Dark and Lovely Moisture Plus gathered the ethnic hair experts to give you the lowdown on your locks.
1 What’s your texture?
“Your texture is determined by the way the hair travels out, through the scalp,” says Hanson Ndabeni, National Field & Education Manager, SoftSheen Carson. “Ethnic hair goes through twisted shafts, which is why the hair is curly,” he explains. The smoother the follicle on the scalp, the straighter the hair will be. This is also why ethnic hair doesn’t takes much longer to grow than other textures.
2 What’s the damage?
What exactly does damaged hair mean? Hanson explains: “Hair consists of many layers of cuticles. When your hair is damaged, it’s because the layers of cuticles are open and none of the natural or product nourishment can be contained.” The layers of cuticles should lie flat so that whatever you put on your hair to nourish it will be locked in. Brian Warfield – Hair Expert and stylist at Tanaz, Johannesburg, suggests treating your hair with hair oil or lotion, and wrapping it up overnight. This will lock in the nourishment and help repair your damaged hair.
3 How often should I wash?
“If you have natural hair, you could wash it everyday if you wish,” says Brian Chemically treated hair however, should be washed once a week. “When you relax your hair, the chemicals strip your hair of all the nourishment it has, so in order to maintain healthy hair, you’d need to keep it moisturised and nourished with products like conditioners and hair oils or lotions. Anything that will replace what was lost in the relaxing process.” Washing too regularly, means that the nourishment is lost.
4 What products should I use?
Let’s talk about the good and the bad. The good: “Serums are great for ethnic hair, chemically treated or natural. The lightweight formula will give your hair good shine and it will not weigh your hair down, or make it look greasy,” explains Brian.
The bad: DON’T relax your hair too soon after the previous relaxing treatment. “This is called overlapping,” says Mashudu Netshidzivhani – SoftSheen Carson, Business Development Manager. “The part of the hair that is most fragile is where the regrowth and relaxed hair meet. This section of hair could break very easily, even when brushing,” say Brian. Wait at least six weeks or more between sessions so that your hair isn’t too fragile from the chemicals.
Cooler weather playing havoc with your strands? Here’s how to winter-proof your locks!
