1.) Hair type DOESN’T matter.
In the overall, grand theme of things, hair type isn’t important. Don’t waste time trying to classify your specific hair type. Knowing your hair type may be helpful while styling, having a general idea of how it MIGHT behave, but it’s really not important in the pursuit of happy, healthy, and flourishing hair.
What’s actually helpful is knowing your “overarching” hair type. For example, know if your hair falls in hair type 1, 2, 3, or 4. Just don’t stress about if your hair type is 4a, 4b, 4c, 4-blah blah blah!
Just for your general reference:
Type 1:Straight Hair
Type 2: Wavy Hair
Type 3: Curly Hair
Type 4: Coily Hair
That’s It. That’s all you need to know!
2.) Porosity DOES matter.
Hair porosity refers to how well your hair is able to absorb and maintain moisture. The most common way to determine your hair porosity is to place a strand of your hair in a cup of water. If the strand sinks, you have high porosity. If the strand floats, you have low porosity. If it hangs out somewhere in the middle, you have medium porosity.
Low porosity hair- very slow to absorb moisture but once it’s in there, it holds it pretty well.
High porosity hair- easily absorbs moisture but can lose moisture just as quickly.
Once you understand what category your hair falls into you’ll be able to better understand why your hair behaves the way it does and what products are most likely to work for you.
For instance, I have low-porosity hair. Like…extremely low. I put my strand of hair in that cup of water and it floated for days! I know that my low porosity hair needs moisturizers that are more “wet” than “buttery/oily”. Products that are more water-based seem to penetrate my hair better.
Research products that work well for your porosity and I promise you, you’ll save so much time AND money!
3.) Her hair is NOT your hair, my friend.
Yes, that natural hair YouTuber’s hair may look like yours but it’s just not the same.
Your hair is like a fingerprint. It’s unique to you. Some fingerprints may look alike side by side but up close you’ll see they have their own intricacies.
My favorite natural hair YouTuber ALL DAY, ERR-DAY is Naptural85! She can do no wrong! When I first went natural, I latched onto her channel like a coily-headed leech. Whatever she did, I did. One of the many reasons I gravitated towards her was because her hair texture looked very similar to mine. I followed a few of her styling videos with pristine accuracy only to end up with subpar results.
It was then that I realized that her hair just was not my hair. It was different. And guess what I learned a little later down the line? She has high porosity hair and I do not! Our hair type is just about the same but behaves differently because our porosity is different. I told you that porosity was a big deal!
4.) You have to learn your hair.
She has likes and dislikes. Just because it didn’t work the first time doesn’t mean it will never work. Try, try, again!
I remember the first time I tried a twist out. It was a hot, frizzy,MESS, you hear me?! After a few attempts, I learned that my frizz-prone hair needs some type of smoothing agent, like a gel or foam, if I want a defined result on wet-styled hair.
5.) Frizzy hair craves moisture.
Now this one I learned like, yesterday! This tip is definitely particular to my frizz-prone sisters out there but this was such a revelation that I have to share.
Now there’s nothing wrong with frizz. Frizz just means that your strands are less likely to clump together and give you a sleek defined look without added effort. You can get there if you want though. You just need moisture! I strongly encourage you to go IN on the moisturizer if you have frizzy hair and want a more defined look.
What this looked like for me was doubling up on my leave-ins. So far, using Camille Rose Style Milk AND Kinky Curl Knot Today Leave-In has worked wonders for defining my wash-and-go’s.
6.) Love YOUR hair. Loving your hair is loving you.
However you choose to wear your hair is just that, YOUR CHOICE. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. For me personally, I have never felt more like my natural, true self as I did when I went natural. This is the hair I came out of the womb with-(granted-not as much!) It’s unaltered, curly, coiled, frizzy, and mine! I love it!
7.) Natural hair is a black girl magic superpower.
For real though! Wet it and it’s up to your ears. Put some heat on it and it’s down the middle of your back. Pick it out and have a glorious, textured halo surround your head.
