Hello everyone, today I wanted to share with you some tips and tricks on how I maintain my long curly hair without breakage. We all know taking care of curly hair is not easy, but caring for our crown is essential to keeping it healthy, thus making it grow.
First things first, read the ingredients! That is KEY! A lot of times we buy something new to try for our curls without reading what chemicals we are putting on our scalp. I always make sure my products are water based and sulfate free, since sulfate strips the hair of its natural oils which can lead to breakage. I tend to stay away from silicones and parabens as well due to the fact that silicones can cause major build-up which weighs down the strands, and parabens can cause curly hair to dry out and frizz.
Also, I only wash my hair once a week and I make sure to deep condition my hair every week or every other week. I also like to make my own natural hair masks and I do those about once a month. I get tons of ideas from Pinterest. This is my favorite natural mask recipe: coconut oil, 1 egg, avocado and shea butter.
Moving on to oils, my top favorite oils are jojoba oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, almond oil, tea tree oil, argan oil, and flaxseed oil. I know that’s a lot, but you definitely don’t have to go out and buy every single one. Research the benefits of each oil and pick a favorite. My go to for years has always been jojoba oil and I massage this oil into my scalp for about 5 minutes every other day.
Another tip is that I do not use any heat. I haven’t straightened my hair in over 2 years, and I stopped diffusing my hair. The reason is because I used to do this weekly and noticed that my ends were getting really dry and frizzy, so now I just air dry my hair. I also learned that a major key to maintaining long hair is to get frequent cuts. Personally, cutting my hair every 3 to 4 months works better for me because I only have to trim a little bit of hair at a time. I also noticed that my hair grew a lot quicker as opposed to cutting my hair once a year and having to get a lot cut off.
Last but not least, I always sleep on a satin pillowcase and sometimes wrap my hair with a satin scarf.
I hope you can take away something from my tips, but remember to research your curl type and learn about your curls and hair texture. This will make it easier to find what works best for you!
xoxo,
Abby Montero
@abyxo
