13 Top Tips for Keeping Natural Black Hair Moisturised - No More Dry Hair! - For Long, Healthy Natural Kinky and Curly Hair

13 Top Tips for Keeping Natural Black Hair Moisturised - No More Dry Hair!

23/11/2012

Keeping black hair moisturised is our biggest challenge. If you follow most of the below tips you will help to keep your hair soft and hydrated. Hydrated hair breaks less.

1. Wash your hair at least weekly.

Water is the supreme moisturiser. When you wet your hair the water molecules actually penetrate the hair shaft and make the hair softer and more elastic.

Moisture = hydration, hydration = water, hydrated hair = less breakage.

2. Use a shampoo and conditioner within the same product line or test the pH of your chosen shampoo and conditioner to ensure they complement each other.

Conditioner is meant to be more acidic than shampoo. The lower pH of the final product used in the cleaning process (typically the conditioner) helps to seal off the hair; sealing the hair means hair cuticles are smoothed down and moisture is held in better. A shampoo and conditioner within the same product line will be developed with this requirement in mind.

For example, the shampoo of one brand may have a pH of 4.5 and the conditioner 3.5 meaning that your hair is properly sealed off. But if you then go and use a conditioner of another brand whose pH is 5.0, this sealing off process won't happen properly.

3. Deep condition every week.

Deep conditioners contain moisture-boosting elements and proteins that a) strengthen the hair cuticle and b) enhance the hair strand's moisture.

I didn't know this until recently but not all conditioners are made equal. There are five main types:

Instant conditioners
Cream-rinse conditioners
Deep conditioners - you want this one
Moisturising conditioners
Protein conditioner

The weaker types (e.g. instant conditioners) are designed for daily use, some are designed for weekly use, e.g. deep conditioners and some shouldn't be used more than once a month (e.g. those very high in protein).

4. Finish every wash off with a cold rinse

Washing your hair with warm water helps to dislodge dirt and oil. It also increases the hair's porosity i.e. the cuticles open up so that all the good stuff from your shampoo and conditioner is easily absorbed.

Rinsing your hair in cold water at the end of the washing process will help to flatten the cuticle and lock in moisture. I also do this when I wash my face. It helped to clear up my acne.

5. Apply a moisturiser to your hair before you apply any oil.

Oil is not a moisturiser. Oil and water do not mix hence oil, if at all used, needs to be applied last so that it stops moisture from escaping. Oil is fantastic at locking in moisture.

In terms of applying hair products (leave-in moisturisers, creams, oils), you need to figure our which order keeps your hair most moisturised: LOC Method or LCO Method.

Petroleum jelly is not ideal for hair

6. Buy a good moisturiser.

Moisturisers can be water-based or oil-based. In oil-based moisturisers water and oil are blended using "emuslifiers"; emulsifiers stop the water and oil from separating. A shea butter based moisturiser is the best option in my opinion.

A buttery one works best on wet hair and a creamy one is fantastic for dry hair.

7. Avoid petrolatum, petroleum and mineral oils.

Although they are great for sealing in moisture, they provide no additional benefit.

That said, if you have a moisturiser where one of these appears low down the list of ingredients, it means they don't form a major part of the moisturiser. According to The Science of Black Hair, "as a rule of thumb, these sealants should never be listed in the top five ingredients of any moisturiser you use".

8. Seal-in the moisture with a good oil.

Great oils for sealing moisture within the hair cuticle (most to least preferred):

Coconut oil
Jojoba oil
Avocado oil
Argan oil
Castor oil
Sweet almond oil

9. Drink lots of water.

A lot of hydration operates from the inside out.

10. If you have a dry scalp massage a small amount of oil onto it regularly.

Keeping a dry scalp moisturised will ensure that the scalp's environment is conducive for hair growth and is efficiently supplying hair with oil (sebum) to help in the hydration of hair.

The best oil you can apply to your scalp? Jojoba.

Jojoba is very similar in structure to sebum (the oil produced by the scalp) and as such is my oil of choice.

11. Spritz your hair with water twice a day.

This will help to keep it hydrated. Note that if your hair is damaged or if you have a build up of minerals on your hair (e.g. from hard water) or if you're using a product high in petrolatum/petroleum/mineral oil, water will find it hard to penetrate to the cuticle.

12. Sleep with a satin bonnet at night and/or use a satin pillow case

Cotton absorbs the moisture from your hair a lot more than satin does. In addition, satin fibres are smoother than cotton ones so you're less vulnerable to breakage with satin.

13. Wear protective hairstyles when the weather is harsh.

If it's very hot or windy your hair will dry out VERY quickly.

Reference: The Science of Black Hair by Audrey Davis-Sivasothy

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novack gustave

8/3/2013 04:23:23 pm

8/6/2013 10:55:06 am

so is blue magic and and Mostions scalp and hair treament good for my black african hair?

Heather @ Neno Natural

27/10/2013 06:19:20 pm

Blue Magic is not good for relaxed or natural hair. Its main ingredient is petrolatum and that just blocks pores and stops moisture from entering hair.

I'm not sure about that particular motions product. Send me a link to the ingredients list and I will have a look.

My best!
Heather
:)

Krystal Norman

1/6/2014 10:54:26 pm

I thank you Sooo much for clearing that up for me as well... I was always told just the opposite about blue magic. "

rhonda

6/1/2014 03:14:03 pm

Can you list some good moisturizers? All the ones I see have petroleum listed as the first ingredient.

Ashley

20/2/2014 12:42:06 am

Hi! I have 4c hair and find it really hard to keep it moisturized. I usually use the LOC method but after reading this will try the LCO method. I use coconut oil and shea butter faithfully. I just recently bought some mango butter and tried it on a twist out. i liked it. Any ideas for a moisturizer that will last all day?! Thanks!

Heather Katsonga-Woodward

28/3/2014 08:11:30 am

Hey Ashley

See my recommended products:
https://www.nenonatural.com/products.html

My best
Heather

Tara

28/3/2014 04:13:38 am

Hi Heather! Here's a question. You say to end the wash with cool/cold water. That closes the hair cuticle. My question is, would I not want to keep the cuticle open so that I can apply my other moisturizers? And if I did that, is there a suggestion on how I would then be able to close the cuticle?

28/3/2014 08:09:41 am

Hey Tara

After you have washed your hair it is fully hydrated and the cold rinse will just help the cuticle to lie flat but not close it completely.

That said the more it closes up the better. If you have used a deep conditioner rich in oils you can skip straight to sealing with a whipped butter and skip the moisturizer completely; you can just use the moisturizer on non wash days.

A cold rinse also help prevent/reduce frizz.

Hope this helps.

H x

28/3/2014 09:48:42 am

Heather,
Brilliant! That would explain why all the products I was using (loc/lco methods) were just sitting on top of my hair after dc'ing...the hair had all the moisture it could take! Wow, what an eye opener. Had I known that I would've done what you suggested in the last paragraph....Sealed it in.
Thanks so much for explaining that in a way that makes the best sense I've run across out here in the Naturalsphere! lol

28/3/2014 10:11:00 am

Allow me to clarify: I was shampooing, dc'ing, then applying a leave in, THEN applying my oil/cream, AND THEN applying a styler! All in one session...and my hair STILL felt like steel wool after all that.
Not sure if you're in American or England, but over here, people are product mad and are always talking about which products are the best or give the best results. No one really talks about the correct way in which to USE all of these products. People throw around acronyms like LOC/LCO, but there's no information on how to properly use those techniques. So again, thanks. You just made me realize I was doing it ALL WRONG! LOL

29/3/2014 08:28:48 pm

That is awesome! I live in London and spend a lot of time in Chicago, especially in the summer.

I am actually working on my own product line. Contrary to all lines it will come as a boxed set because another thing they don't tell you is that it's best to use products within the same line because the pH balance differs from one line to the next.

The boxed set will come with a small pamphlet less than 10 pages with picture rich info on how to set your regimen - it will be available in the US and the UK within a couple of months of each other.

The line is being developed by a top Brit chemist. Pray for me!

Where are you?

29/3/2014 08:30:38 pm

Okay - I'm going to scare you, I know you're in Greenwich London...when I do a launch it will be in SE somewhere because I live down the road in Lee :)

sheila link

23/7/2014 04:15:08 am

Been doing the things you say my hair is getting better yo deal with thank you for your help.

Beverly Daley

6/8/2014 05:32:20 pm

I start my hair journey last August to September; i try every method in the book; but think am not doing the right things to my hair; and worst of all i don't not know my hair type; please help me;

Mays

30/10/2014 02:37:06 am

Hi! Love the article, but a quick question!
You say deep condition weekly, but later say deep conditioners are to be used once a month due to all the protein! Could you clarify for me? Thanks!

Angee

15/11/2014 12:07:10 am

Good Morning Heather,
I am trying to grow my hair out...I am between braids and sew ins. I do get my ends trimmed and deep condt once I take my hair down, but my hair is so dry. What can I do?

Anne link

21/12/2014 05:03:48 pm

Love this post. Good bye dry hair. Thanks for the tips. Very helpful and informative. Enjoy your day!

Tangela Joseph

2/2/2015 01:01:01 am

Thanks!

Renee Graham

7/2/2015 05:35:36 am

Can you please tell me if you have started to market your product?

Elaine Stennett

16/6/2015 08:35:48 am

Read your column, haven't tried your suggestions yet but I intend to thanks

Comments are closed.

13 Top Tips for Keeping Natural Black Hair Moisturised - No More Dry Hair!

By Heather Katsonga-Woodward

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