Being on the creamy crack for years and deciding to go natural is a decision you can make at any time in life, regardless of your age. Indeed, while being older should not be a limiting factor in your intention of returning to your natural roots, it is important to mention that as a person ages, the hair also changes. This is due to biological factors, lifestyle factors, and environmental factors. As such, there are some challenges you’ll encounter in the process of going natural. Not to fret though, this article will not only address these challenges but also proffer practical tips on how you can deal with them. So, let’s dive in.
Challenges You May Encounter When Going Natural as an Older Woman
1. A change in hair texture
It goes without saying that relaxers alter the texture of your hair by loosening its natural curl patterns, among others. If as an older lady, you’ve been using relaxers on your hair for many years, you may notice that the texture of your hair is finer and fragile even as new hair grows out. Now, as already mentioned above, the chemicals in relaxers may not be the only contributing factor but biological factors (such as hormonal changes and genetics) that occur as a result of getting older also contribute. How do you deal with this? Here are some helpful tips:
Tip 1. Accept the change in your hair texture as one of the things that come with getting older. Trust, this will save you from getting frustrated easily.
Tip 2. Consider using volumizing hair care products such as volumizing shampoos that can help to revive your fine hair and make it appear and feel thicker.
Check out: Why Does Hair Texture Change Throughout Life?
2. Styling challenges
After years of what may be easy styling on relaxed hair (which is smoother and straight), it can get a bit tricky when it comes to styling natural hair (which can be coarse and as such, need extra care and effort). As an older lady transitioning to natural hair, you may encounter styling difficulties due to these different hair textures on your head. It is also understandable that you may not be looking forward to spending extra time trying to style your hair. Does this mean you only have limited styling possibilities a.k.a settle only for simple styles? Absolutely not. As an older woman, you can still get your slay on with gorgeous yet comfortable natural hairstyles that won’t take so much time or effort to create. Some of these styles include low fades, crochet braids, tight coils using curl activator gels, twists, the afro, cornrows, twist outs, headwraps, and scarves, among many other chic and age-appropriate hairstyles.
3. Thinning hair
The combination of growing older coupled with years of using relaxers, coloring your hair, heat styling, and consistent manipulation of hair, may result in thinning hair even when you’re trying to go back to being natural. How can you manage this common hair challenge? You can start by eating healthy such as taking food rich in vitamins or taking supplements. Another thing to do is to get proper rest especially if you’re stressed. This is because chronic stress has also been linked to thinning hair. You should also avoid heat styling and hairstyles that require high manipulation. Furthermore, you can use hair products formulated specifically for reversing thinning in hair.
4. Dry and frizzy hair
As one gets older, the scalp produces less sebum which gradually leads to a drier scalp. Also, as has been already mentioned, getting older means there may be changes in the texture of your hair leading to drier frizzy hair. Naturally, this can make combing and general hair care a painful affair and understandably, not something you look forward to doing. Furthermore, dryness can cause your hair to snap, and break, among other types of hair damage. How can you combat this? By using moisturizing products specifically formulated to hydrate your hair, thus eliminating dryness. You can also apply a few drops of scalp oil to your fingers and massage your scalp for a few minutes to encourage the production of sebum. Other measures you can take include avoiding heat styling tools, or limiting their use as much as possible and applying a heat protectant to your hair when using them; avoid products that contain harsh and drying ingredients such as alcohol and sulfates, among others.
5. Reduction in hair length
The rule of transitioning demands that you slowly trim the ends of your relaxed hair as the natural one grows out. This can lead to a noticeable uneven hair length, especially for older ladies who have shorter hair. You can manage this by using moisturizing products so you don’t lose more hair as a result of dryness; avoiding tight hairstyles that cause your hair to break, and the ends to split; massaging your scalp to stimulate blood flow which helps to promote hair growth. While you’re applying these tips, why not make lemonade out of lemons by doing a pixie cut or fade hairstyle as these help to hide the disparity in your hair length.
6. Finding the right products
Many older ladies have attested to the fact that growing older may cause hair to lose its shine and volume. Also, at this stage in life, many older women do not want to be experimenting with hair products yet it is important to find the right ones. How can you get the right hair care kit to help you on your natural hair journey? Simply look out for the ones that are labeled as anti-aging. Still in doubt? Then check out verified user reviews about the products first.
7. Graying hair
And finally, the elephant in the room. One beauty of aging but one that many struggle with accepting is graying hair. The older one gets, the body stops producing melanocytes, which are the cells responsible for providing color to the hair. As such, the hair becomes more transparent in color which results in, as you guessed, gray/silver/white hair. And this is visible in natural hair. The first way to deal with this is to accept that it is a natural thing that happens to everyone. The next step is to use the right products as already mentioned above to help the hair maintain its shine. If you still want to hide the gray, you can try DIY natural methods such as black tea and henna, among others.
Check out: Gray Coming In? How To Make The Most Out Of Your Silver Strands
