1. First of all, I think the most important step to take in taking care of your hair is to find out your hair type. Once you know the type of hair you have, then you’ll know better how you should take of it.
Basically, I would say there are 4 hair types: straight, wavy, curly and what is generally known as kinky
Straight: This is straightforward. Hair that lies straight down naturally.
Wavy: This is hair that is in between straight and curly. It does not lie completely straight and does not fully curl either but instead has a slight wave in it.
Curly: This is hair that forms a definite S pattern naturally. This category has the most variety as curly hair comes in so many different forms, from loose curls to tight, corkscrew curls and in a variety of textures.
My absolute favourite site for looking for information on curly hair, a category I also fall into, is NaturallyCurly. com, a website dedicated to curly hair of all types. There is a wealth of information on this site that is bound to help any curly head out there.
Kinky: Under this last category, you would find hair that is often worn as an Afro. In the Pacific, a lot of Melanesians tend to have this type of hair. In Fiji, this type of hair is often worn in the style known as the Buiniga.
2. Once you have figured out what type of hair you have, you can start to take care of it the right way. Use the right shampoo and conditioner for your hair type and it’s also good to treat your hair every once in a while with a deep-conditioning treatment. You can buy this or make it yourself.
Straight-haired people may want to use a shampoo and conditioner with anti-frizz properties to help hair lie smooth. And some straight-haired people may even go without conditioner as this can weigh down the hair and make it flat. So if you’re straight-haired and you want volume, you may want to avoid conditioners. This is especially true for those with straight yet fine hair.
However, if you have the Polynesian type of straight hair, then you may want to stick to conditioners as this type of hair tends to be thick and conditioners help with detangling in this case.
The same applies to wavy hair.
For those with curly hair, a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner may be your best friend! This is because curly hair tends to be really dry. A big note to those with curly hair, try your best to avoid hair products with alcohol in it. From my own experience, alcohol is so drying on the hair and I avoid it altogether!
And your hair will love deep treatments. It is suggested that curly-heads do this weekly and if you have the time then do so. Otherwise fortnightly or even monthly will be ok as well.
Kinky hair also tends to be very dry and coarse so moisturizing hair products will also be useful to those of this hair type.
3. Get regular trims. By trim, I don’t mean a total hair cut unless that’s what you want. A trim is just having a couple of centimeters cut off the ends of your hair. What this does is that it ensures the damaged and split hairs at the end is removed. If you don’t cut away split ends, they will only split the hair further so you might end up having to have a complete haircut to make your hair healthy again.
A good time to have trims is every 3 months or four months.
4. Styling is a big factor to healthy hair. Using the wrong products can end up damaging your hair. Especially products containing alcohol in the case of curly and kinky-haired people.
Besides products, styling tools are some of the biggest contributors to hair damage, especially those that use heat such as straightening irons, hair dryers and hot rollers. Remember that what these products essentially do is change the structure of your hair and in the case of the mentioned tools, by using heat to manipulate the hair the way you want. So these tools can end up drying your hair to the point where it becomes brittle. Therefore, whenever using such tools, always be sure to use products that protect against the heat. There are lots of sprays, hair creams, hair serums etc. that are made specifically for this purpose.
It’s also good to treat your hair regularly with a deep treatment if you expose your hair to heating tools often. This helps the hair to recover.
These are the basic tips that I feel you need to consider when taking care of your hair. I feel it’s absolutely essential to use the right type of products for your hair type and protect your hair from intensive styling to ensure it maintains its health.
