Oh the dry hair woes. While winter weather can certainly exacerbate dehydrated hair, unfortunately for many, managing dry hair is a year-round dilemma. No matter your hair type or texture, hydrating your hair is just as important as moisturizing your skin.
Most people with natural hair understand the importance of proper hair hydration, however, some others tend to overdo it by applying too many oils, lotions, and creams, which weigh down hair and can even cause scalp issues.
Proper hair hydration is incredibly specific and personal to your unique hair type, texture, porosity, curl pattern, and so much more. That’s why we usually recommend a trial and error process to find what works best for you and your hair.
There are some universal truths,however, to maintaining healthy natural hair. Simply adding a few nourishing oils and good-for-you ingredients to your hair care routine, combined with proper techniques, will have your curls looking their best.
Whether you’re suffering from brittle strands or dehydrated curls, give your hair some love with our best-selling African Pride Moisture Miracle collection and our pro tips for happy, hydrated curls.
Why Is Natural Hair Dry?
If you’ve heavily researched the science behind textured hair you likely understand how curl patterns impact the level of moisture in your hair. For those who haven’t, it’s actually quite simple. Your scalp has natural oils, called sebum, which help moisturize your hair. Curly and coily hair has more curves, zig-zags, and grooves to navigate and travel down, which makes it much more difficult for moisture to reach all the ins and outs of your curls. Similarly, coily hair tends to be higher in porosity, making it even more difficult for hair cuticles to hold on to the moisture they do receive.
This can be frustrating as there’s absolutely nothing you can do to change your curl pattern/hair type, but it’s important to embrace your natural hair and not try to alter your hair. Chemical relaxers, straighteners, and the overapplication of hair products won’t change the structure of your hair, in fact it will likely make things much worse. Instead, work with your hair instead of against it. Once you nail down the right routine and products, you’ll never feel the need to tamper with your curls again.
Dry Hair Should Be Taken Seriously
Dry, dehydrated hair is more than just a nuisance. In addition to causing annoying frizz, static, and making your hair harder to style, it can lead to serious hair issues. One of the biggest consequences of dry hair is breakage.
Many see the effects of breakage on their edges, but it frequently happens on the cuticles too. This kind of damage is very difficult to reverse, so it’s better to try and prevent it from happening in the first place.
What Is Moisture Miracle?
Created from the finest oils and ingredients, our Moisture Miracle collection was crafted specifically for dry, dehydrated natural hair. With products ranging from shampoo to mousse, this best-selling African Pride line combines lush all-natural ingredients to give you the healthiest, most hydrated hair yet.
5 Signs Your Hair Is Dehydrated & How To Fix It
Tangling, knotting, frizz, dullness, breakage: these are all signs of very dehydrated hair. The good news? There are easy ways to treat and prevent not just the annoying symptoms of dryness, but the dry, dehydrated hair itself.
You might think some of these dry hair symptoms are normal, but it’s important to be able to distinguish between the norms of natural hair and more dangerous warning signs and dry hair red flags. Below, discover some of the signs that your hair needs extra moisture, plus how to remedy it so your hair is healthy, hydrated, and happy.
Excessive Frizz
Frizz is a common trait of natural, textured hair. In fact, frizz is extremely normal for all hair types. It can be caused by static, humidity, or sleeping with your bonnet on. Excessive frizz on the other hand, is when your curls are more frizz than hair. Your curl pattern is difficult to see through the frizz, or the frizz feels very coarse and dry. Type 4C hair is uniquely susceptible to increased frizz as it tends to be one of the drier hair types.
To combat excessive frizz you’ll want to follow a strict hair hair regimen that utilizes hydrating ingredients and a gentle touch. This includes using a sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner without parabens or other harmful ingredients. The other key element is using a nourishing leave-in conditioner. Our Moisture Miracle Coconut Milk & Honey Leave-in Conditioner is packed with nourishing ingredients like African honey, Castor Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, and so much more to nourish strands.
You can use this lightweight formula on dry or wet hair as a way to refresh curls between wash days and add moisture back to strands. Simply shake the bottle and spritz all over curls while you gently smooth it through strands. In addition to Leave-in Conditioner, discover 7 Other Ways To Control Frizz On Natural Hair.
Difficult To Manage Strands
Unmanageable isn’t a word we like to use, after all, your hair is beautiful and caring for it should never be seen as a chore. We recognize, however, that curls and tighter textures can have days when combing, washing, or styling them can be especially frustrating.
If you have tighter coils or type 4C hair you probably know the struggle of trying to keep your hair frizz-free and tangle-free. With tighter hair textures, sebum doesn’t travel as well down the hair shaft due to the curls/coils in the strands. This means moisture has a harder time fully penetrating your hair.
Applying a rich conditioning cream will essentially lubricate hair with moisture, resulting in less breakage, tangles, or splitting. If a tangle arises (hey it happens!) it will be much easier to remove those knots without fearing irreversible damage. Instead, hair is healthier and stronger. Our Coconut Oil & Baobab Oil Leave-In Cream uses a nourishing blend of Coconut Oil, Baobab Oil, and Avocado Oil to give hair lasting moisture while helping to protect against future breakage. It’s great to use in the LOC method or on damp hair post-shower.
Lots of Tangling
Let’s make this clear, your hair will have tangles! It’s completely normal for curly and coily hair to experience tangles, especially when taking hair down from a protective style or when you’ve just washed it. Excessive tangling however, is something to look out for. This means seeing tangles during the course of a normal day, or tangles that get extremely knotted.
One of the most important steps to combat tangles is a step you might underestimate. A moisturizing pre-wash treatment, like our Moisture Miracle Aloe & Coconut Water Pre-Shampoo, is the key to an easier wash day and consequently, tangle-free hair. Not only is the perfect way to detangle your strands but it also preps them for washing. Incorporating a pre-shampoo into your wash day regimen also helps to minimize breakage and better defines coils. A pre-shampoo works to gently detangle your curls while adding some much-needed moisture into strands to help protect hair during the washing process.
This makes tighter textures, curls, and coils more manageable and less susceptible to breakage while wet. Got extra dry or tangled hair? Leave on for up to 30 minutes to allow hair to fully absorb all the moisturizing benefits before you rinse. Looking for more detangling ideas? Check out 5 Foolproof Ways To Detangle Your Curls & Coils.
Flaky Scalp
The scalp is the source of all your hair growth and moisture. This makes taking care of it one of the most important parts of your hair care routine. A dry scalp usually shows itself through dandruff or white flakes, an itchy scalp, or stalled hair growth. The solution to all this is actually quite simple: a relaxing scalp massage.
It might surprise you but for almost immediate dry, itchy scalp relief nothing beats a nice massage. It delivers that much needed moisture quickly and increased hydration.
To experience the benefits apply Moisture Miracle 5 Essential Oils to palms and then gently rub into the scalp with your fingertips in a gentle, circular motion.
This is not only therapeutic, alleviating stress and giving you a moment of relaxation, but the massaging movement stimulates the production of your hair’s natural oils, kickstarting it so that it can continuously provide more moisture. The unique blend of 5 Essential Oils also gives natural strands a restorative boost that soothes irritation, calms itchiness, and replenishes lost nutrients. Want to know what else this miracle product can do? Check out 5 Hair-Changing Ways To Use Moisture Miracle 5 Essential Oils.
Dullness
Hair that is dry or damaged won’t have a shiny, supple look. Similarly if you find that even after using shine sprays or deep conditioning treatments your hair is still lackluster, brittle, and dull, this indicates that your hair shafts are no longer smooth or healthy. One of the best ways to boost the health, moisture, and appearance of your natural hair is through the LOC method.
The basic idea behind the LOC method is to hydrate the hair with a liquid, hold the moisture in with an oil, and seal it in with a cream. Each step contributes to keeping the moisture in the hair strands. First the liquid opens up the hair cuticles, which readies the hair to receive moisture. With the cuticles open, the oil can properly penetrate the hair shafts so that they can hold in the moisture. The cream closes the hair cuticle back up, sealing everything in and preventing moisture loss.
Keeping the hair moisturized with the LOC method not only makes hair softer and shiner, but it also prevents breakage, dryness, and frizz. The LOC method is not only meant to be a hair care routine, but also a style. All of our Moisture Miracle products are made to highlight the individual natural beauty of your curls to keep them cute, healthy, and bouncing until your next wash day.
The African Pride Guarantee
Making positive, healthy choices for your curls and coils (and your overall well-being) may take slightly more time or effort but that’s why it’s important to use ingredients that work overtime. That’s why we’re committed to creating effective yet affordable natural hair products that make your life a little bit easier. Discover our extensive Moisture Miracle natural hair care collection and get ready for healthy, fabulous hair!