Regardless of where you are at in your hair journey, there are a few natural hair essentials that will help to keep your strands healthy and flourishing. With the wide range and ever-growing selection of natural hair products stocking shelves, it is easy to become a self proclaimed product junkie. However, this is not always a good thing as hair products can get pretty costly. Fortunately, many products for your hair’s basic needs can be found at little to no cost and can sometimes be made right at home. Here are a few natural hair essentials that can help you to better care for your hair:
Spritz bottle
The first essential every natural needs is a spritz bottle. Spritz bottles may hold water or any mixture you want to spray onto your strands. This product makes it much easier to saturate your strands as opposed to using your hands to scoop water out of the faucet. Simply spritz your hair whenever to revitalize your strands and add moisture.
Deep conditioning caps
Deep conditioning caps come in handy when it comes to deep conditioning your hair as they help to trap moisture. In addition, they are a bargain as you can usually get a couple of months supply of caps for under $5.
Hair catcher
Whether you wash your hair in the sink or shower, it can be annoying to deal with a hair-clogged drain or have to constantly try to hurry and stop hair from going down the drain. Hair catchers are the perfect fix for this and will stop any hair from clogging your drain. This natural hair essential will surely save you the headache.
Detangling comb or brush
Although finger detangling is of much benefit for natural hair, there are some times when the use of a comb may be necessary. There are combs and brushes specifically designed for detangling natural hair. Many of these detangling utensils are wide-toothed or feature soft bristles, which helps to make it much easier to glide through your strands.
Hair clamps
When styling your hair in sections, it can be bothersome when pieces of your hair get in the way or get mixed in with another section causing snags and snarls. Hair clamps will help to keep your hair pinned up and ultimately save time by working with more clearly parted sections.
Satin pillowcase and / or bonnet
Whether you are natural or your hair is relaxed, a satin bonnet and / or pillowcase is a staple essential for preserving the health of your hair. The satin material helps to reduce friction between your hair and cotton pillowcase, in which the cotton material dries the hair of its moisture. Satin also helps to maintain the moisture in your hair overnight.
Oil
Our hair naturally produces an oil called sebum. However, with the many different types of spiral-shaped strands throughout our hair, it makes it a little more difficult for the oils to travel to the ends of our natural hair. This is why it is important that you are supplementing natural oils into your hair care regimen. Oils can help to seal moisture, strengthen your strands, and promote hair growth among other uses.
Tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and rosemary oil, are a few examples of essential oils that can help to stimulate hair growth. Mix them with a carrier oil (olive oil, coconut oil) to dilute the highly concentrated essential oils and add shine.
Deep conditioner
Having a good deep conditioner to use on your hair will improve the overall health of your strands tremendously. You will notice stronger, longer-lasting, moisturized hair, as you make it a habit to deep condition regularly. There are a variety of deep conditioners that target different issues you may have with your hair – porosity, dandruff, breakage, etc.
Styler
Gels, creams, and custards, are a few of the different forms hair stylers come in. These are essential when it comes to hairstyles where you want to define and capture your natural curl pattern. You can also make your own curl definers using ingredients found right in your cabinet at home. Our personal favorite is the DIY flaxseed gel.
Shampoo & conditioner
These natural hair essentials help to remove product build-up and replenish moisture throughout your hair. There are clarifying shampoos and moisturizing shampoos. If you find that your hair feels dry or “stripped” of moisture after washing your hair, you may want to try a moisturizing shampoo. For conditioners, the same applies. If you have dry hair, you should go for moisturizing conditioners that are water-based.