to combat this problem. Research online for the best anti-shrinkage products and enjoy rocking your 'fro during the summer. 

3. Sadly I can't change shop layouts but I can help you change the way you navigate around the shops. First determine what you need eg shampoo. Look across the shelves in terms of products for example look at the whole dark and lovely range which should be together. Then narrow your search down to the item you're looking for and decide whether it takes your fancy. I personally prefer to buy products made for toddlers or young children as they mostly contain the essential oils required for healthy hair growth minus the chemicals. 

4. Finding new protective hairstyles to replicate can be hard but the answer is even easier - media. Whether it be Pintrest, Twitter, Instagram or black hair magazines, the medium for sourcing out new hairstyles is never-ending!

There you have it, if life gives us lemons, we cut them up to make lemon water. Hope that helped, if you have any blog post request or want to contact me , feel free to email me or leave an anonymous comment on ask.fm!