The Truth @bout Natural Hair With Anu: Weekly Q&A

November 2nd, 2011 - By Alexis Garrett Stodghill

Natural Hair Care For Mixed Race Women

This week, Madame Noire’s resident natural hair care expert Anu Prestonia offers advice on basic hair care for natural black hair that can apply to many curl patterns. Read Anu’s advice and leave your comments below.

Hello Ms. Prestonia,

I was wondering if you’d be willing to address the very basics of hair care–how often to wash it, what to do with your hair after you get out of the shower, what kinds of shampoos, conditioners, and oils are best, etc — and if you know any additional tips for mixed women, I would be eternally grateful. All my mixed-heritage girls and I have struggled with what to do with our hair, especially how to let its natural beauty shine. If your mama isn’t black, it’s a safe bet that you have absolutely no knowledge about what to do with black hair. I’m pretty confused myself, even just when it comes to washing my hair! I have no idea what shampoo to use, and I’ve heard everything from “never wet your hair” (which I assume applies to relaxed/flat ironed hair) to “wet your hair everyday and spritz it if it needs a little moisture.”

Right now, I wet my hair every day and put conditioner in it every day, but I only shampoo it every week and a half. Problem is, I feel like my shampoo strips my hair! What’s the word on good shampoos and conditioners?

My African friend also has me putting Moroccan hair oil and leave-in conditioner in when I get out of the shower. She tells me she even does mayo hair masks at home, but I’ve always been skeptical about that kind of thing.

Also, how often should I comb my hair, since I wear it natural and I’m trying to retain my curl pattern, especially in the front of my head where curl pattern isn’t so great? (And I assume you comb in the shower with your conditioner in?)

This is probably a lot to answer, but at least in my experience, I’ve been surprised to see how impossible it is to just find an article that tells you the basics of black hair care. Please help!

Thank you,

Lina

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  • Anu Prestonia

    I’ve never heard that before Meme that hair is weakest when wet.  I do know that hair is most flexible and pliable when wet and therefore more manageable. 

  • http://tropie7189.blogspot.com Dr. Tina Opie

    Thanks so much for your post! I appreciate learning about Hair Rules products. One question though, I looked at the ingredients for the line's Kinky Curling Cream and the second ingredient is mineral oil. I thought that we were supposed to avoid mineral oil?

    • http://www.facebook.com/alexis.stodghill Alexis Garrett Stodghill

      Hmmm. Perhaps this is one of their products to avoid.

    • http://www.khamitkinks.com Anu Prestonia

      These are the lines that we have had the greatest results with.  And I still say avoid mineral oil.  So if one of products has mineral oil and it’s the second ingredient, that means it has a pretty high content of mineral oil and I would avoid it.  Instead, check out other products like Jane Carter’s Nourish and Shine or Curl Defining Creme.

  • Dee

    Lina, I think it best to experiment with products until you find what works for you. My scalp and skin are extremely dry and I am sensitive to fragrance, dyes and darn near anything you can think of. When my hair was natural and very short, I rinsed it with my shower daily and put Humectress in as a leave-in-conditioner. When it was longer/long, I shampooed monthly and combed it out wet with a leave-in-conditioner. I then put olive oil on it and styled it while wet. Now that I have locs (past the shoulder), I may shampoo every 4-6 weeks (it takes almost 2 days to dry naturally or 2 full hours under a dryer) and fully condition. Weekly, I take a damp cloth with shampoo and clean my scalp and roots. Then I use the leave-in-conditioner and oil to tighten my locs. That has worked marvelously. I had a shampoo with evening primrose oil that was fantastic, but it is discontinued. I will try to make my own this fall and see how it goes.

  • Michelle

    Lina my advice would be to check out “defining natural curls” and “natural hair care ” on youtube. There is a great wealth of information on this subject as well as tutorials, product recommendations and reviews. I think you will find this most useful.