How to Maintain 4C Hair at Home
Women of color have moved way from relaxers over the past half-decade and have fully embraced their glorious, thick, kinky, Coily hair type.
The 4C hair type is some of the most beautiful hair you will ever see, and millions of women worldwide have it. The primary hurdle with heavily textured hair is managing it. Maintenance of your newfound texture that has been tucked away in braids or covered by Human lace wigs is an enlightened discovery and sometimes intricate process to learn.
It appears strong, yet it is very fragile. If not handled with loving care, 4C curls is prone to extreme breakage, tangling, and dryness. It takes time to cultivate and grow 4C hair type as well.
Many women get frustrated while growing out of a short bob cut or a big chop. This frustration keeps many women from wanting to get their hair trimmed. They want to hold on to their hair, even when their ends might be considered damaged.
The bottom line is the length makes you feel psychologically good, but one of the worst things you can do to your hair is refraining from trimming. Regular trims are vital, along with a few things you can do on your own.
Check out how you can maintain your 4C natural hair at home.
1. Frequent Conditioning
4c natural hair needs to be hydrated frequently. After applying a nourishing hair conditioner, the end goal is to make your hair soft, easy to detangle, and your curls are defined.
The hair shaft needs nutrients. A good conditioner will deliver those nutrients to your hair while reducing the breakage you usually face and smoothing out brittle ends.
Must Buy Coily Textures:
2. Satin Pillowcase
Wearing a satin scarf or sleeping on a satin pillowcase is vital to avoid breakage while sleeping. A standard cotton pillowcase will soak up all of the oils from the hair shaft leaving your hair dry and depleted.
Over time, this can be detrimental to the health of your hair. All of the work that you've done to replenish moisture in your hair could end up soaked into the cotton pillow. Wearing a satin bonnet or satin scarf is another option while sleeping. It will hold your hair in place while protecting it.
So show some love to your tresses and sleep with healthy hair intentions.
3. Hydration Treatments
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Everyone's hair could use a proper steam treatment. Not only is this process of penetrating the hair shaft with a surge of moisture a benefit to all hair types, but it's also super important for the 4c hair type. 4c curls crave deep hydration.
The pores in your scalp also open up, which stimulates hair growth. Level up the process by using peppermint or eucalyptus based conditioner before steaming. Make sure you rinse all of the conditioner entirely out before steaming your hair.
Steaming Tips For 4C Hair Type:
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- Make sure you thoroughly cleanse your hair from product buildup. We recommend you use a clarifying shampoo to get off all of the residues.
- Do not use a heavy conditioner. You want to make sure nothing is blocking the water particles from penetrating the hair shaft.
- Add six drops of lavender essential oil to your steam machine and create your own spa experience in your home's comforts while your hair enjoys much-needed attention.
- Stay under the steamer no more than 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add a leave-in spray conditioner. Make sure it's a light-weight and not a cream spray leave-in conditioner.
- Towel dry and style your hair accordingly.
4. Leave-In Conditioner
Is your 4c hair dull? Applying a great leave-in conditioner to your hair garners excellent results! The goal is to hold in moisture and create shine. While your hair is still damp, spray a leave-in conditioner like Design Essentials Bamboo Silk HCO.
Heavy leave-in creams just lay on the hair shaft. This light-weight spray conditioner provides the ultimate moisture lock because the molecules easily penetrate the hair shaft. This conditioner provides the ultimate moisture lock while fortifying the hair shaft. HCO stands for hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen.
So this tried and true product is sure to win your hair over!
5. Detangle and Stretch
When you detangle your hair, try using your fingers. 4c care twist is the best way to detangle them. The great thing about using your fingers is you can feel any intricate tangled areas and work through detangling it with your fingers. A wide-tooth comb is excellent, but nothing is better than your delicate touch.
Why stretch your hair? 4c curly hair has an enormous amount of elasticity, which causes it to shrink. Shrinkage is a good thing, but it may not be the look you want to achieve for your style. Once you stretch your hair, you will be able to wear a short natural hairstyles 4c that is closer to your hair's actual length! Stretching simply allows more styling options!
After detangling your hair, moisturize your hair thoroughly, part accordingly, and create braids, cornrows, or a 4c twist care style.
If your hair is short, this styling method will cause it to stretch. If your hair is long enough to place into a loose ponytail, your hair will stretch out even more. For longer hair, make sure you tuck away your ends. Your ends are the most fragile, and tucking them away will support the health of your ends much better than leaving them exposed to the elements.
Stretching your hair will make the cleansing process much easier as well! Typically, you run into the majority of your breakage issues during the detangling process. When you stretch the hair frequently, the detangling process is much smoother because the hard work is complete.
Continue to embrace your 4c hair type with care and discover the vast possibilities and styles you can create during the process. Once you start utilizing these pointers, it will become much easier by the day.
Always remember, caring for 4c hair is a journey. It's not something you can master overnight. We all have texture differences, and what works for some might now work for others. But with patience and determination, you will find the perfect regimen for your heavily textured hair.