The Habesha Curly Hair Trauma

There are two types of people in the world. The one’s with the good genes never doing anything to achieve the perfect hair style every time, and the one’s who switch hair care routine/products faster than Amazon Prime.

If you are in the later corner of the curly hair world, it is unfortunate that most of us don’t even bother to read the ingredients listed in our products let alone understand them. And the question of whether it is worth the purchase relies solely on decent packaging and rigorous marketing.

Now we have all happened up on THE wash day. You know you have to wash your hair and care for it. But it is so exhausting, an activity that consumes your time and energy for a result that is uncertain to say the least. Imagine washing, detangling, drying, oiling, braiding or styling for hours only for it to end up like pine tree. THE TRAUMA! It always leaves you wondering if indulging in a full hair care routine is worth it or not.

THE PROBLEM

Imagine this — you’re drinking a nice cocktail. The straw you’re using to draw the liquid in to yourself is shaped like curly hair with bends and turns. You’re gonna have trouble sipping your precious cocktail because the straw is making it hard for the liquid to travel. If you had a straw that is straight, your drink will travel with no additional effort.

Hair works just like that. Oil produced from your scalp will have a hard time reaching the lengths of your hair if the hair is of the curly structure. This will result in a dry and brittle oil-less hair, making it prone to breakage and damage. People with straight hair do not face this issue because the hair strand gets oil from the scalp and remains soft and lustrous.

As if this natural phenomena hasn’t screwed us enough, we treat our curls with harsh products, heat and vigorous detangling where we end up with broken hair all over the floor. 💔

Ingredients lists are scamming you

Incase you didn’t know, the way the ingredients are listed is not random, but in a chronological order of the amount of the specific ingredient used. Aqua(Water) is, almost always, the first ingredient because it constitutes for the majority of the product. And on, and on and on, until the last ingredient which will be least amount of ingredient used in the product.

So next time you find a product that says it is made of Cocoa butter, turn over the ingredients list and see where Cocoa is listed. If it is in the top 3 or 4 ingredients, great. If it is not, you can consider the Cocoa non existent.

You are ignoring the signs your hair is giving you

1. Shampoo: Next time you rinse out your shampoo, see if your hair is as tangled as your earphones. See if it is also squeaky, and there are little to no curls visible. This is a sign that you are using a harsh shampoo not suitable for your hair type. While it is important to clean up the weekly build up, it doesn’t mean that you have to strip out your hair. In the contrary, if after shampooing your scalp still has buildup and feels heavy, the product is not doing a good job of removing the dirt. This will cause product buildup and make your hair look dull end up break off.
2. Breakage: Are you combing your hair when it is dry? Are you over applying hair products? Are you styling your hair in a bun? Are you sleeping with a cotton head wrap on your head? Then you are unfortunately causing your hair to break endlessly.
3. 0 Curl definition: If you are a regular at the nearby salon to get your hair straightened every week, your lack of curl definition should not surprise you.
4. Receding hair line: Stop tightly wrapping your head with a night scarf when you sleep. Ditch your ECO gel, at least use it once in a while.
5. Lack of lister/shine: You might be over applying or under applying products. Yes, it should be balanced.

THE SOLUTION

1. Know your hair type (3a/3b/3c/4a/4b/4c) and (highly porous / lowly pourous),
2. READ THE INGREDIENTS,
3. Identify which products work with your hair type (experiment),
4. DEEP CONDITION!! (Home made recipes or commercial products),
5. Know how to layer your products (yes, one is not enough and look up LOC or LCO Methods),
6. Keep your Moisture-to-Hydration Balance,
7. Avoid HEAT! (No more than twice a year),
8. Stop over styling your hair. Opt for protective styles instead,
9. Join Queen of Curls where we have discussed every possible hair care topics. You might find your solution!,
10. Invest on a satin bonnet or satin pillowcase,
11. Buy a proper detangler with soft bristles, and go slow when detangling,
12. DON’T USE A TOWEL TO DRY YOUR HAIR. Instead use an old cotton t-shirt,
13. Apply water before styling (rice water, rosemary water),
14. Make sure your products go well together,
15. And finally, embrace your curls/afro!