It’s wash day and I’m preparing to do my usual two-strand twists, but something has been nagging at me for weeks. I want to do something different with my hair. But what? Do I color it, cut it, braid it or weave it up? No clue but I know that it’s time for a change.
Over my five years of being natural, I’ve only blown out my hair a few times, to make sure my hair was healthy and get a trim.
After thinking it over for while and looking in the mirror, I decided it was time to try a blow out again. Blowing out my hair means that I have to protect it and make sure there is no heat damage, but what’s the best way to ensure that my hair stays healthy?
I’ve found a few simple steps for protecting the hair for a blow out that will help your hair be soft, shiny and well moisturized. These steps worked perfectly for my course thick hair, but you may need to adjust the products or routine to suit your hair needs.
Step 1. Cleanse
I used Shea Moisture Intensive Hydration Shampoo to cleanse my scalp. I focused the shampoo primarily on my scalp and allowed the rinsing process to clean the remainder of the strands. After cleansing, it’s time to condition.
Step 2. Protein Condition
When adding heat to the hair, I’ve found that my hair needs a good protien treatment first. I like to start off with some thing that will not only add protein but moisture as well. I love using LRC The Potion for protein deep conditioning. I section my hair into four quadrants detangle and put the hair in chunky twists, starting at the back of the head, I put The Potion on my hair and work my way forward.
I then cover my hair with a plastic processing cap and allow the conditioner to sit on my hair for up to 30 minutes, then rinse with cool water.
After rinsing, while still in the shower I add some of the Giovanni Smooth as Silk Xtreme Protein Hair Infusion and allow it to sit on m hair for 3-5 minutes and repeat cool rinse.
Step 3. Moisturizing Conditioner
After completing a protein deep condition on my hair, I prefer to condition again with a moisturzing conditioner. I used Dove Hair Therapy Daily Moisture Conditioner…I followed the same steps above but only allowed the conditioner to sit for about 15 minutes, then rinsed with cool water.
Step 4. Leave-In Conditioner
Since I will be working with heat, I still want to protect my strands as much as possible , I opted for Giovanni VitaPro Fusion Protective Moisture Leave-In conditioner. I love how my hair feels when using the Giovanni line of products. Very Moisturized.
I spray my hair generously with the leave-in and sealed with Coconut oil to lock in the moisture. I like to allow my hair to hair dry at least half way to try and avoid using too much heat while blowdrying.
Step 5. Heat Protectant
It’s so important to protect natural hair from heat damage and another element that will help with that is using a Heat Protectant. There are many brands out there, so you can find the one that works best for you, but I’ve been using the Fantasia IC Heat Protector Strengthening Spray which I’ve been loving. It not only protects the hair but it also gives great shine.
I like to spray the section that will be working with at the time. So, I will spray a small section of hair, using a wide tooth comb I would detangle and move on to blow drying the hair.
Step 6. The Blow Dry
Remember the most important part of using heat on healthy hair is to protect it, so I prefer to use the blow dryer on low to medium setting. I personally never use the high setting, as I feel this increases your chances of having heat damage.
Yes, blow drying at these settings will take a little longer depending on hair length and thickness but it’s worth the extra effort.
Once the hair is fully blown out, you have healthy, well moisturized hair that is ready for styling.
What products are you currently using to protect your hair from heat damage?
XOXO,
This Curvy Girl
It looks gorgeous!