This month’s IG stories featured questions about anything hair care related, from wigs and weaves to becoming #NaturalHairGoals. Here are a few of our fave questions, answered by our in-house writer and licensed cosmetologist.
No matter what I do, my hair won’t grow. What are some tips? I stopped relaxing last year.
Transitioning isn’t easy, and many people are confused about what to do during the “in-between” of relaxed and natural. The big chop is always an option, but I understand that not everyone wants to rock shorter hair while they wait for their natural texture to grow out. It may sound counterintuitive but you have to make sure that you’re keeping your ends trimmed. Even though growth is the goal, split ends can travel up the hair shaft, essentially breaking your hair just as fast as its growing out. Make sure to trim your ends regularly, even if you’re not big chopping.
Deep conditioner and hydration is important as well - drink enough water and use deep conditioners at least twice a month (be mindful if they’re protein-based treatments, the use of too much protein isn’t good for your hair). Sleeping with a silk or satin scarf and/or pillowcase helps maintain moisture and prevents breakage and frizz.
Also, have you thought about protective styles while your hair grows? I’ve been natural for years but when I first started to transition, closure installs, wigs, and braids were my best friends. I was able to keep my hair healthy and maintained underneath, gave my hair a break every so often, and made sure to keep my ends trimmed regularly (about every 4-8 weeks, depending on style and how my hair was feeling). Good luck on your transition, you got this!
I want to work out more but I don’t want to mess up my hair.
Fitness goals or bust, sis. I dealt with the same issue as I started to get more into my gym routine and it’s been trial and error!
If you’re natural: I usually wear a scarf or baseball cap to the gym to keep my hair protected and out of my face. Sometimes I’ll put my hair into twists and hide them under my scarf, co-wash them post-workout, and then I’m good to go as they dry. When I’m working out multiple days in a row, I pineapple my hair with a loose silk scrunchie and wear a scarf around my edges. Dry shampoo is everything! I gravitate towards aerosol ones that don’t leave any residue and use it throughout my scalp after I get home if I’m trying to avoid shampooing or co-washing to stretch a style.
If you’re rocking a sew-in: No one wants a sweaty foundation under their tracks...I get it. When I’m rocking an install I still tie a scarf around my edges (this also hides your tracks so you can put your hair up in a bun or ponytail) and dry shampoo the heck out of my braids underneath. I sit under a dryer at home or use a blow dryer to make sure everything’s dry under there (wet hair + never getting all the way dry = mildew at worst, a smelly situation at best). I personally love Girl+Hair’s products - they’re made for under weave/braid/natural hair care and not only work well, but have an applicator tip that allows me to get underneath my tracks or in-between braids when I’m wearing singles, etc.
Cheers to you for boosting up your physical health!
What’s the best weave for a low-maintenance person? I’ve never gotten one but I want a sew-in to switch it up but I also don’t know where to start. I don’t want to order a texture that I can’t keep up. Help!
First time weave-wearer huh...exciting! Part of this depends on how you’re going to wear your hair and if you plan on leaving any of your real hair out. A sew-in with leave out is technically easier to take care of because it doesn’t show growth as fast, but a fully protective style like a closure or frontal won’t require you to blend your leave-out. I’d suggest starting with a closure if you want to get a full sew-in; frontal installs can be high-maintenance and require more upkeep.
If you’re doing leave-out, think about how you normally wear your real hair now. Do you always straighten and wrap it? Blow it out with volume? Do twist outs or wash-n-gos? Matching the texture of your hair and how you wear it most often is going to be your best bet. For big, voluminous blowouts that mimic your natural hair, check out Kinky Straight. For straightened or pressed styles, try our Natural Straight or Yaki Straight. Twist-outs or sets? Our Deep Wave, Water Wave, or Curly can blend with different perm-rod sets or wand curls beautifully. Body Wave and Loose Wave are good in-between styles; think of them as smoother textures with movement but not a very tight curl patterns.
Finding a stylist that understands your goals is key, they’ll be able to have a deeper consultation as they see your hair type and talk about your lifestyle/what’s going to work best. Welcome to the world of weave!
Have a question you’d love to get answered? Anything goes! DM us @MayvennHair or ask in the comments.
