Want Long, Healthy Kinky/Curly Natural Hair? Here are 3 Do’s and 3 Don’ts

You’ll be surprised at how simple and effective your natural hair routine can be when you follow a few easy tips! Here are some strategies for uncovering the beauty of your curls and coils.
Beautiful hair is healthy hair. Regardless of your hair texture, these do’s and don’ts will help reveal the very best of your gorgeous tresses.

DON’T: BE AFRAID OF HYDRATION.
You’ve probably heard that keeping your hair moisturized is the key to long-term hair health. What you might not realize is that moisture comes from water, not oil. Oils are lubricants – they keep your hair slippery and help to prevent the water within the hair strands from evaporating too quickly.

Co-washing (rinsing conditioner through your hair instead of shampoo) several times per week is ideal for keeping your locks properly moisturized without stripping them of their oils. It also helps keep detangling sessions short, since you’ll be finger detangling so often.

DO: GET A GOOD HAIRCUT.
Getting your hair shaped properly is a tremendous benefit because it makes styling easier and reduces the need for additional manipulation. Make sure you have your hair cut by a professional with in-depth experience cutting curly/kinky-textured hair in its natural, unstretched state.

DON’T: FORGO REGULAR TRIMS.
Keeping your damaged ends can threaten the health and integrity of the full length of your hair. This is because damaged hair is more prone to knots and snags than healthy hair, causing unnecessary stress and strain on your strands during detangling. Getting your hair trimmed will help you reach your growth potential.

DO: INVEST IN A SILK BONNET.
Or a satin bonnet. Or pillowcase. This helps significantly reduce friction and helps keep your hair from losing valuable oil and moisture.

DON’T: SUBSTITUTE OILS AND BUTTERS FOR FREQUENT WASHING/CO-WASHING.
Layering on emollients (oils and butters) instead of regular washing will only succeed in drying out your hair, and potentially even damaging it. This is because the lack of hydration causes the cuticle to become brittle, which is masked by the layers of oil. So, when water is finally reintroduced, the hair shaft swells, further weakening it. This makes hair susceptible to breakage.

DO: GIVE YOUR HAIR A BREAK.
It’s so tempting to wear your hair loose and free, but this can lead to snags and – you guessed it – breakage. Low manipulation styles like buns and top knots keep your hair protected from rubbing against clothing and parched by wind and sun exposure.

AK Hair and Healing offers hair care and styling services to clients of all textures. To learn more about our mission, please visit our information page.
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