Essential tips for growing strong natural afro hair

Some people have left me lovely comments via email and DMs regarding Princess’ hair. Both of us have natural afro hair and I’ve tried hard to look after it to keep it strong and healthy. At the moment, she spends most of her time wearing protective hairstyles as she’s in primary school and her hair goes through a lot!

Here are some tips on growing strong natural afro hair that we follow and that have worked well for us.

Nutrition

• Eat a balanced diet full of vitamins and nutrients
• Drink plenty of water

Combing

• Use a wide toothed comb
• Denman brushes are good for untangling natural hair
• Don’t come too much when wet as your hair is weak
• Finger detangle your hair first

Washing

• Do regular apple cider rinses
• Pre-poo with oils, we use coconut and avocado oils
• Co-wash
• Use shampoo only when there is product build up as it strips natural oils from the hair shaft
• Do a deep condition regularly
• Detangle with fingers/ wide toothed comb/ brush before rinsing out conditioner
• Stay away from shampoos and conditioners containing parabens, alcohol and any other chemicals that are bad for your hair
• Use a hot oil treatment before washing
• Don’t rub your hair when towel drying
• Use a cotton t-shirt to dry your hair

Styling

• Avoid using the hair dryer to dry or style your hair
• Keep your hair hydrated. Use a leave in conditioner or a mixture of oil and water in a spray bottle daily to hydrate hair in between washes.
• Limit the amount of heat styling ie straighteners
• Seal the ends of your hair with oils such as black castor oil or coconut oil
• Air dry your hair
• Stretch your hair using threading, banding or twists, not heat!
• Make use of protective hairstyles whenever possible
• Avoid hair products with alcohol
• Spritz your hair with a mixture of natural oils and water when restyling
• Avoid using too much products as it blocks pores and prevents growth
• Trim your hair regularly

Sleeping

• Protect your hair at night to prevent breakage of your afro hair
• Use satin / silk caps or pillow cases to stop friction and hair drying out
• Twist / plait your hair to avoid tangles if your hair is usually worn loose during the day

I hope this is helpful. I’ve gone through so many hairstyles over the years. Although I always feel that it takes ages to grow, when I look back at the pictures I realise it’s gone from shaved to shoulder length in the last 12 months on more than one occasion.

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Featured photo credit: Ricardo Alves