Category: African hair care and maintenance

Why is my hair shedding so much? As an African woman with type 4 hair, what could be the cause?

by Renniestar, posted in African hair care and maintenance
Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Hair shedding is a natural process that happens to all of us. On average, we lose between 50 to 100 strands of hair each day. However, if you notice that your hair is shedding more than usual, it could be a cause for concern. As an African woman with type 4 hair, the cause of excessive hair shedding could be a combination of different factors.

Type 4 hair is characterized by tight coils and curls. It is the most fragile hair type and requires a lot of care and attention. If you are experiencing excessive hair shedding, it could be due to one or more of the following reasons:

  1. Genetics
    Genetics plays a significant role in the health of our hair. If you have a family history of hair loss, you may be predisposed to shedding more hair than usual. It’s important to note that genetics is not the only factor that can cause hair shedding. Other factors, such as stress, diet, and hair care practices, can also contribute to hair loss.
  2. Hormonal changes
    Hormonal changes can also cause hair shedding. For instance, women may experience hair loss after giving birth, during menopause, or due to an underlying medical condition. Hormonal changes can cause a disruption in the hair growth cycle, leading to excessive shedding.
  3. Stress
    Stress is a common cause of hair shedding. When we are under stress, our bodies produce cortisol, a hormone that can disrupt the hair growth cycle. Chronic stress can lead to a condition called telogen effluvium, which is characterized by excessive shedding of hair. If you are experiencing stress, it’s important to find healthy ways to manage it, such as exercise, meditation, or therapy.
  4. Diet
    Diet also plays a role in the health of our hair. If you are not getting enough nutrients, such as iron, vitamin D, and protein, your hair may become weak and brittle, leading to excessive shedding. It’s important to eat a balanced diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins to promote healthy hair growth.
  5. Hair care practices
    Hair care practices can also contribute to hair shedding. If you use harsh chemicals or heat styling tools on your hair, it can lead to damage and breakage, causing hair to shed. It’s important to use gentle hair care products and avoid heat styling tools as much as possible. Additionally, it’s important to protect your hair at night by sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase and using a protective style, such as braids or twists.
  6. Medical conditions
    Certain medical conditions can also cause hair shedding. For instance, scalp conditions, such as seborrheic dermatitis, can lead to hair loss. Autoimmune disorders, such as alopecia areata, can also cause hair shedding. If you are experiencing excessive hair shedding, it’s important to see a dermatologist to rule out any underlying medical conditions.

In conclusion, excessive hair shedding can be caused by a combination of different factors. As an African woman with type 4 hair, it’s important to take extra care of your hair to prevent excessive shedding. This includes eating a balanced diet, managing stress, using gentle hair care products, and protecting your hair at night. If you are experiencing excessive hair shedding, it’s important to see a dermatologist to rule out any underlying medical conditions. With proper care and attention, you can promote healthy hair growth and prevent excessive shedding.

Renniestar

Struggles of a natural

by Renniestar, posted in African hair care and maintenance

Natural hair Embracers know about the #strugglesofanatural. From the beginning to the end we have gone through every new challenge that comes along and we try and come up with solutions with the help of google , YouTube and other learning channels. Sometimes we encounter some difficulties but getting into a circle of naturalistas helps us learn from each other, inspire each other because we understand our hair much better than other racers. With the revolution of the internet at least I can learn one or two things from a naturalista in the USA and likewise can learn from me to. As a community we ought to love one another, and share like minded ideas.

Pros

Natural hair is voluminous in nature

The best part about being a natural is that you have an advantage of having voluminous hair , which could never be achieved ; if you had relaxed your hair, blow dried your hair, flat ironed your hair but can only be achieved if left in its natural state and right there you will get a kinky, flawless Afro to be admired.

Image courtesy; pinterest

Con

For you to achieve an afro textured hair that is gorgeous you literally, have to do a lot of work to have it. From the washing to conditioning to de-tangling *( don’t forget finger detangling) which I find time consuming) to moisturizing to sealing the ends. There is so much a natural needs to do to achieve a perfect afro that has healthy strands and stands out in a crowd!!

The struggles

Pre-poo period takes too long

Pre-pooing natural hair is part of every natural hair routine…I know the feeling of leaving on a shower cap on for about 2 hours, sometimes overnight, not forgetting what the pre-poo is; can be mashed avocados, bananas or fermented rice water …you literally have to endure the smell & the heat for over 2 hours but its totally worth it. We still do it, for the beneficial purposes that comes from Prepooing!

Washing hair takes almost the whole day

Wash days!!! We all know how much time it takes us being in the bathroom; you cannot go anywhere on that day, from washing away the prepoo, to cleaning using shampoo, to then conditioning, to then sectioning for detangling process. Maybe using our fingers or a wide tooth comb then moisturizing….. And its endless and so much more you have to do after that. Watch this video just to have an idea of a wash day>>> https://pin.it/3J8LobD disclaimer!! the above 👆👆video is courtesy of Pinterest.

Tonnes of hair products

As a natural we do not only own 1 or 2 products for our hair, that’s just impossible. we require much more: 2 shampoos, 3 conditioners, 2 leaves in conditioners, 1 hair growth oil, other oils, butters and not forgetting deep conditioners. All of these products serve different purposes for our hair,with all of these products our hair is set to flourish more that we even imagine/ expect.

😬 Single strand knots!!! 😬

I mean these knots, they give me a set back every time grrrhh!! For every natural I know most if not all have endured these “enemies of progress” called single strand knots!! These knots cannot be escaped its part of everyone hair journey just like splits. Nowadays I try to stretch my hair every time I wash and condition, and I find that working. I also plait my hair to avoid my hair touching my clothes or rubbing along other fabrics I come a cross.

Hair shrinkage

Image courtesy: Pinterest

If there is a race that suffer from shrinkage it got to be the African decent!! With the curly, coily, kinky hair texture we have, our hair shrinks up to almost 1/3 of our hair. But its said, “the hair that shrinks shows that hair is healthy”. Never be discouraged by this! If your hair is neck length when natural then, that means your hair goes all the way to your back. Try straightening every year for length checks.

>>>Grab your Shea moisture leave in conditioner.

>>>Get some Sheamoisture deep conditioner.

>>>Get your wild growth hair oil

>>> Get your shea butter by sky organics

Let’s share,what are your natural hair struggles? Comment down below with your current hair struggle!! Also follow and get to see whenever I post a blog. See y’all in my next blog @renniestar signing out! Chao

Disclaimer!!! We do not take credit on the video and image used in this blog, rather it’s courtesy Pinterest.

Email us: renniestar1@gmail.com for any questions or queries.

How to grow long African hair

by Renniestar, posted in African hair care and maintenance

Many of African women suffer from dry, messy & brittle hair. With the relaxers and blow drying culture that we have makes even hair growth impossible. Lack of awareness about porosity, hair type causes even more problems.

But worry no more because I’m here for you!

With hair growth comes in a whole new wave of knowledge, that you will have to learn and also do it yourself (diys) as we like to call it.

Here are the starts of hair growth:

  1. Know your porosity
  2. Moisturize, moisturize!
  3. Deep condition regularly
  4. Sleep on silk or satin pillow case
  5. Trim, trim & trim!
  6. Comb hair correctly
  7. Use a hair growth oil
  8. Massage your scalp
  9. Eat a balanced diet
  10. Minimize heat Styling tools

Know your porosity

Many of you may have heard this but may not know what it means, porosity is the ability of hair to absorb and retain moisture. To be able to determine that you will have to do a porosity test. Pluck a strand of hair and put it inside a glass of water, if your strand settles at the bottom then yours is high porosity, if it settles at the center then yours is normal porosity, and if it floats then its low porosity. By knowing this, you will be able to know which products to use for your hair for maximum length retention.

Moisturize, moisturize!

To moisturize dry, coarse hair you will start from the inside out. Make sure you drink 8 glasses of water as recommended, and also use water based products if your hair is high porosity.

Use a hair cream or lotion to moisturize dry frizzy hair as a leave in conditioner daily. Make sure you put some more on the ends as sebum (the oil that is produced naturally) is not able to reach the ends because of the curly, coily nature of our hair, making the ends prone to dryness then later to break off! Follow up with a sealant like Shea butter or mango butter.

Don’t forget to dampen your hair before putting on any product.

Deep condition regularly

Deep conditioning is the process of applying a restorative formula to your hair it can be to moisturize or to strengthen (protein treatment) hair strands thus, offering healing properties to your hair. It’s mean’t to penetrate the hair shaft and restore elasticity to your strands!

Deep treatments vary according to the state of your hair. If for example you feel your hair is to dry you may want to use a moisturizing deep conditioner and if your hair feels brittle and breaks easily then you use a protein deep conditioner. Deep conditioning every other week or every after two weeks however, will depend on your schedule and hair length. Frequently doing this will definitely improve your hair texture and elasticity.

Sleep on a silk or a satin pillow case

Use a silk or satin scarf to tie your hair at night or sleep on a silk pillow case to ensure your hair is not striped of its moisture. Avoid using cotton pillow cases as they strip moisture out of your hair. Get yourself some silk bonnet or pillow cases.

Trim, trim, trim!

Hair grows approximately half an inch every other month for an average african woman that’s 6 inches per year. Unfortunately, there is no way of avoiding splits so with that, you have to trim those frizzy, dry coarse ends to be able to have manageable hair and enhance products penetration into the hair cuticle. If you don’t cut them off! It’s going to create tangles leading to more breakage then hair loss.

Comb hair correctly!

Combing hair is an area often neglected by many and combing it incorrectly causes even more damage than good. If hair is not properly detangled it’s not going to remove all the shed hair exerting pressure to the rest of the hair hence more damage. Start combing your hair from the ends all the way up, by that you will remove all tangles and shed hair effectively.

It also helps to stimulate hair growth and spread sebum from the scalp to the rest of the hair. Since our hair is curly, coily the sebum is not spread all the way down to our ends unless we comb our hair correctly.

Use hair growth oil

Growing long hair requires so much care and oiling the scalp is on of them! Dry scalp is prone to dandruffs, psoriasis and many other problems that later leads to massive hair loss.

Massage your scalp

Ensure you apply some oil of your choice I prefer some coconut oil/ jojoba oil for my scalp, it calms my itching scalp and moisturize also. Use also essential oils like tea tree if you have flakes on your scalp & peppermint oil which stimulates hair growth.

There is a wide range of benefits from a head massage and especially scalp massages.

It increases blood flow to the scalp thus stimulating hair follicles and enhancing hair growth. Massage your scalp with your fingers (not nails) in a clockwise motion two times a week.

You can use some hair oil to do this but it can also be done without.

Eat a balanced diet

Ensure that you eat foods with more nutrients and anti-oxidants.

Up your intake of vitamins especially in the mornings and also lots of proteins like beans which are plant-based. Get Omega 3s & 6s from fish and chia seeds or if you cannot get from food buy supplements.

Minimize heat styling tools

To see significant hair growth and retention, you will have to reduce heat usage upto seventy percent. Extreme heat temperatures damages your hair cuticle leading to dryness and breakage.

Some more tips

Wash your scalp properly and ensure you get rid of flakes. Also don’t wash your hair too often limit to once a week or once after two weeks but do a co-wash in between. Enjoy your hair growth journey by reducing stress and exercising.

If you like these tips go ahead and share with you friends! Also comment down below!