Black Hair Care Tips

Thick and fabulous black hair can be styled, combed, curled and grown if it's taken care of properly. Not all black hair is the same type, but there are a few common tips that can help black hair universally. Taking care of hair is sometimes left in a licensed cosmetologist's hands, but a person with black hair can save herself a lot of money and time if she gets a few supplies and dedicates about a half hour to her hair each day.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Shampoo Regular conditioner Leave-in conditioner Ponytail holders Hair oil Hair dryer Hair dryer accessories (clip-on comb and brush) Rollers Clippers Wave cap

Black Hair Care Tips

1. 

   Maintain hairstyles by using a wrap cap. Black women use wrap caps in order to avoid curling their hair each day but achieving the curled look. For Black men, after they've brushed their hair and oiled it, the wave cap creates waves in the hair.

2. Wash black hair at least once every two weeks but never more than once a week. Whereas other textures of hair are cleaned more often to get excess oil out of the scalp, black hair needs more time to get the oils into its hair. By washing black hair too often, the shampoo takes out natural oils and can dry out hair even more, especially if it's regularly dryed with a blow dryer. Using conditioners and leave-in conditioners can restore some of the dryness and make black hair easier to style, but time trumps conditioner every time.

3. 

   Oil black hair at least once a week depending on the texture. Whereas thicker black hair may need daily treatments in order to style hair, medium or thin hair can go once a week or once every two weeks. It's pretty simple to tell how much black hair needs to be oiled just by seeing how quickly dandruff gets into the hair or the hair becomes itchy. Using hair oil can sometimes stop the itchiness immediately, and if the hair is combed and dandruff flakes show up, it's time to wash it out. Make sure to oil black hair after it's been blow dryed because the heat will take out natural oils, and black hair can't afford to lose any natural oils in the hair growth process.

4. Clip split ends whenever black hair is washed. Split ends can damage the natural growth of hair from the tips all the way to the scalp. It also makes hair look uneven and whispy. Black hair is commonly braided, and in the case of Black men with split ends, it's more difficult to braid the black hair neatly. There may be tufts of hair that poke out in the braids or give off the appearance of raggedy edges. Black hair braids should resemble a new jump rope.

5. 

   Use ponytail holders and barrettes to keep black hair looking neat. It's not necessary or safe on black hair to have it constantly sprayed, glued and burned on a daily basis, so the occasional ponytail or clipped appearance gives black hair a breather. With a few brush strokes and a nice pin, black hair can easily look styled.

6. 

   Use clip-on hair dryer brushes and combs when blow drying black hair. When black hair is introduced to water, sometimes it shrivels up and tangles. If the attachments that come with a hair dryer are used, the combs and brushes help straighten black hair out. The blow dryer attachments also help to detangle the hair.

7. Avoid overperming black hair. Every time the hair gets a little curly or doesn't wrap super tight in a ponytail does not mean black hair edges need to be repermed. Whereas some beauticians will say that hair can be "touched up" monthly (when perm is added to the edges of the scalp), it is recommneded to only get hair permed a maximum of once every two to three months. Perm chemicals easily break off hair and create burn marks if perm is put on black hair too often. Simply washing the hair, brushing it out, curling it or wrapping black hair can straighten the hair without all the unnecessary chemicals.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not perm black hair if there are scalp sores in the head beforehand. Chemicals in perm can make the sores open up larger and burn the skin off.

Resources

• How to Oil an African American Scalp
• Parnevu (T-Tree)
• Luster Pink Products