“I think that the most important thing a woman can have – next to talent, of course – is her hairdresser,” says Joan Crawford highlighting the important role hairdressers play in our lives.
But more than having the right hairdresser, everyone needs quick and easy hacks that they can count on to keep their hair looking soft, voluminous and fabulous. Especially natural hair curlies who tend to have more contact with their hair than the average person.
That said, let’s go right ahead and review the golden hair care tips for softness and volume.
- Wash your hair the right way and use the right products
Now, there’s no wrong way of washing your hair. After all, each one is accustomed to a routine that feels best or is most convenient. However, the frequency and products you use to wash your hair could mean all the difference between hair that is weak, brittle and always breaking and hair that is soft, moisturised and as full as can be. Here’s how to wash kinky hair the right way
A thing to always remember is that the curlier the hair, the longer you can afford to go between washes.
2. Know your hair type
Hair that is soft and voluminous is often clean and moisturised. Hence to establish a habit, including how often you should wash your hair and which products to use, start by knowing your texture. Straight hair tends to get greasier than curly hair because oil travels faster from the pores to the hair shaft as compared to how it does on coils. This means that for someone with straight hair, the product build-up can occur quickly and within a short period of time encouraging them to wash hair more often than someone with curly hair. Here are the 5 tips for maintaining relaxed hair.
Knowing your hair type will thus prevent overwashing, which is something that often leads to dryness, brittleness and breakage. This is your guide to preventing excessive hair breakage
3. Know your hair porosity
Knowing your hair porosity helps you understand how well your hair holds on to moisture, how it responds to products and what you can do about it. For instance, someone with high porosity hair might not wash hair as frequently as someone with low porosity. That’s because while high porosity hair tends to feel and look dry – even after a product has been applied – low porosity hair tends to feel soggy if too much is applied – thus the need to wash it often.
In the same way, someone with high porosity hair or colour-treated hair may want to stay away from, clarifying shampoos as they often cause dryness, tangles and eventually hair breakage. But the opposite may apply for someone with low porosity hair since failure to clarify the hair can cause it to look dry, limp, and have more dandruff. This is not something you want if you’d like to keep your hair soft and voluminous. Check out how to take care of colour-treated hair
4. Condition and moisturise the right way
Knowing hair porosity is key if you want to know how to moisturise your hair effectively. In other terms, how someone with low porosity hair will condition and moisturise their hair will often differ from how another person with high porosity hair will do it. In fact, this is why there are so many variations of the LOC method and why people have different routines in regard to how often they condition or moisturise their hair.
Nevertheless, more than deep conditioning, which is always a crucial step if you want your hair to stay soft, using a technique best suited for your hair porosity is what will guarantee softness and volume.
Shopping for a conditioner? Here’s a review of the Alberto Balsam Mandarin and Papaya revitalising conditioner & more for your consideration
5. Use heat protectants
If you like straightening your hair or using hot tools on your mane, always use a protectant spray or serum to avoid damaging the hair. Likewise, a product with UV protection can prevent damage from the sun and thus keep your hair looking healthy, voluminous and feeling soft.
6. Upgrade your hair care arsenal
These range from the tools to the oils and moisturisers you use when styling. The right hair tools can comb through the hair distributing the oils evenly and thus promoting softness while the opposite can yield unwanted results. In the same way, combing your hair or styling it using the right product can beef up its volume as opposed to using the wrong brushes and oils. Learn the best oils to use on your hair
Case in point, a wide-tooth comb can do a better job in promoting softness and volume on curly hair than a fine comb can. In the same way, oils like coconut, olive, castor or argan are considered more effective on curly hair than on straight hair. This is because curly hair has texture to balance out the heaviness of the oils as opposed to straight hair which often looks flat and limp if such oils are applied.
The bottom line is the knowledge about your hair texture, porosity, products and application technique will determine the results whenever you’re after hair softness and volume.
More tips on how to take care of your natural hair for a fabulous look.
