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Afro Natural Hair health and routine

Updated: Jan 31, 2021

The hair, they say, is the glory of women. Every woman loves to have a full and shiny mane, soft and easily manageable into various styles. And for my sisters from the African decent, keeping hair natural in its curly and kinky state could be such a herculean task. For the most part of my childhood, my mom always shaved my hair and when I became an adult going to university, I grew my hair out for 1 year and then got it relaxed.

natural hair styling

Picture Source: Esther Aina


Relaxed vs natural hair

Apparently, relaxing my hair was a means of escaping from the hassles of keeping and grooming my afro-textured hair in its natural state. More so, I had no clue how else to keep my hair neat and manageable. This is a common problem, in fact most African sis I know have little or no idea how to keep and maintain their hair in its natural state. I was in the same state totally clueless about my hair until 3 years ago. I had the opportunity of consulting with a natural hair guru, whose pictures I am featuring in this blog post. Today, I'm going to be sharing some pearls I learned from her and I've been following since then. These pearls made a tremendous change in my hair health.


First is diet and supplements: keep your diet full of natural foods, fruit and vegetables, specifically green vegetables. This fills your body with numerous minerals and micronutrients. Examples of food good for hair health and growth are: eggs, berries, spinach, sweet potatoes, avocado, beans, among others. If you are looking for supplements, you can try the prenatal vitamins, hair, skin and nails vitamin. Please note, if using high dose biotin products, do not use for more than 3 months without your doctors supervision.

Second is hydration. Drink lots and lots of water since the hair is usually the last to get water supply in the body. When it doesn’t have the moisture it needs, your hair ends will split or become brittle. This makes it difficult for hair to grow. It is possible for one’s hair to stop growing completely if you’re not drinking enough water. There you go! Another valid reason to eat healthy and drink up.

Thirdly develop a routine for your hair. Get to know your hair and develop a loving relationship with it. Oh yeah, I mean a love-love relationship so you can treat your hair with respect and allow it to shine back to you as well. When you know your hair, you will know what it needs at any point in time. No matter how crazy your hair looks, you will know what exactly you need to do to tame it down. Now let’s break it down to the main components of my hair care routine.

Picture Source: Esther Aina

Natural hair care routine:

Regular washing: healthy hair begins with a healthy scalp. Clean your scalp regularly every 1 to 2 weeks with a sulphate-free shampoo. My go-to shampoo is the Creme of Nature Moisture and Shine Shampoo with Argan oil. Before entering the shower to shampoo, make sure you detangle your hair and put it into parts depending on the density and length of your hair.


Deep conditioning: Deep conditioning is to natural hair what chemical relaxer is to relaxed hair. It softens the hair and nourishes it without causing any permanent change in the hair structure. Do deep condition freshly washed hair. Deep condition your hair every time you shampoo to restore moisture into your hair. Make sure to find a moisturizing deep conditioner that will penetrate the hair shaft to keep the hair soft and hydrated all week long. Another tip is to deep condition with a heat cap. Applying heat opens up the hair cuticles and allows the goodness of your product to go into the hair shaft. For deep-conditioning, I go between Shea Moisture Manuka Honey and Mafura oil Intensive Hydration and Andalou Natural Argan oil and Shea Deep conditioner

Co-wash: Wash your hair with conditioner only at least once a week on days you are not deep conditioning. This keeps the hair hydrated in-between shampoo wash days. Remember a co-wash does not need to be a special product. You can use any conditioner of your choice. All you have to do is to clean your hair with water only, apply the conditioner, leave for few minutes and then wash off. My favourite conditioner is the Aussie Paraben-free Miracle Moist conditioner for dry hair

Protective styling: in the winter I always love to go between braids, weaves and wigs. In the summer I leave my hair out for longer time. Avoid leaving your protective styling for too long (ideally 4-6 weeks), because if you do, your style may still look good, but your real hair will be dying and eventually break off when you take down your style.

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize: if there is one thing our hair loves most, its moisture. Choose water-based moisturizers (make sure the first ingredient is water). Examples: African pride olive miracle moisturizer

Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in conditioner

ORS olive oil creme hair dress


There are some other procedures/techniques you may add to your hair care routine to enhance the growth and health of your hair, but the above points are the basic points you need at least to get started. As you learn more about your hair you can introduce more sophisticated processes such as protein treatment, hot oil scalp treatment and scalp massages, pre-poo, e.t.c.


If you are still experiencing significant hair loss despite taking all the steps above for about 3 months, then talk to your doctor as this may indicate presence of other medical conditions such as low iron, thyroid disorders, PCOS or seborrheic dermatitis. Running a blood work will reveal the underlying causes and such will be appropriately treated.

Picture Source: Esther Aina


Disclaimer: all health information provided on this platform represent my opinion only and are for educational purposes only. Reading my blog is not intended to be a substitute for a visit to your local pharmacist, physician, dietitian, and other healthcare providers. Be sure to seek proper care from your nutritionist, family doctors or specialists when needed.

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