Black Hair Care 101

Are you new to the whole looking after your hair thing? I bet you have been bombarded by words and phrases that make no sense or are confusing. AfroDeity UK is here to make sense of the madness with a few defintions.

APL – Arm Pit Length

BSL – Bra Strap Length

EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil

EVCO – Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

JBCO - Jamaican Black Castor Oil

Prepoo – Prepooing is 'conditioning' your hair prior to a shampoo using an oil or conditioner, protecting your hair from the harsh shampooing process. It provides a barrier between the hair and the harsh detergents in the shampoo, and is absorbed into the hair shaft. Helps keep in moisture, helps in detangling hair and makes it softer and smoother. Also pre-conditions dry hair that may be full of water after a shampoo

How to Pre-Poo is a good start to starting your prepoo regime, but no one know better than you what works for hair, so try a few different things and let us know what helps you!

I currently use castor oil and organix coconut conditioner mixture as my pre-poo and the results are amazing - less breakage and it feels like silk. Prepooing helps keep moisture in.

Cowashing - Co washing is cleansing the hair with a conditioner rather and a shampoo. Excellent if you have an active lifestyle. Going to the gym and shampooing everyday is a definite No, No. This cleanses the hair enough and is great whilst streching your relaxer. I co wash twice a week after I am more than 6 weeks post and shampoo once a week usually on the weekend so that I can deep condition.

I currently shampoo once a week on Saturdays and co wash with Curls ecstasy tea tree conditioner on Wednesday

Deep conditioning – Especially if you have chemically relaxed dry, brittle, damaged hair. I usually deep condition by dividing my hair into sections applying my conditioner (protein/moisture based and cover with a plastic cap. I leave this on for an hour without heat. Most people I know sit under a dryer for 15-30 mins but I prefer to stay away from heat. It's good to deep condition at least once a week.

Sealing – usually with a carrier oil ie. Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The oil lock moisture into your hair for longer.

Stretching – leaving more time between relaxers.

Dusting - An extremely light trim. Cutting only 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch off the ends of hair. Prevents split ends

Embrace Your inner AfroDeity!

Leilu