Beginners guide to: ‘A holistic healthy hair care regime and lifestyle’
The Science and Care of Afro-textured Hair
It’s important for us to understand that a lot of the information about the care and nurture that Afro-textured hair requires has been lost for many years.
This means that a lot of the practices that we have been doing (or not doing) to our hair has worked against what our hair actually requires and has meant that we have been unable to see the true beauty of our hair in regards to the texture, look, feel and longer lengths that we can achieve.
- One such misinformation around Afro-textured hair is that we do not need to wash our hair often.
- Another such misinformation is that ‘Our hair does not like water’
Not washing and conditioning our hair regularly and not using moisture sprays and products with water equals.
-Hair becoming dry
-Hair becoming Brittle
-Looking dull, and, ultimately;
-Breaking off each month
What do we first need to understand about hair in general and especially Afro-textured hair to understand why our hair is generally dry?
Our scalp is the birth place of our hair and produces sebum which is a natural oil to condition our scalp and lubricate our hair:
- Our hair essential has 2 parts, the hair follicle, which is the part under the scalp and the hair shaft also known as the hair fiber, which is the part we can all see.
- Our hair fiber has three parts, the medulla, cortex and cuticle. Moisture is held in the cortex and is essentially collected when our hair is washed and conditioned.
- The shape of Afro-textured hair is curly and coily and has natural kinks in our hair fiber so the sebum which is supposed to lubricate our hair fibers is unable to travel down the bends and curls. This is essentially a key factor which is why our hair is dry.
- Another reason as noted above, is not washing and conditioning your hair weekly or every 2 weeks to add essential moisture into the hair fiber to keep it hydrated and healthy.
What do we need to do to our hair so it does not look and feel dry and brittle?
- Regular wash and conditioning, which will provide the ultimate moisture into the cortex of the hair fiber, ensuring it is kept hydrated until the next wash and conditioning regime.
- Regular use of Saffron Jade ‘Leave in Conditioning Moisture spray , in between wash days will add essential moisture and hydration with key ingredients to nourish the hair and scalp.
- Hair continues to need essential moisture whilst in braids, weaves, locs and also whilst wearing wigs.
