Question:
I’m having a hair crisis. I have 4c hair and I don’t know what to do with it. When I try to do a twist-out, the style only lasts for a day. Any time I try to manipulate my hair, it is so dry that hair is just falling off. I’ve tried deep conditioning and hot oil treatments, but I’m a sophomore in college and I simply can’t afford these fancy hair products. What is an inexpensive way to take care of my 4c hair?- Keleigh
Answer
4C natural hair is naturally dry due to its tightly coiled structure. Our scalps produce oil (sebum”> that travels down each strand of hair. That oil wants to follow the path of least resistance, so each curve in the strand makes its more difficult for it to reach the bottom. As a result, because 4C naturals have numerous coils on each strand we tend to experience chronic dryness, and yes, breakage. A daily routine of moisturizing and sealing your hair should help.
All deep conditioners are not created equal
So make sure you research the ingredients to ensure they are in fact moisturizing elements and not causing dryness. I can dig the college girl struggle. There is no need to break your pockets to achieve good deep conditioning, or effective hair care in general. Utilize the web to find DIY recipes that only require basic items available in your supermarket.
Water is free
Water is free and it is the best moisturizer in existence. A spray bottle is 1 dollar. Household oils like coconut, olive or castor oil can all be purchased for under ten dollars. Daily Moisture + Sealant = Better Preserved Hair. Better preserved hair will be less likely to feel dry and break easily, but 4C hair is the most fragile, so the more manipulation you put it through, the more it will have a tendency to break.
YouTube is your friend
Go to Jouelzy’s channel watch her video on “Realistic Expectations for 4CJouelzy’s Natural Hair”.
The content touches the very topic of keeping styles for multiple days. Our hair craves moisture, so trying to keep a twistout and have it maintain that “day one hair” look for 5 days is asking for undue stress, girl! If you are fond of the twistout look, you can still achieve it by lightly moisturizing with a spray bottle of water, sealing with an oil and retwisting your hair into bigger twists at night. When you take them down the next morning, you will retain some definition without completely drying out your hair.
Hope this helps!
-Jamillia
This post was originally published on CurlyNikki.
