Hello my natural hair beauties!

It’s black history month and what better way to celebrate it than with some great tips on how to care for our natural hair.

But, I just want to start by exploring some pretty common hair problems we face. First on the agenda is heat damage. Yes, heat damage. The dreaded aftermath of constantly shoving your hair between two hot plates right after a good 15-minute blow-dry. Depending on how curly your hair is, you might notice either sraight pieces dangling off the ends of curls, clumps of frizz that just refuse to curl together or splits in the hair shaft that make it fan out like a peacock. It looks depressing and newsflash: continuing to straighten your hair will not magically fix the damage.

Now, I’m not here to recommend some new miracle product that will automatically heal your damaged strands, so if that’s what you’re looking for I’m so sorry my dear but you have been tricked by good ol’ capitalism. The truth is the only thing that will get rid of that damage is to cut it off.

To some girls the prospect of getting what some refer to as “The Big Chop” is horrifying but you don’t have to get it cut all at once. The key to properly recovering is to moisturize the hair that’s already started growing out and taking a well-deserved break from heat. As your new growth develops, gradually start cutting off your damaged pieces. Depending on how damaged your hair is and how much you cut this can either take up to six months to several years to complete the process. But it’s definitely worth it. But just plopping moisturizer on your head isn’t enough.

That brings me to another topic. LOC and LCO. These are two moisturizing techniques that ensure the moisture is sealed into the hair shaft. L stands for liquid leave-in-conditioner (water-based), O stands for Oil, and C stands for cream or curling gel. The leave-in-conditioner adds the necessary moisture to your hair as well as other nutrients.

Section your hair and apply this evenly all over your head. Afterward you can either apply the Cream or oil. The purpose of these is to seal in the moisture that you just applied to your hair. The most moisturizing ones are shea butter, olive oil and coconut oil. The creams however, can also define the curls and add shine. You have to be careful though with the ingredients. Alcohols, parabens, silicones and sulphates can dry and further damage your already damaged hair. It’s best to stay away from any products with these ingredients if you hope to actually recover from damage.Part 2 of this article for steps you can take to reverse this.

Speaking of ingredients, be careful with proteins. Protein is good for your hair but in excess can cause protein damage. You can know when your hair is protein damaged if it’s stiff, crunchy and won’t hold moisture well. This can cause extra hair breakage. See