Alright! Here are the rest of my tips. If you missed Part I, click here.
- Trim regularly. As I mentioned in Part I, fine natural hair is very fragile and subject to physical damage. It’s important to trim the ends of our hair regularly to cut off and prevent split ends…which cause breakage. Set a schedule for your trims. I trim at every change in season. I take off at least a centimeter, but usually more, four times a year. If you are doing everything right with your hair regimen and you still aren’t seeing a change in length, it’s probably time for a trim.
- Dust your hair regularly. This tip goes hand in hand with regular trims. Dusting is natural hair jargon for snipping off the damaged ends only. In between trims, dust as often as you see fit. Split ends can worsen over time if left untrimmed. Examine the ends of your hair closely. You may see what appears to be microscopic tree branches. Cut frayed ends as soon as possible. If you are unable to see the splits, run you index finger and thumb over a strand of hair. It should feel uniform from root to end. If the end feels thicker than the rest of the hair, it’s most likely split or about to split.
- Wear protective styles. This advice is good for anyone with hair really, no matter the type, texture, whatever. It’s especially important for fine haired naturals, as our hair is more easily damaged. Keep the ends of your hair off your shoulders to prevent it from rubbing on your clothes. I’m pretty bad with this one myself (except when I’m in mini braids) but I know for sure that protective styles work. You will see a noticeable difference in retention, the more you protect the ends of your hair.
- Follow a low manipulation regimen. The ongoing theme is fine hair is easily physically damaged. This tip goes along with that notion. Prevent physical damage by being extra gentle when handling fine hair. I cringe every time I see a YouTuber rub the ends of her hair between two clasped hands as if she’s going to start a fire. If I did that my ends would break into my hands. I have to be more careful than that and I also chose styles that will last a long time so I’m not manipulating my hair often. Mini braids are my go to style because I braid my hair once and I can leave it alone for up to 8 weeks. It’s my ultimate low manipulation style. When I’m not in mini braids, I DC on Saturday, put in large braids, braidout until my mid-week cowash, braid and repeat. Pick styling options that allow your hair to remain unmanipulated for long stretches of time.
Those are all the tips I have for now. If you have an tips to add, be sure to comment below. If you have fine hair and have questions to ask, leave those below as well and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for reading and HHJ!
Finally!! Someone with fine, thick hair who understands! I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to find a blogger with this type of hair. Seriously,I’ve been natural since 2009 and finding people with our hair who are prominent in the natural hair-social media world is so rare! I love how you broke down maintenance too!
Since my big chop in 2009 I spent a lot of time learning how to take care of my hair, trusting the wrong and then right hands, and figuring out what styles fit me best. I wish I hadn’t been so lazy and scared of the responsibility that comes with caring for longer hair. I cut my hair quite often; to me it, it was just hair–it could always grow back if I wanted it to.
In spring 2014 I got a cut and decided to grow my hair out, and say no to beauticians with scissor-happy hands (even though the main culprit was me…DIY trims?? Yeah right. More like CHOPS). I’ve had a few set backs (stress-related events, dehydration, lifeguarding, etc.) but am still seeing results. I moved recently and where I am has hard water. My hair has experienced hard water before, but this place has the hardest water I’ve ever encountered. I have never seen my hair break SO MUCH! And I kept deep conditioning with light-heavy protein conditioners, thinking they would save me.
Finally, after two months of protective styling over the 2014 Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday, I decided to try the maximum hydration method. I’d been eyeing it off and on for a year but thought it would be too time-consuming and overboard. I was SO wrong.
I have only done the 7-day regimen the method recommends you start with, and I noticed huge differences. It didn’t occur to me that my hair was dehydrated or lacked proper moisture! I’m seeing less breakage now–barely any, which makes me so happy. But I’d like to not see any. I think I still need to practice being gentle and patient though… my Nigerian hands still need training, haha.
Apart from these is there anything you do to make sure you don’t see your ends fly away in the wind? I really appreciate this post, and your blog. Thanks for being a voice!
Thanks for your post! If I had to give another quick piece of advice it would be don’t stress about detangling while cowashing. I personally don’t spend more than 10 mins detangling while cowashing. I don’t get every knot and tangle and that’s okay to me. I do a more thorough detangling with deep conditioner and outside of the shower. I can take my time and not worry about wasting water or trying to rush for any reason.
And of course remember that some breakage is totally normal. Accepting that will make your hair journey a lot less stressful. I think my hair has come such a long way. I still get breakage, but I hardly ever see pieces of hair on the shower wall. I do have a few short pieces mixed in with the shed hair and that’s okay with me.
Oh and one other piece of advice is to find your staple conditioner with a ton of slip. For me that’s the Giovanni Nutrafix or Smooth as Silk. It makes a world of difference to have a great conditioner that melts tangles!
[…] ended up being much longer than I intended so I’m splitting it into 2 parts. Stay tuned for Part II- tips […]
Love your post with pictures with your mini braids. In 4 weeks, im getting my first set of mini braids! I was in love with mini twist until I realized fine 4a hair doesnt do well with them snd causes tangles. So I moved to mini braids because my hair thrives with box braids extensions but to get my hair a break, I wanted another cute style for my hair and I went to box braids with natural hair but couldn’t find many naturals rocking them until I found your page!! Keep the mini box braids pic coming.
Thanks for your comment! I started the blog because I didn’t see many people wearing mini braids in the natural hair community.