The Healthy Hair Diary

A New Direction for The Healthy Hair Diary

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

Maintain Healthy Relaxed Hair | Winter Hair Tips

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

If you haven't already, it is time to start thinking about protecting our hair from the harsh elements this cold weather brings. Below are my top winter hair care tips whether your hair is natural or relaxed.

Deep Condition weekly

With the cold settling in for the next few months, it is essential to give our hair as much moisture as possible to protect our hair from the harsh elements of the cold temperatures, wind and rain. Ideally you should be deep conditioning at least once a week but if that is too often for you, and then try bi-weekly. Mix oils with your deep conditioner to give your hair that extra goodness. Click here to see my intensive moisture deep conditioning routine.

Moisturise and Seal daily

Moisturising and sealing is vital to keeping your hair moist and manageable. Moisturising with water based moisturiser and sealing with heavier oils than what you would use in the warmer months will ensure your hair is moist and less prone to breakage. Check out how I moisturise and seal my relaxed hair.

Hot oil treatments

As the cold weather can be so drying to our hair, why not try hot oil treatments to inject some moisture back into your hair on wash day. Heat your chosen oil preferably not in the microwave and carefully distribute throughout your hair before you shampoo or even after you have deep conditioned, cover with a plastic cap and sit under the dryer for 15-25 minutes. Your hair will thank you for it. (See how I do a hot oil treatment on my hair prior to shampooing).

Knitwear, Winter Coats & Scarves

Here in the UK it seems as though we have skipped autumn and gone straight into winter. The chunky knits have been pulled out as well as the warm chunky scarves and coats. As warm as these may be, they are also made of materials which can pull and snag on our hair. Coats and scarves can rub on your nape area and when wearing our chunky knitwear, our hair can snag and get caught on the fabric, drying out your ends and causing breakage. Whilst there is no denying that we need to keep warm this winter, we would also like to save our hair from unnecessary stress.

Make sure your hair is always up in a low manipulation /protective hairstyle; basically any style that keeps your ends tucked away and prevents your nape/length of hair from rubbing on the harsher fabrics all day. Alternatively, you can use medium sized satin scarves to wrap around the collars of your winter coats to stop your hair from rubbing if you decide to wear your hair down.

Keep your hair protected at home.

When it's cold outside, the first we do is to crank up the central heating or plug in our electric heaters so we can be nice and snug in our homes. The heat is causing dry warm air which dries out our hair. When you're at home during the days or after work in the evenings cover your hair with a satin scarf or satin bonnet to keep the moisture in your hair or at least put your hair up in a lose bun so your ends don't dry out. If your hair is dry anyway from being outdoors, you can moisturise your hair and then cover with a plastic cap to give your hair a DIY steaming session which will help to retain the moisture. This method is called the baggy method.

Protective/low manipulation hairstyles

The winter weather is cold and miserable and ideally it is best to keep your hair more importantly your ends tucked away from the harsh elements. This is the perfect weather for length retention as your ends are hidden away from the cold and harsh fabrics and the ends are being moisturised on a daily basis so there is less chance of breakage. Check out my video where I show you my favourite low manipulation hairstyles which I wear 99% of the time.

Limit your usage of heat

Winter is the ideal time for some ladies to flat iron their hair as there is no longer the worry of humidity in the air however with the additional of the cold air, heat can be very drying to your hair. As it is best to either have a protective or low manipulation hairstyle in colder weather, now is ample time to air-dry which is a much healthier option for your hair, alternatively try blow-drying your hair but only using cool/cold air. See how I blow dry with cold air.

hair goals

2018 Hair Goals | Relaxed Hair Care

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

So the New Year is here and what better way to start the year than to set yourself some goals for the year ahead. Over the last few months, my hair has been flourishing so I have set myself some hair goals in order to maintain healthy relaxed hair throughout 2018.

Here my hair goals for 2018:

Grow My Hair Back to APL

I have suffered quite a few setbacks over the last two years which started in late 2015 when I was experiencing breakage due to under-processed hair. Between then and now, I have had trim off quite a lot of length and it's only now that I feel like my hair is healthy and in good stead to grow it out. I was reminiscing and looking at pictures of my hair from two years ago and I was so in love with my hair back then and it grew the longest it has ever been. My goal is to get back to armpit length by May 2018.

Maintain Thick Ends

I took part in the castor oil challenge for the last three months of the year and part of the challenge consisted of sealing in my moisture with castor oil mixed with a lighter oil to dilute the thickness. Using this oil mix following my trim in November 2017, I have managed to maintain the thickness of my hair by using heavier oils and only using a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair on wash days.

Thicken Up My Edges & Length of My Hair

To thicken up my edges and the length of my hair, I have decided to apply a light oil to my new growth and edges before a relaxer touch-up to leave a very slight texture to my hair. I don't want to be fully texlaxed as my hair is thriving now it is has less texture so I will use a light oil like grapeseed oil or sweet almond oil.

Henna Treatments

I have been interested in doing a henna treatment on my hair which is known for its strengthening and conditioning properties. I have no idea why but the thought of doing for the first time makes me nervous however, I intend to give this a try on my hair and if I find it beneficial for my hair I will do this step maybe every 8-12 weeks but I do need to do a bit more research.

Be More Adventurous when styling my hair...

When it comes to my hair, I feel like I can be pretty boring, for work, I resort to my go-to easy low manipulation hairstyles which I love but I want to be more adventurous. I want to try twist-outs, braid outs and a bantu knot style which I can wear during the weekend to look different than I do in the week.

Maintain / Be Consistent with My Hair Regime

I have set this as a goal because towards the end of last year, I started to slack when it came to moisturising and sealing my hair and going 3-4 days without putting some moisture into my hair or doing my hair in 2 sections instead of 4 for quickness. This year I want to remain consistent so I can see consistent results and am not left with dry hair throughout this cold weather.

Drink More Water

I need to increase my water intake which is something I drastically failed on last year. This goal isn't just for my hair but for my body and mind too, I have over 3 water bottles on my desk at work so I have brought one of them home and intend to drink two bottles of water a day, one at home and one at work.

Exercise

I got really lazy last year and working out was not at the top of my list if things to do. I'm not getting any younger and am all about looking after my body and mind so need to work out more often. I'm lucky that my partner and son are into fitness so don't have to leave the house to work out as we have all the equipment I need at home. My son is 13 and has agreed to be my personal trainer; we'll see how I get on.

What are your hair goals for 2018?