An upcoming curly cut sparked inspiration for me to write about a very important and overlooked topic within the natural hair community. Growth, length retention, and shrinkage are topics that are popularly discussed among us curly girls, however, many of us don't realize what may prevent our hair from growing and flourishing. Split ends are the leading cause of breakage that cause dry and brittle hair, therefore trimming your ends is imperative to maintaining healthier curls.
Although it seems like a small issue, maintaining your ends will help benefit your hair in many ways you probably were never aware of.
Every product is different and may not work well for your hair
Products do provide certain nutrients and properties that help to seal moisture and nourishment, however, due to the fact that breakage is caused by split ends, using certain products that may not have the right formulas and properties may dry the hair shaft, therefore causing more damage and sensitivity.
Not everyone's curl type is the same. Our hair is very flexible, with a lot of different concepts; such as porosity, curl type, texture, and patterns. Depending on each of these categories, your hair needs a certain amount of nourishment, moisture, and protein, therefore, not every product may work for you. When applying the wrong kinds of products, your curls will reject them, especially if you apply the product incorrectly.
What is the difference between high and low porosity?
High porosity is when your hair shaft is easy to add moisture in, but harder to keep and maintain the moisture, therefore resulting in naturally dry and sometimes brittle curls.
Low porosity is when it's hard to get moisture inside the hair shaft, and cannot absorb products so easily.
Ways you can tell between porosities, is by taking a strand of hair and placing it into a glass of water. If your hair floats at the top of the glass, you have low porosity. If your hair sinks to the bottom of the glass, you then have high porosity. Knowing your hairs porosity will help you distinguish between hair products, and show you what treatments will work best for you.
Finding the right products for your hair type is imperative to its health and longer lasting wash n goes/ styling. A current line that just recently released and one of my personal favorites is KeraCares Curlessence. Its moisturizing properties give my hair the right amount of shine, volume, and definition. I will be reviewing these products very soon, so stay tuned!
How to cope until your next trim
I cannot emphasize this enough. Deep conditioning will do wonders for your hair and nourish its needs. When only applying product, your hair won't get the maximum conditioning needed for softer, fuller and even lighter curls. Because of the cold winter months were currently facing, our curls need the best care possible. Deep conditioning ONCE a week is the key to healthier hair and will help your wash n goes last longer.
Try to stay away from hard bristle brushes like the Denman brush and Paddle brush, using brushes with hard bristles like these while your ends are damaged, will further perpetrate breakage and actually take more hair out than shedding. For detangling and styling I recommend using the Wet Brush or a comb.
What's the difference between shedding and breakage? How can I tell?
Shedding is when your hair falls out naturally. Hair sheds every day, whether it's damaged or healthy, everyone's hair sheds on a daily basis. It's completely normal. You can tell when your hair sheds by looking at the root of the strand, if the root has a white looking bulb attached, the strand that fell out is apart of the shedding process.
Breakage is when your hair shaft is split. The main causes of breakage are due to products, heat, and other forms of tools. You can tell that you're suffering from breakage if the top of the strand doesn't have the white root attached.
Don't forget lovelies, when you pour love into your hair, you will reap the benefits!
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