How to Find a Good Moisturizer for Relaxed Natural Black Hair

Hair hydration is just as important as deep conditioning for any black person who wishes to have long hair. Since washing and deep conditioning your hair every day is not practical, a moisturizer is required to prevent dryness until the next wash.

Relaxed, natural black hair tends to be quite porous, so it loses moisture quickly. The key to long, beautiful locks is to keep replacing lost moisture. The easiest way to do this between washes is to use a good moisturizer.

First things first, let’s deal with a common misconception about oil. Oil is not a moisturizer! The oil lubricates your hair and ‘seals in’ any moisture you already have in your hair. If your hair is dry and brittle and you apply oil to it, then you are doing more harm than good. The oil will coat the hair and prevent more moisture from entering the hair, causing it to break.

The best moisturizers should always be water-based, meaning the first ingredient should be water; Water is indeed the best moisturizer! Good moisturizers should also contain moisturizers. These are ingredients that attract water from the atmosphere, with glycerin being the most popular. Honey is also an excellent moisturizer, but it is more commonly used in conditioners rather than moisturizers.

Always avoid moisturizers that contain mineral oil or any other petroleum-based product in the first ingredients. Mineral oil does nothing more than coat hair, leaving it shiny but dry.

You may find that the best conditioners are the ones that are marketed for ‘wet type’ styles (jheri curl or wave nouveau) as they contain mostly water and glycerin. The S-curl is particularly good.

How to use hair moisturizers is just as important as getting the right product. If you plan to blow-dry or roll your hair, after towel-drying it, apply a dime-sized amount of a water-based, glycerin-based moisturizer before applying the same amount of heat protectant and styling the hair to distribute it evenly. After blow drying or roller drying, your hair will be soft and silky to the touch and will stay that way throughout the day. If you plan to iron it, just apply leave-in conditioner and a silicone-based heat protectant to your hair.

Then moisturizers should be applied daily or as needed. Only a dime-sized amount is required for shoulder-length hair. One more touch for longer hair. Always comb the moisturizer through the hair with a wide-tooth comb to ensure each strand receives its part. You can apply a little more to the ends if you want. There is no benefit to loading your hair with moisturizer as your hair only contains 10-14% water and all you are trying to do is restore the moisture balance to your hair. You are more likely to ruin your style by leaving your hair relaxed with a greasy look or reversing your natural hair entirely by applying too much moisturizer! When you use a moisturizer well, it should prevent your hair from drying out without weighing it down or making it sticky.

Oil-free moisturizers are also a good option. They contain silicones that help to ‘seal’ the moisture in the hair, but their first ingredient should also be water and the hair should be washed every 3 days to prevent build-up. Some good examples of natural oil that can be used to seal in moisture after a wash are coconut oil, avocado butter, mango butter, or shea butter. Remember that these are oils and they will only retain the moisture that you already have in your hair. It is advisable to lightly moisten the hair before applying any hair oil.

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