Natural Hair Care for Black Women

Ask any hairstylist how they would describe African American women's hair and the first two words they are likely to use are brittle and hard to take care of. Many spend countless hours and thousands of dollars trying different types of hair treatment to straighten their hair and make it easier to take care of. The good news is that there are a number of different types of natural hair care for black women which are far less damaging than using heat or harsh chemical types of hair treatment.

It All Starts When You Are Standing in the Shower

The best form of hair treatment starts from the moment you step into the shower. When your hair is wet, it is in its most vulnerable state. Hair that is wet is brittle and easily damaged. To help reduce the risk of this type of damage, you need to use a shampoo made with natural ingredients as part of your hair treatment program. Choose one that does not contain harsh chemicals which can strip your hair of the natural oils which keep it strong and healthy. Sulfate free shampoos can be used, but all-natural ones make a much better choice.

You should never shampoo more than three times per week as this form of hair treatment can dry your hair out causing even more damage. Choose an all-natural conditioner as these contain a number of herbs, minerals, and botanicals carefully chosen to nourish and strengthen your hair. You should never wash your hair unless you are going to condition it at the same time. Doing so will leave it stripped of these nutrients and open to all forms of damage.

Once You Step Out of the Shower

When you step out of the shower, your hair is still wet and vulnerable. As part of better hair treatment, you should never use anything besides a wide tooth comb on your wet hair. At this stage your hair is still extremely brittle, if you use a brush or fine tooth comb, you will break large amounts of hair. Use a towel to pat your hair dry or bundle your hair inside of the towel to dry. Using a blow dryer may be one of the worst forms of hair treatment at this point as your hair has no defense against the heat and is easily dried out and damaged. You can massage in a heat protectant as a hair treatment to help if you can't resist using a hair drier.

Beware of the Stylist in You

Women love to style their hair and the modern style of flat hair amongst African American women has become extremely popular. Flat hair is far easier to take care of, but the chemical or heat related hair treatment used to achieve this style is very damaging. If you must use a flat iron or blow dryer to straighten your hair, you need to use an oil based hair treatment made to protect your hair from heat damage. A far better choice is going with a style which does not require straightening as often as possible and reserving the flat hair for special occasions.

Keep Your Hair Moist

African American hair is by nature very dry and requires special types of hair treatment. One of the best forms of hair treatment is to keep your hair as moist as possible. While you might already be using a top quality natural conditioner, you should be using a moisturizer on top of this. Your hair will absorb all the moisture it can and the more moisturizer you can give, the better it will look and feel. The best moisturizers contain coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, or carrot oil. This form of hair treatment is the final touch in your search for the best natural hair care for black women.