Quarantine Natural Hair!

Let’s talk about it!

I’m a 4c girl with thick and dense strands, so the struggle is real! I have the type of hair that broke combs, caused hairdressers to cuss, caused many, many, many tears, et cetera, et cetera.

My hair blow-dried

Quarantine has been a low-key blessing for my hair. I have barely needed to style my hair (I usually throw on a head wrap for Zoom meetings). I mainly put my hair in either big plaits or twists after I wash it and just have that for the weeks before I wash my hair again. I co-wash my hair in between the times that I shampoo and I usually leave those twists/plaits in while I co-wash it. Aesthetically it’s not amazing but it is a protective style for my hair as it doesn’t require any manipulation after the plaiting is done.

As basic as this! Lol 😅

With regards to my ends – my biggest problem area for a long, long time – I went on a hacking rampage earlier in the year where I was searching and destroying – simply snipping off any split end or single strand knots that I saw on almost a daily basis. I’m not doing that anymore, of which I’ll explain why in another post, but since I had essentially given myself a well-good trim – my ends have been great during quarantine. I also make a special effort to apply all products that I use to my ends using the ‘praying hands’ method. All of this has really been groundbreaking for retaining length. If I’m doing my hair and I feel that the ends feel rough, that’s when I know that it’s time for a trim. I snip off split ends and single strand knots with the search and destroy method. Since I do big twists and plaits, I tend to just feel the ends of those and make a judgement.

I have also had a bit of dry scalp, but I rectify that with a hot oil pre-poo treatment and I spritz my hair and scalp daily with a rosewater and essential oil mix.

I am finally getting to a place where I have accepted my hair as part of my life and am starting to enjoy doing my hair. Not long ago, my natural hair caused no excitement to me whatsoever unless it was becoming something else, like going into braids or being straightened. Now I am understanding my hair way better and taking care of it has been a huge part of strengthening my relationship with it.

I am also at a point where I am starting to try and embrace shrinkage. One day after washing, due to being occupied my hair didn’t get moisturised and stretched till a few hours later, and by then, my hair had shrunk so much without any product in it. It reminded me of when my mum would wash my hair when I was young and I would be alarmed how much my hair almost shrunk to my scalp.

I won’t lie, I still get frustrated by my hair shrinking up. My hair is growing but after I wash it, it looks way shorter than its true length, especially when it dries after I twist it. My hair does get elongated but not to my true length, and I find throughout the week it just shrinks up, unless I do something like banding to stretch the hair even more. I try not to blow dry my hair at all – I only tend to do it before I’m getting a style done by someone else such as braids. I did it last week because I was getting frustrated with my hair appearing ‘short’ and just to appease myself, I blow-dried it so I could see how much my hair had actually grown. I mostly air dry my hair after applying a leave-in conditioner and an oil and that has been working for me for a long time. If I do blow dry, I will use a heat protectant to ensure not to damage my hair.

I know that shrinkage equates health in our hair and my partner even noted that my shrunken hair looked healthy. Our hair naturally wants to shrink and whilst we do need to employ stretching to avoid tangling and breakage, it will still shrink up in one way or another. Usually I also do exercise during the week which can shrink my hair even more, especially because I also wash my hair with water afterwards. As much as it drives me crazy, I am trying to accept the shrinkage.

I am in a battle with myself since I know my hesitance towards shrinkage does come from this childhood idea that you need to have long hair to be ‘womanly’ and to be considered as ‘pretty.’ We are also in a conundrum because black women are viewed as not being able to grow their hair, and the ones that do are ‘mixed.’ We are battling with European beauty standards of what female beauty is, and even thinking about it makes me want to shave off my hair just to say a big f*** you towards the whole concept. But yet there’s also a part of me which does want to grow my hair long, not just to appease my younger self but also for me to see that I can grow my hair, to help my self-esteem and strengthen the attitude that I have towards my hair. I do low-key want a lion’s mane to shake about and feel regal.

Another major issue that I have always had with my hair has been dryness. I literally cringe when I remember my juvenile attitude toward my hair: Only cream it when it itches. Growing up, I knew basically nothing about taking care of my hair. I would only cream it when it felt or looked like it was a problem, and that would be with the greasiest, petroleum or mineral oil filled product which would merely mask the problem. It didn’t help that I hated my hair and had massive insecurities about it, but I’ll save that for another post.

I’ve mostly eliminated the dryness apart from a few hiccups here and there. Spritzing my hair and scalp daily and also washing my hair more frequently has been a massive help. The biggest change that I ever made which made me see improvement in my length retention was by washing my hair weekly, whether it be a simple co-wash or a full on wash day. Before, my hair would only feel the full effects of water once or twice a month. Crazy, I know.

Hot oil treatments are also indispensable when it comes to combating dryness, especially dry hair and scalp. Oils like avocado really penetrate your hair and scalp and give you slip for detangling. A good moisturising deep conditioner is also crucial to combating dry hair.

My current routine is:

• Spritz daily with my rosewater & essential oil mix
• Shampoo every two weeks, alternate clarifying shampoo with a clay or powder.
• Deep condition every two weeks after I shampoo, I alternate between a moisturising deep conditioner and one with protein.
• I do an ACV rinse after my shampooing and conditioning. I started doing this because there is hard water in my area and it is really beneficial!
• Pre-poo before wash day. I usually mix some oils with some essential oils and heat it up, put it on my hair and scalp using an applicator bottle and massage it into my scalp for around twenty minutes. I leave it on overnight and detangle my hair the following morning before I shampoo.
• After washing I put on leave-in conditioner, an oil or butter to seal and then plait or twist my hair and leave it to air dry.

My current product list:

• Shikakai powder – I used this as an alternative to shampoo. I wasn’t loving this. I would make it into a tea and use it on my hair. When it gets into your eye, it hurts like hell and it would always get into my eye. I’ve ordered Rhassoul clay now which I will try next week.
• Shea Moisture 10-in-1 Renewal System Superfruit Hair Mask – I just started using this last week and I absolutely love it. Leaves my hair so unbelievably soft and great slip for detangling.
• Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Restore Shampoo – My O.G., MVP shampoo. The best of the best of clarifying shampoos for my thick, 4c hair. Gets all the gunk out, foams up nicely and doesn’t leave your hair feeling stripped.
• Mielle Organics Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner – I use this as a mild protein treatment. This is both moisturising and strengthening. As my hair can no longer withstand strong protein treatments, this works for me. If you want
• Macadamia Nut Oil – I have a thing of trying different oils on rotation for my pre-poo treatments. I like this oil but it is a bit light for me. I always try and buy organic oils since it is difficult to know if the oils are ethically sourced and at least with organic, you know that whoever put the work into it isn’t surrounded by toxic chemicals (we hope so, anyway). My favourite oil is actually avocado but its one draw back is that it is very greasy, which is not always the nicest to sleep on.
• Essential Oils – I add these to my hot oil treatments and my ACV rinse. I tend to go between peppermint, lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, myrrh, cedarwood and frankincense, depending on what kind of effects I want. For pre-poos, I do like to use something minty and tingly, so I will likely add a few drops of peppermint, eucalyptus and/or tea tree. I also add them to my spritz, although I tend to prefer using more lavender and frankincense and woody scents like myrrh and cedarwood. They have healing benefits and it also adds a nice scent to your hair and scalp.
• As I Am Double Butter Cream – I use this mostly for styling my hair. Usually the day after I wash my hair I put twists in, and I use this cream to facilitate that.
• As I Am Long and Luxe Leave-In Conditioner – Love this product and love the scent. Since my hair is thick I need to use creams with a thicker consistency to help lock in the moisture and this does it like a charm.
• Funky Soap Walnut Conditioner – I use this mainly for co-washing and if I have my hair in braids or twists. I absolutely love this because it is vegan and mostly natural and my hair does feel conditioned afterwards. However, due to its wateriness it’s not my fave. My ultimate conditioner is the Cantu Shea Butter Hydrating Conditioner.
• Castor oil – has been in my routine for years. Has been there for me since my relaxer days, when the back of my hair feel out and to repair damage to my ends. I am using organic castor oil at the moment but after this I plan to start using Jamaican Black Castor Oil again. It’s great mixed with other oils for pre-poos, I especially love using it with avocado oil, and I use it to seal in the moisture after I apply leave in conditioner/moisturising cream to my hair.
• DIY Daily Spritz – I mix distilled water, rose water and two different essential oils to the mix and spritz my hair with it daily. I eyeball it and don’t really do measurements. I alternate between rose water and aloe vera juice.
• Apple Cider Vinegar – the one and only. I live in a hard water area so this is what you definitely need to stop the deposits from drying out your hair. It’s also critical for stabilising your hair and maintaining the pH balance of your hair, after you use it you will find that it adds more shine and smoothness to your hair, and can make it easier to detangle. I normally mix it with filtered water, add a few drops of essential oil – I like peppermint for the tingle – and then put it in a spray bottle. After washing out the deep conditioner, I spray it over my hair and rub it onto my scalp, leave it in for a few minutes and then wash it out. NOTE: Keep your eyes closed during this process.

What’s your hair routine during quarantine?