Love your 👑: 3 Tips for Beginning your natural hair journey

Going natural is a wonderfully trying experience and should definitely not be taken lightly.  I definitely wish someone had told me this like eight years ago (I am still in shock that it’s been  eight years already 🤯).

So I’m going to be the one to tell you, Being natural is NOT for the faint at heart.  Tuh! And don’t let your hair be thick in hair density as well !! Babyyyyy, wash day is an extreme sport— detangling ALONE is an arm work out!  🙄🙄🙄

  But I digress,  Let’s jump right into it 3 things I wish I knew before going (back) natural. 

1. Be patient !

Again, this is not for the weak ! I keep saying this because I truly want people to think about this natural journey SERIOUSLY before entering into it. Everyone wants to be natural but not everyone is willing to put in the work to properly learn their hair texture, density and porosity.

  … If no one is going to say it, I will — 🗣EVERYONE ain’t meant to join the natural journey! You gotta know yourself, people. Even us “lazy “ naturals still be doing A LOT lol 😂  it’s just become a SIMPLE routine to US 🗣🗣🗣

… okay I’m off my pedal stool. But in all actuality,  patience is sooooooooo important within the natural journey. Your hair will go through phases as it grows and NO it doesn’t happen over night — I wish it did 😂 but it doesn’t . 

2. Learn your hair porosity and density

These are,  in my opinion, THE MOST IMPORTANT things to learn EARLY in your natural hair journey. Literally, wish I learned these sooooo much earlier. I wasted soo much money on products that didn’t match my density or porosity.  Now I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you how to check these for your hair— so I have included the steps below with pictures for my visual learners 😄 :

Porosity test : 

• Take a strand of washed, clean hair–> this can be hair that has shedded during the wash process. 
• Grab a glass cup of clean water 
• Place your hair strand in the cup of water and wait a few minutes for the hair to “settle”. 

If your hair floats, you have low porosity

If your hair sinks to the bottom- high porosity. 

If your hair is roughly in the middle of the glass- you have normal porosity. 

This informs you on how well your hair absorbs moisture. It is important to consider this when you create and modify your hair routine. For example , If you have low porosity hair, you want to apply heat either with a deep conditioning cap or even try hair steaming to ensure the products you use enter the hair shaft fully. These methods can be used for normal porosity as well– I use these methods ALL the time and it works wonders for my hair as well. Using specific techniques for for your hair porosity will help ensure proper moisture and thus length retention can occur.

Density test: 

On clean, dry or damp hair , make a clean or clean as possible part in your hair in front of a mirror.

If you can clearly see the part , you have low density hair.

If you can see the part but it isn’t super clear, you have medium density.

If you can not see the part, unless you manually separate your hair with your hands for the section you parted— you have high density. 

The density of your hair is a key concept to your routine . For example , I have high density hair (🙃) so I have to do my hair in small sections to be able to ensure that I have evenly coated my hair with product, detangled properly, shampooed or anything else ( 😞 hence why wash days are ALL DAY for me ). Researching techniques that others with your similar porosity and density can aid you in having a less stressful and expensive hair journey. 

3. Watch your diet

You are what you eat ! This is more true than we truly know.  Time for a bit of science 🧪: Your hair and nails are made up of a protein called keratin. It is the essential building block of your hair.  For proper hair growth and general diet , one should be sure to consume adequate amounts of protein. The recommended amount is about 40 to 60 grams depending upon body weight and lifestyle.

Now, protein isn’t the only thing you need for body nor is it for your hair . Proper vitamin intake via eating from the main food groups and ensuring yearly primary care check ups are kept current are all vital for your hair growth as well.

🤓🤓Fun fact : Issues within your hair such as thinning , brittleness or dryness can indicate other hidden medical issues. For example, hyper or hypothyroidism, and iron deficiency will display changes in your hair, skin and nails as well. Hence, the importance of regular check ups to address any major concerns with your primary care physician (PCP).🤓🤓

This list is of course not exhaustive but these are the three main things I feel is important to your natural hair journey that I wish I knew about sooner. Let me know if you found these helpful or if you have any other tips you would like to add! 

XO, 

Ashleigh