CARING FOR HAIR GROWTH

A lot of young ladies are on natural virgin hair today. Most of them cut their permed hair because of the beauty of natural hair and the beautiful styles you can achieve with your afro-kinky hair. The nature of the weather and also other traditions we are used to in caring for our hair doesn’t work with Nigerian natural hair and now they are beginning to regret ever cutting their hair. Nigerian natural hair has to be well taken care of for it to grow otherwise it will be dry, always breaking and tangled.

Victoria Chukwuemeka

Victoria Chukwuemeka,
A Nigerian natural hair lover.

Victoria has had her hair for two years and presently her hair is at shoulder level. She takes care of her hair like a plant and waters it regularly. She believes that you must keep your natural hair moisturized for it to grow well. 

Natural DIY products for Natural hair

Natural DIY [Do it yourself] products are the best hair growth materials for Nigerian natural hair. Even though most packaged products claim to be natural, it still contains chemicals that can damage the hair follicles.

Commonly, hair loss is a side effect of chemical leached hair products. Rachael Francis noted that “Going natural is the best solution for hair problems, since it doesn’t have any side effects and its results are long lasting.” in her article ‘Hair Growth: 7 natural home remedies for hair growth’.

Victoria also uses natural DIY products like aloe-vera and olive oil which she applies to her hair every morning after moisturizing it with water. It is generally known that one gets the full nutrients of those natural products rather than when refined.

Daily hair care routine

It is well known that Aloe-vera helps growth and it can be used as a leave in conditioner, a conditioner, hair treatment and helps rapid growth.

Victoria says ‘I don’t use any known products for my hair’ meaning any packaged products. What she uses normally is aloe vera and olive oil which she did herself as a sealing agent after moisturizing her hair with water and this is her daily hair care routine.

She also makes use of an afro-comb on her hair. As a lady on natural hair, you must avoid thin-tooth combs and always make use of the afro-comb or wide-toothed combs to avoid fall outs and retain hair growth learning this from a youtuber, Chidera Stephen.

Chidera Stephen

Chidera Stephen,
A Nigerian natural hair blogger
and a youtuber.

Chidera has had her hair for 5 years. She has a 4C type hair and her hair is presently at bra-strap length. She talks about the best way to care for your Nigerian natural hair. She gives details on the do’s and don’ts of natural hair care.

Follow routines like Bathing

She says, “You must have a daily routine, weekly routine, and monthly routine”. She cares for her hair having routines of deep conditioning and does hot oil treatment on her hair monthly. She washes and conditions her hair weekly about every two weeks and daily moisturizes your hair in the morning or at night”. She follows her routines like bathing which you can also.

Banana Hair Mask – The Magic 

She noted her magic deep condition tool which is banana, a little mayonnaise, ginger, aloe-vera and olive oil. This is a banana hair mask which will make your hair softer and help your hair grow better. She does this monthly.

Do’s and Do not’s of Natural hair

On frequent occasions, ladies on natural hair make mistakes that hinder their hair growth which they are not aware of. Chidera highlights on the common mistakes made by naturals. They don’t moisturize their hair properly, some using just oils on their hair without any moisture. You must moisturize properly following the LOC [liquid, oil and crème] or LCO[ liquid crème and oil] method. The liquid must be water or any water based leave in conditioner like aloe-vera juice or rose water before oil. https://chiderastephen.com/how-to-grow-healthy-long-thick-4c-natural-hair-fast/

She further highlighted that most people on natural hair use that very tiny comb which is bad because for natural hair, you must avoid thin-toothed combs and go for wide-toothed combs, detanglers or Afro- combs. She says “Using those tiny combs will continue to rip out your hair and you probably become bald which nobody wants”.

Lastly, her say on common mistakes is with ladies who suffer from breaking or even as far as no edges but keep braiding their edges, tying tight scarfs and bonnets. She notes that your edges are fragile unlike your center hair and they require special care and attention. Natural hair is beautiful and brings out your self-confidence with enough care and love.