Hey everybody, welcome back to my channel. I'm Rae. It's been a while. Today's video is specifically about my natural hair journey and everything I've learned and have been doing since I've gone natural 10 plus years ago.
And as someone who's had two big chops in under six years, 2018 and 2021, without counting all the mini big chops I've had in between, I'll be sharing everything I do to speed up my growth process and keep it as healthy as possible. Hopefully watching this will facilitate your journey as well. So first thing first, you have to identify your hair porosity. Your hair porosity is pretty much your ability, I say your ability, your hair's ability to soak up and hold in moisture and product. So it's very simple, you grab a glass of water, drop a strand of hair with no product on it whatsoever and let it sit in there for like five minutes.
So if it floats, it's low porosity, if it's in the middle then it's medium and if it fully sinks then it's high hair porosity which is pretty much what I have. So once you find out your hair porosity you can easily search the right products for your hair. I wish I had known about it when I started 10 years ago.
It would have saved me so much time and less headaches but oh well. Another thing I've been doing more often is trim my hair every two months or so. I was always avoiding it because whenever I would trim it myself, I would end up cutting way more than I should because I just don't know how to control myself around shears.
I'd avoid using heat so no blow drying which wasn't the best idea. I still avoid it as much as I can unless it's time for a trim then I will blow dry. So I always do it on clean hair first of course.
I really try to push back this old wash and go. It was three weeks old and my hair definitely needed some TLC so I washed it, let it air dry, then started the process. And I learned a hard way to not use actual paper scissors but proper shears.
Using paper scissors would make it worse because it will create split ends which is definitely not what you want. And by the way every item used in this video is listed down below. And to just clarify I'm not a professional I'm just showing you what I've been doing and what's been working for me.
For some reason it always ends up being a debate but I will still say this. I have three different hair textures. 3C, 4A and 4B. I'm mostly 4A but 3C in the front and 4B in the crown area and I just want to clarify it's totally normal for people to have different hair textures.
There's nothing wrong with that. I went outside for barely 30 seconds and by the time I get back inside my hair started puffing up right away. I try to do hot oil treatments at least once or twice a month I like to go back and forth between hot oil and hair mask. You can grab any hair oil you have. I like to grab a cup of water, heat it up in the microwave for like two minutes, then drop the hair oil inside just so it can be warm enough.
And make sure to not apply it too hot though. You don't want to burn your scalp. Hot oil treatments encourage healthier hair by increasing blood flow to the scalp and it also helps with hair loss and breakage.
I like to do it while watching TV just so I can stay entertained and I will massage for like 20 minutes. You can use your fingertips or use a scalp massager. Either way, both work just fine.
Once I'm done massaging, I like to keep it at least for like 24 hours, so a full day, just so it can be fully absorbed into my scalp. And the oil I'm actually using has castor oil in it, which is pretty heavy. So I just like to give it enough time to fully penetrate into, you know, my scalp.
Okay, next we are hopping in the shower. I think at this point I've mastered the detangling process. I follow some very specific...
specific steps to make it as smooth as possible and minimize breakage I always start by rinsing out any products left in my hair the shampoo and conditioner I'm actually using here is the argan oil Morocco shampoo and conditioner so first when you apply the shampoo avoid avoid avoid applying it on your actual hair and apply it on the scalp instead because when you apply the shampoo directly onto your hair it will make it dry and freezy so apply it on the scalp scrub scrub scrub then let the shampoo actually clean the rest of your hair as you rinse it out and i like to do it twice just to make sure there's no buildup and you know my scalp is quickly clean moving on to conditioner you definitely want to saturate your hair for this part so once it is i start a detangling process which consists of three steps so i detangle with my fingers first i like to take my time and run my fingers through every section the second step that's when i use the white tooth comb i like to divide my hair into four sections and the last step is this denman brush i've noticed when i go specifically in that order both comb and denman brush run through my hair so easily there's barely any breakage no tension on my scalp and i go through my whole entire head in just a few minutes and this technique to me is the best because there's no knots left behind and it definitely makes me enjoy washing my hair I know I'm super late to the party but I've been using this filter shower head and I've noticed how great my skin and hair have been. Hair wise it removes all the heavy metals and chemical agents that contribute to dry brittle hair. It makes your hair so much softer and more manageable and improves follicle health.
Another essential part of my routine is the scalp massager. It does not only feel great on the scalp, it also increases blood circulation, leading to hair growth. And finish up with cold water always to help close hair cuticles after washing. It will not only make your hair look shinier but also smoother.
Best purchase I would say so far. This is your sign to get a drain hair catcher if you haven't already. Now I can fully focus on my hair and my hair only instead of fighting for hair to not go down the drain every single time. Key to growth is to moisturize and if you've watched my videos, I'm pretty sure you know that I'm going to mention L'Ostrasilk. I swear by this product and to be honest, this is the only hair product I've been using consistently for years now.
This Curlmax activator is heaven in a bottle. If you deal with fragile, dry, frizzy hair, I'd recommend trying it. The great thing about it is that It works for all hair types.
It's light and it keeps my hair moisturized and curls defined for days. So whenever my hair starts getting dry, I just add a few drops in my spray bottle and I'm good to go. And I do that every three to four days. I feel like it definitely played a big part in my hair growth.
Oh and this is the gel I used. Instead of using a diffuser, I'm going to let it air dry while getting some work done outside. And for everybody asking me how I make my washing go last two weeks, this is how. By not disturbing the curls and not touching my hair.
I let it do its own thing, then just wrap it at night and that's it. Something that I also forgot to mention is to avoid washing your hair too often. I wash mine every two weeks.
unless I've been sweating from working out. So I would definitely recommend washing it every week and a half, two weeks or so, just to avoid breakage. One thing I despise is when I take the time to wash my hair and it starts flaking before I even finish applying it. I learned the hard way and to avoid situations like this, this is what I do. So if you're trying to use new products from different brands and you're not sure it's going to mix well together, apply a small amount of each product on the back of your hand and mix them together.
So if it gets clumpy, then it's going to definitely flake and if it mixes well and stays smooth, then it will not, which is the case with this too. I don't know about y'all but I don't play with single strand knots and the best way to avoid it is by wrapping your hair before laying down and for double protection I'd wear my bonnet and still use my silk pillow case in case my bonnet is not on my head anymore by the time I wake up in the morning. Protective hairstyles are great however it does not mean that the scalp shouldn't still be nourished under all that hair. Also avoid using too much tension while styling.
even though we love a good natural facelift well that's it i hope you guys enjoyed this video and you held thank you guys so much for watching comment like share and subscribe i will see you guys on the next one bye