Let’s be real, there can be a ton of drama and politics that surround 4C hair. Everyone has a different opinion on how best to care for this hair type, whether it’s okay to use relaxers, and whether or not going natural should always be embraced. These issues become especially important when we consider how rarely we see 4C hair textures represented in mainstream media.
Typically, celebrities with this hair type usually opt for wigs or chemically relaxed hair. This sends the message that tight coils shouldn’t be fully embraced or aren’t “beautiful.” We know this isn’t true. Yet when considering these complex issues, even talking about transforming 4C in any way becomes slightly contentious.
At African Pride we always encourage people to embrace their natural hair. However, all hair types will require some maintenance and care to look their best. There is nothing wrong with wanting to grow out your coils and make them hydrated, shiny, and healthy.
Thankfully, you don’t need to use chemicals, harsh products, or difficult methods in order to achieve lush, strong hair. Natural ingredients, like Olive oil, is a great alternative to harsh products for helping grow even the most stubborn of hair.
So what’s the best way to help grow your type 4C hair? Our lush Olive Miracle collection combined with proper maintenance and hair care methods will help ensure your coils look and feel their best. Ready to add some healthy length to your locks? Let’s get to it.
Understanding Type 4C Hair
Part of caring for your unique hair type means knowing exactly what it needs, but more importantly, why. The better you understand why your hair acts the way it does, the better you can give it what it needs to look and feel its best, and help it grow!
Type 4C hair has the tightest coil pattern of all curly hair types. This hair is characterized by springy ringlets in a tight zig-zag pattern that tend to clump together at the ends. Type 4C hair is the most fragile hair type and is usually very dry since moisture has a difficult time navigating down the hair shaft. The other key difference with Type 4C hair is shrinkage. In fact, 4C hair can shrink up to 75% of its length.
What Is Olive Miracle?
African Pride Olive Miracle is a lush line of nourishing natural hair products crafted from virgin Olive Oil and the finest African miracle herbs and natural ingredients. These unique ingredients help moisturize dry hair, repair damage, soothe irritated scalps, and stimulate hair growth. This best-selling collection has everything your type 4C hair needs to restore moisture, refresh dry or damaged strands, and grow lush, healthy hair.
What Does Olive Oil Do?
The benefits of using Olive Oil on natural hair are plentiful. In fact, humans have been producing and enjoying the benefits of Olive Oil since ancient times, so you know it’s good. There are many reasons for incorporating this fatty oil into your daily hair care regimen, ranging from its ability to condition hair to controlling frizz to helping your hair grow long and strong.
Olive oil is rich in vital nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin E, and fatty acids, making it a super nourishing ingredient for dry or damaged strands. It’s also full of antioxidants and fats like oleic acid, which have been shown to slow the effects of hair loss. Similarly, a 2015 study done on mice showed significant hair growth when applied with Olive-tree ingredients. Olive oil is also known to help strengthen hair follicles, increasing the lifespan of each hair.
What to know what else Olive Oil can do? Check out African Pride Olive Miracle: 4 Amazing Olive Oil Hair Benefits.
How To Grow Type 4C Hair
Growing natural hair encompasses so much more than just slathering on Black Castor Oil and hoping for the best. It requires regular cuts, proper wash day routines, and intense moisturization, for a start. It’s not just about adding some inches, but more so about ensuring hair is healthy and hydrated and that any new growth will maintain that health.
It’s also important to remember that growing Type 4C hair is a process. It can take months (or even years) to get your hair to a place you want. You can’t expect an overnight miracle. For this reason, having patience is extremely important.
Average natural hair grows at roughly ½ inch per month, however many factors can contribute to this like shrinkage, dryness, and even your genetics. Therefore it’s crucial to tailor your hair expectations and focus on creating healthy hair habits, rather than just doing anything for length.
Armed with patience, proper hair care methods, and nourishing ingredients, you’ll see your dream hair soon enough. Let’s look at a few ways to make sure the growing process is as easy as possible.
Upgrade Your Wash Day Routine
Washing natural hair properly is a big contributor to your overall scalp and hair health. Products with sulfates, alcohol, or other harsh chemicals can dry out hair and can end up damaging the delicate follicles of the scalp. Make sure you’re using gentle cleansing formulas that don’t strip hair of it’s natural oils.
Similarly, the order and methods you use to wash hair is vital to creating and maintaining healthy hair. To avoid breakage and damage during wash day be sure to use a pre-shampoo which will help detangle hair prior to washing and use fingers to gently comb through curls. Our 5-step #CoilyGirlMethod wash day routine works for all types of curls and coils, but is particularly great for Type 4 hair. You can read all about how to do the African Pride Curl Care Method here.
For Type 4C hair we recommend our Olive Miracle 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner, a deeply moisturizing option that cleanses and hydrates strands. Using a unique recipe combining the finest African miracle herbs, oils, and natural ingredients this dual-action formula helps condition, repair, and rejuvenate dry hair.
Help Combat Breakage
There are many things you can do to combat breakage, like avoiding heat styling, sleeping on satin (or silk) and being as gentle on your coils as possible. Another great way to stimulate growth and avoid damage and breakage? A lush treatment of our Olive Miracle Anti-Breakage Oil.
This nourishing blend of Olive Oil, Tea Tree Oil, and Avocado Oil hydrates, softens and conditions natural hair while effectively treating the scalp. It helps protect hair against damage and breakage while combating dryness. The best part? You can use this on hair, edges, and your scalp. It also works amazing as a hot oil treatment!
Get A Scalp Massages
A great way to stimulate hair growth is to give yourself a comforting scalp massage every 1-2 weeks. We recommend using our Moisture Miracle 5 Essential Oils blend as it can help reactivate hair follicles to support growth and prevent breakage. It also utilizes Vitamin E, a thickening agent, that repairs hair follicles to help reduce damage.
Simply applying the oil will protect and strengthen hair, but actually massaging it into your scalp will stimulate blood circulation and encourage growth. The increased circulation also helps more nutrients reach the hair follicles on the hairline.
Embrace Protective Styling
Styling your hair without the use of weaves, wigs, chemical relaxers, or hot tools means there will be minimal damage to your natural hair. Protective hairstyles also tend to lock in moisture, length, and offer protection from the elements like sun, wind, and humidity. Not to mention they give you countless options for stylish looks.
One of the best benefits your hair will get from protective styling is increased moisture retention which can help lead to hair growth. Protective styles help keep your hair hydrated by tucking your ends away and help you hang onto growth as you’re not pulling/yanking on strands which causes shedding. It’s super easy to leave type 4C hair in braids, puffs, or twists for a few weeks, but we recommend only leaving styles in for 4-8 weeks and taking a few breaks in between styles in order to let your hair breathe. This means it’s time to finally embrace that wash-and-go life!
Get Regular Trims
If your hair is already growing, getting trims won’t stop the growth, it will just make sure that you’re growing out hair that won’t be so damaged you need to chop it all off down the road. Split ends left untrimmed tend to divide into bigger split ends, causing more of your hair to weaken and thin.
This means….it’s time to book that appointment girl! Trimming ¼ or ½ of an inch every 6-10 weeks will keep your ends healthy but ask your usual hair stylist what they would recommend based on your actual hair. We also recommend trimming slightly more in the winter months because cold, dry air tends to increase splitting. It might hurt today to see those locks get snipped off, but we promise it will do a lot for your hair health (and growth) in the long-term.
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 Olive Miracle natural hair care collection and get ready for healthy, fabulous hair!
