One of the best ways to grow healthy long hair is to have a solid hair care regimen. It may not be a new idea, but one that is tried and true to achieve success. Another way to boost your hair growth is to incorporate Ayurvedic practices into your hair care routine. Your natural hair has the potential to grow, but adding the right herbs and oils will boost your natural hair potential.
Building a hair care regimen is made up of just a few steps. You need to cleanse your hair, treat it to strengthen it, and moisturize it to keep it healthy. Using these pillars to create a balance hair care regimen will help to maintain healthy 4C hair. Your goal should always be to keep your hair healthy from root to tip. Keeping your scalp healthy enables you to grow longer hair and maintain length. Each natural hair type is unique, and you must create a hair care regimen that caters to your hair. 4C haircare can have tightly-coiled strands that are more fragile with a zig-zag pattern. You will also need to consider other things like hair type, porosity, density, and what products work best with your hair. If you are a beginner at haircare, don't worry, you just need a place to start. Using ayurvedic herbs and oils works for everyone and allows you to personalize your hair care. Let's start with just a few steps to create the best haircare routine for your 4C hair.
The First part is to set up an Ayurvedic Hair Regimen that works for you Natural 4C hair
The best regimen aims for long-term goals with scheduled hair maintenance. Another essential part is to learn the best styles that complement your hair care regimen. Think of it this way: you are building an ever-changing hair regimen to cater to your hair's current needs. An ayurvedic natural hair regimen base on your specific hair will help you decide the type of products to buy and routines to set up.
First, What are your Natural Hair Goals?
Are you looking to grow longer hair? is it the volume you want to see, or are you looking to strengthen your hair? Knowing your goals will help you build the perfect routine to achieve them. Even if all of these are your hair goals, you are able to update your plans as time goes on. Your goals need to change as your hair does to keep it long and healthy. Think of simple things like styling your hair for work, weather conditions, and even if you work out a few times a week. You must also take into consideration when your hair is in the anagen phase to know to encourage hair growth.
Second, Keep track of your hair progress
The easiest way to keep track is to take pictures; you will have a visual for every stage. The benefit of taking those pictures is seeing the progress of your hair's health and growth. Because you spend so much time with yourself its hard to see the change right away. Pictures help you see those changes from month to month to see the difference. You can keep a journal as well to track your progress and hair care regimen. We have an 'Ultimate Hair Journal' to help you keep track of your journey. You can keep track of your hair, record DIY recipes, and much more.
Getting started with What You need
Cleansing Your Scalp and Nourishing Your Roots
Depending on your 4C hair needs, cleanse about once a week, every ten days, or every two weeks. Some people may be able to go longer than others without washing their hair, while others need to cleanse more often. You also have to consider if you have a protective style and how to cleanse your scalp. A few cleansing options can be:
Aloe Vera Juice
DIY Aritha Shampoo
Rhassoul / Aztec Clay Wash
DIY African Black Soap Shampoo
DIY African Black Soap Shampoo
Each one of these cleansers can work for different hair needs. You can do a mid-week simple wash, after-gym refresher, or a whole wash day routine. Your hair needs are essential; make sure you use the cleanser that works for you. You may wash your hair one week, while the next week, you need to detox your scalp. The goal is to keep your scalp healthy, cleanse, and free of irritations, so use what works.
Deep Conditioning Your Hair On A Regular Basis
If you have 4C hair you understand how it can be hard to keep it moisturize during the week. One way to keep it moisturize is to use a deep conditioning treatment about 1 time a week. You can use a moisturizing deep conditioner or a herbal treatment gloss to nourish and treat your scalp and strands. Learning your hair porosity can help you choose the right treatment your hair requires.
A few Recommended Deep moisturizing treatments are:
Camille Rose Algae Renew Deep Conditioner
Alodia Deep Conditioning Masque
TGIN Honey Miracle Mask
MANUKA HONEY & MAFURA OIL INTENSIVE HYDRATION MASQUE
Eden Bodyworks Jojoba Monoi Deep Conditioner
For a more natural deep treatment, look at treatments such as :
Henna Glosses
Homemade Avocado & Coconut Milk Hair Treatment For Stronger, Healthy, Natural Hair
Steaming your natural hair is a plus with any deep treatment to help the treatments deeply penetrate your strands.
Keep Your Natural Hair Moisturize
Setting a regular routine to customize your natural 4C hair helps keep it healthy and strong. You need to customize this for when your hair dries out on you, if it's daily or every other day, set your moisturizing routine down. Spend one week checking your natural hair every day to see when it feels dry and how long it stays moisturized. Use your Ayurvedic moisturizing spay, massage Ayurverdic oils in your scalp and seal it all with some butter or more oils. Now this is just one method of the LCO method (Liquid, Creme and Oil) OR the LOC method (Liquid, Oil and Creme), choose one base on your hair needs. Use moisturizing spray with Aloe vera juice and rose water to keep your scalp and hair healthy.
Styling your Natural Hair To Protect It
Styling your natural hair plays a major role in growing long, healthy 4C hair. Some people can style their hair more often than others, but 4C hair tends to do better when it has time to rest. You can choose low manipulation styles to a complete protective style that stays in for two weeks or more. You will have access to your scalp to keep moisturizing and add an Ayurvedic oil mix to help stimulate hair growth. Remember to moisturize as your hair and scalp need it, whether every other day or just a few times a week. A few other ways to stimulate hair growth is to:
Use a scalp massager
The inversion method
Blood Builder supplements,
Rice water
Green/Black tea rinse on wash day to minimize shedding
These are not the only methods, but just a few to help stimulate longer and stronger hair growth.
1 Week in A 4C Natural Hair growth routine:
Saturday (Wash Day)
Cleansing: Wash hair with a natural shampoo (look for a rich natural moisturizing shampoo/ shampoo bar). Don’t wash your hair just because it’s Saturday either. If your hair still feels clean and hydrated, skip the wash and deep condition and just moisturize your hair.
Deep Condition: Use a moisturizing deep conditioner with ayurvedic oils and herbs to retain length and moisture.
Moisturize: Moisturize hair using the LCO or LOC method. Use moisturizers like rose water, Ayurvedic herb oil mix, and whipped buttercream to infuse and seal in moisture.
Style: Chunky twists are great after wash day; using a low manipulation style helps reduce tension to the scalp. Tucking your ends in after styling prevents breakage and keeps your ends moisturized.
*Remember to wash your hair when needed and when it makes sense to you, not just on a routine schedule.
Sunday
Scalp Massage: Moisturize your hair with water based moisturizer, apply warm Ayurvedic oil mix to the scalp and massage for between 5-10 minutes.
Monday
Rest day: Check to make sure your hair is doing okay and doesn't need anything; your hair will most likely still be moisturized, so do nothing to your hair
Tuesday
Re-moisturize your hair using the LOC or LCO method using your set of moisturizing products
Spend about 5 to 10 minutes again massaging your with your fingers and scalp massager
Wednesday
Again another rest day; your hair should be moisturized from the day before
Thursday
Re-moisturize your hair using the LOC or LCO method
A good scalp massage is in need today! Take time to give yourself an excellent 30-minute massage; you can do it with your fingers or a scalp massager to keep your hands from tiring out.
Today is a great day to try the inversion method if you are using that for at least 5 minutes to stimulate hair growth
Friday
Re-moisturize your hair using the LOC or LCO method, use your Ayurvedic hair growth spray
Massage scalp for about 5 to 10 minutes
Taking care of your 4C hair is a task you must pay attention to daily. It's a fun journey to start a self-love routine with your natural 4C hair. The important part is to be consistent with your routine and continue adjusting to see improvement. Incorporating Ayurvedic practices in your natural hair journey is a game changer to see results. You will notice stronger, healthier, longer-looking hair sooner rather than later. Pay attention to your hair if its changes texture, porosity, or density over time as it gets healthy. Be ready to adapt to these changes and update your natural hair care routine to match your hair growth.
If any off the shelves products no longer work for your hair after you start your Ayurvedic routine, stop using them for now. If you find a product that your natural hair loves, keep using them. All you need to do is keep a routine that works for your 4C hair and make changes when needed.
Your natural hair will grow and look amazing; take good care of it and love the hair that grows.
