Corinne Bailey Rae on Her Natural Hair Attitude

Her favorite products:

I use an Aveda shampoo called Shampure. I find that it’s nice. When I wash my hair, I tend to only really wash the roots. I spoke to someone that said when you have long hair, remember that the hair on the ends has been washed so many times because it’s four years old, and when you wash your hair all you should focus on is the product build up at the scalp and to keep your scalp from feeling itchy or whatever. So when I wash my hair, I just put the shampoo at my roots, and move it around gently. I don’t really mush it, I don’t want to disturb the curls too much.

If I’m doing my hair and I just washed it four days ago, I won’t wash it with shampoo at all. I’d just put water in it and then just use conditioner. If it feels like it needs cleaning, which is every eight or nine days, then I’ll use that shampoo, and then I’d wash it out and put conditioner in it.

There are two different conditioners that I use. One is by Aveda called Damage Remedy. I hate the name of it, because I don’t like to think my hair is damaged, but it does need the moisture. And there’s also a conditioner that I get from Eva Scrivo called Ruhua. Sometimes, to help it stretch, I mix it with another conditioner because it’s expensive. But it’s really nice because it has honey in it.

So, I just put conditioner on my hair, then detangle with the big paddle brush I got from Aveda. The bristles or spines on the brush are very flexible so it may not get the knots out the first or even the second time. I spend a while detangling. If I’m brushing my hair out, I’ll watch TV, or go and sit in the garden. It takes me 45 minutes, but I’m patient. The key is to not get frustrated and know that all those tangles are going to come out eventually.

I detangle from the ends up and I naturally divide it into sections as I go. Once it’s fully detangled, I’ll put a shower cap on my head and leave it for a couple of hours. When I take it off, my hair is really black and shiny, and it’s still soaking wet even though much of the conditioner is gone. But, it’s still easy to comb through. Then, I’ll just put it in the plaits. I do this styling process every nine to ten days.

On night time maintenance:

I usually just leave it. I try to position it so that it’s up and over the pillow so that I don’t smoosh or flatten the curls. I don’t fuss too much with it and I’m not afraid of having wild hair. This is Rock & Roll, all of my hair idols, people like Yoko Ono, Grace Covington, and Janice Joplin, have this awesome big, messy hair. I love their hair! I’m not looking for it to be perfect, I like the cycle it goes through, from being wet and sort of polished looking and then it dries and gets bigger and bigger.

If there are sections that look a bit messy, I will section it out, put conditioner in it and put another plait there. So, I think of it like a work in progress. But on most days, I just wake up and it just looks like it looks. You don’t have to do it that day. I find that it’s quite low maintenance compared to relaxed hair because you don’t have to do it everyday.

Sometimes, at night, I do apply an oil to my dry ends, but I can’t remember the name of it. It nourishes and adds shine.

But you know what, I have stages where I just put Vaseline in my hair if it’s dry. I put the Vaseline in it and comb it through. I remember after using it for a while, I went to my hairdresser and she said, “Your hair is in really good condition, what have you been using?” And I told her! She couldn’t believe it.

I like to put essential oil in it and it gives it a really nice smell. It’s cheap and I think that’s a myth, that you have to use really expensive products, and you don’t. You can add stuff like olive oil, almond oil or things you just find in the health food store to help expensive products last longer. Experiment is what I say. What works for one person may not work for you. Everyone was raving to me about Moroccan oil, but I found it way too drying.

On length retention:

I haven’t always had such a regimen, but I can say that you have to get your hair cut reasonably often. I get my hair cut about three times a year. Kenna does it.

Find a hairstylist to trim those ends. I have so many friends that say, “Oh, my hair won’t grow.” But, of course, every one’s hair grows. What happens is the ends break because they get dry, they split into two and you put tension on the last few inches and they pop off. And people think, “I want to grow my hair so I’m not going to get it cut,” but it’s the opposite. If you’re going to grow your hair, you need to get it trimmed, even if it’s the tiniest bit, just so you stop the ends from breaking.

Obviously eating well and drinking water helps. It’s also a myth that Afro hair can’t grow long and it can. You just have to give it time. Plus, it’s growing in a spiral and it takes a bit to show length.

I want to grow mine longer!

Her ventures and current projects:

At the moment, I’m writing an album. I’m really enjoying it, the process. It won’t be out until next year. Today, I’m just here at home playing my guitar and relaxing.

I was at Fashion Week in November and I’ll probably pop back over in February. At this time, I just feel like I want to engage with creative people and I’d like to do different collaborations with people that aren’t necessarily musicians. It’s fun and inspiring to talk to other creative people. I really like that website Lecoil. I think she has some really good pictures on there and it’s really inspiring as well.

The thing I found most depressing about that Chris Rock documentary “Good Hair” was that lawyer. She had this very beautiful Afro and the other black girls were like, “I think your hair is cute and all, but when you become a lawyer no one is going to take you seriously because of your hair.” And, she was like, “Yeah, I know I’m going to have to change it when I become a lawyer.” So, so sad. So, the thing I love about Lecoil is that when you click on a picture, you find that this person is the CEO of a company, or a journalist, or the creator of a website! I think it’s really important to show more and more people in influential positions that just let their hair be.

Final Thoughts from Corinne

Believe it or not, at one point I wanted to start a natural hair site. Naturally, I came across your site and Lecoil. It was like two years ago and I was researching it and I felt that there were already enough sites and that people were doing a good job. I didn’t think I needed to get into that arena, but we’ll see what the future brings! Thanks Nikki!