I sometimes feel like just because I take pictures of my fine natural hair styled to the nines that people think it looks great all of the time.
Detour…..I’m L(ing)OL here!
My fine hair has as many issues and concerns as the next gal. I just didn’t think you all would want to see me with my hair when it’s in dire need of deep conditioning, moisture or simply an unruly mess.
When I first started caring for my fine natural hair differently than when it was relaxed, I got all obsessed with hair routines.
I tried so many methods and products that I honestly couldn’t tell what worked and what didn’t work.
Fast forward 10 years and I’ve finally discovered what hair routines work for me (logistically and personally).
Initially, I was all about growing super long hair (like down to my booty length type long hair). After all, the Lord says in His Word that if a woman’s hair be long it’s her glory and a covering. I wanted that! Still do.
Waist length or longer hair may or may not happen but one thing that remains is if I ever get there, it will be the hair routines I follow that help me reach the destination.
Following hair routines doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes deviate and try new things. On the contrary, it just means that most of the time (90%+), I care for my hair by using those routines but my hair care isn’t totally inflexible.
Without further ado, here are the hair routines that work for my fine natural hair:
1- Weekly Hair “Re-Set”
I’ve tried making what’s commonly called “wash day” weekly, bi-weekly and monthly. Wash day to me is also what I like to call hair “re-set” day. It’s the time I take to cleanse, condition (imparting tons of moisture) and re-set my hair for a new hairstyle. Of course, said hairstyle may be exactly the same as the previous week’s but hey it’s still new!
Monthly washing is detrimental to my scalp health. The itching drove me mad and truth be told, I didn’t actually make it to a full month. My incessant need to touch my hair also interfered.
Bi-weekly washing happens every once in a while but for my fine hair, washing weekly is the hair routine that works best. It helps me keep my scalp clean and prevents product from building up on my strands. That, I definitely don’t need.
2- The LOC Method
The LOC Method is a means of moisturizing and sealing that moisture into hair. It’s most common in the natural hair community.
L= Liquid (water)
O= Oil
C= Cream (usually a styler)
While it logistically makes more sense to apply a cream before applying an oil to seal in moisture, I’ve discovered that the LOC method works better for my hair.
I used to follow the LCO method and will sometimes give it a whirl but all in all the LOC method has been proven more effective.
3- Protective Styling with Buns
While summer is that time of year that I tend to style my hair in a wash and go (low manipulation), I protective style in buns the rest of the year and when my wash and go starts looking ratty.
There’s many ways to protective style one’s hair and the ultimate goal is to protect your strands. For me, protective styling with buns (1,2, 3 or 4) is what I gravitate toward.
There’s many ways to do a bun and they can be set in a way where you don’t have to do your hair daily. I love buns so much that I started a whole new blog about it!
http://www.TheSerialBunner.com
4- Sealing my Ends with Jamaican Black Castor Oil
With your ends being the oldest part of your hair, they need a lot of love.
For me, sealing my ends is not only a hair routine that I embrace. I’m very strategic about it.
I don’t use just any old oil to seal my ends. Jamaican Black Castor Oil is the thickest oil around (ast least to my knowledge) and it’s the only oil I use to seal my ends – on wash day and multiple times throughout the week.
It’s been that way for many years and it’s not going to change.
Sealing with Jamaican Black Castor Oil keeps the ends of my hair smooth and helps reduce the likelihood of premature splitting.
Note: I don’t seal my entire strand of hair with JBCO. It’s much too heavy for that. Only my ends feel the luxury.
5- Henna Treatments
Most of my hair regimen is built around herbs and oils. My assortment is pretty vast (check out what I use to care for my hair with herbs here).
In spite of the number of herbs I use and how I combine them, the one hair routine I do again and again is treatments with henna.
I’m thankful to the Most High for providing such a wonderful herb in abundance on earth.
I use henna to:
– Strengthen and thicken up my strands
– Cover my gray hairs
There’s many ways that henna can be used in a hair regimen. I share them in this video:
These hair routines have been tested and tried for a lengthy period of time. If you’re struggling to find hair routines that work for your hair, give one or more of these a try.
Just be sure to give it a bit of time before giving up and moving on to the next.
