I began my natural hair journey in 2014 when I had had enough of relaxing my hair every 3 to 6 months and dealing with its lifeless look and feel from all of the damage! After researching the natural hair journey I decided to try out transitioning at a time where there weren’t many UK bloggers to relate to or learn from, because of this I started my own.
During this time I was suffering from major heat damage; my curls had turn to straight straw! Now I am 100% natural with the longest, healthiest curls I never thought I would ever have! Here are some of my top tips for overcoming heat damage.
1. No Heat!
The most obvious and vital tip: stop using heat! Your hair will never get the chance to fully recover if you keep on causing it stress and damage. Yes, straightening natural hair can be done, but not when you already have major hair problems.
What if I want to straighten my hair?
Please wait until your hair is strong enough; you might even become like myself and not even want to straighten your hair again due to your newfound love for your natural curls.
2. Trim your hair
Eventually as your hair grows you may want to give yourself a kick-start and trim off any really dead and straight ends. Make sure you visit a professional that has experience in dry cutting curly hair (Devacurl trained stylists help too!”>. Once you get rid of the worst of your damage you will notice more volume and be inspired to keep going with your journey.
3. Be gentle!
Your hair is at its worst right now and you have to be so careful when handling it! The line where your new natural curls meet your damaged hair is going to be highly prone to breakage, you can avoid this by, keeping your hair moisturised at all times, detangling using your fingers only (worse case scenario a wide tooth comb”> and protecting at night-time.
4. Rely on protection & maintenance
So you’ve been putting in all of the work to get rid of your heat damage — now you need to maintain your new healthy hair. The best way to do this is by using satin accessories and moisturising your ends regularly.
I sleep on a satin pillowcase and use a satin scrunchie to pineapple and cover with a satin headscarf when needed. These help to keep in your hair’s moisture overnight, prevent breakage and maintain your curl pattern — no frizz.
5. Get regular treatments
Your hair needs regular TLC and that comes in the form of deep conditioning. To prepare for the week ahead I like to deep condition my hair for 30-40 minutes every Sunday with a heat cap on top for extra moisture. This helps to maintain my hair and prevent it from dryness. I also once a month or every 6 weeks do a protein treatment for extra strength.
After 3 years of successfully transitioning I decided to write my own book, titled Get My Curls Back! due to so many people asking me how to get their curls back like mine.
This book is filled with advice, tips, and evidence of how to fix damaged curls. I made sure to add tips for all hair types and include stories from some of my followers who have too achieved getting their curls back by following my formula.
It has great 5-star reviews and is available to purchase via Amazon both paperback and kindle here. I hope my tips have helped! Good luck on your healthy hair journey.
