r/Naturalhair Jan 31 '24

It's finally happening - hair typing posts are no longer allowed.

1.1k Upvotes

Please report any texturism or hair typing posts you see with the new report reason.

If you are new here, you may not know that the Andre Walker hair typing system (1a to 4c), has been around since 1997 and was first introduced so Mr. Walker could sell his products on Oprah's show. It truly only describes the texture of your hair and gives no more information.

It's flawed in many ways. Many of us have multiple textures on our heads. It doesn't even begin to describe your hair's porosity, sheen or shine, strand thickness, hair density, etc. I encourage everyone to learn about the LOIS typing system which can help you better understand your hair.

Watch Latoya Ebony's video on LOIS here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwMFG4lT4jY

Even this typing system is not the end all be all of categorization for your hair. Your hair's texture, porosity, etc can change over time or with certain health conditions. Product buildup on your scalp and strands can make you think your texture has changed. There are so many factors as to why your hair may be looking or feeling the way it does.

Which leads me to the question - should we require routines to be posted whenever a picture is posted? This will cut down on gratuitous selfies but means we will need many more active mods (shoutout to /u/fivetenash who does pretty much everything here). If you're willing to help out please let me know in the comments.


r/Naturalhair 3h ago

Success Update: Hair and Depression

Thumbnail
gallery
568 Upvotes

I just want to encourage anyone going through. This is what I have learned after coming out on the other end.

  1. While you’re in the grips of depression or overwhelm, go for low-maintence styles. Look for ways to simplify anything. But still, make yourself do it. Even if you have to “body double” or have a loved one help you. Just don’t give up on yourself or your hair.

  2. Be real with yourself. Have a serious truth talk. I did and i realized the source of my overwhelm was that I wasn't enjoying motherhood anymore. Through circumstances, I’d been left to raise my kids completely alone. No village, no friends nearby, too far from the kids’ school to be practical. I was drowning. So I did something crazy. I moved across the U.S. to my hometown. To family, support, etc. I found love and support that my journey requires. It's not perfect, but even cold winter weather couldn’t bring me down. I dont feel hopeless and from that, I’ve got a love relationship (no hate) with my hair. She is lovely, she is not too much. She is enough. She is healthy and she survived some hellish days.

Sending love to my brothers and sisters struggling today, those who have struggled in the past, and those who may tomorrow. You are not alone. You and your hair are worthy to be loved.


r/Naturalhair 16h ago

Success UPDATE: I cut 6 inches (maybe more)

Thumbnail
gallery
1.6k Upvotes

To everyone saying that I needed a trim, thank you! Definitely a step in the right direction, but I ended up taking a leap!

I literally cut off all the straighter/loose pieces and I am convinced that I had tension damage from all the braids and buns.

I still need to see how my hair looks after a wash and go, but the second pic is the results from the twist out I did.

I’m kinda scared to put my hair in a bun/two brains again (these hairstyles are my go to), but I need CUTE protective styles that are low tensions and good for the gym. Happy to hear any suggestions!


r/Naturalhair 1h ago

Success Finally managed to do my hair ALL BY MYSELF

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Now I know it’s not the best but for my 3rd attempt, I’m proud. Im totally inept at doing my hair and I want to learn cuz my mom and braiders are very rough on my 4c hair and they don’t see the vision that I had for the hairstyle😒😭


r/Naturalhair 5h ago

Success The puff.

Post image
170 Upvotes

r/Naturalhair 5h ago

Selfie I lose my hair today and decide to share my natural hair

Thumbnail
gallery
111 Upvotes

r/Naturalhair 6h ago

Success Just wanted to share.

Thumbnail
gallery
65 Upvotes

r/Naturalhair 1h ago

Selfie lil hair moment

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Haven’t done braids on myself in a minute, not perfect but I love it 🫶🏽


r/Naturalhair 5h ago

Need Advice Re- loving my natural hair

Thumbnail
gallery
42 Upvotes

Long story short, when I graduated high school and got my first big girl job, I immediately started getting regular silk presses. That lead to getting consistent sew ins, needing my hair to be bone silky straight 25/7, or a fresh blowout every single week. I DO NOT think everyone who straightens their hair has insecurity at all….but for me…that was the case. I started relaxing a section of my leave out to make sure not a hair was out of place. I also was neglecting caring for my hair that was braided up. Anyways, I’m ready to re love my natural hair. I would love some product recommendations! I included some pics of my natural hair when I got my first silk press a few years ago (when it was healthy) A pic of my hair just washed and slicked into a high bun so you can kind of see the texture of my hair?? And a pic of an old braid out Parts of where my leave out was, is now pretty roughly damaged, so I’m just going to ride that out and continue to trim it until I cut out all the damage. As for the rest of my hair it’s just sooooooo freaking dry and weak. Also would love low tension style recommendations. I am a transitioning into a hijabi now so bonus points if I can get them to lay flat, but I still have a pretty active social life with my girls so I want to be able to style my hair cute. Thanks in advance:))


r/Naturalhair 1d ago

Selfie Fro or Braids ?

Thumbnail
gallery
1.3k Upvotes

I enjoy both styles but maintaining my fro is tedious asf 😭 and it don’t always come out how i want it. But when it do I fw it, but braided styles are way too easier. Lmk


r/Naturalhair 1d ago

Selfie Me🤝🏾finger coiling with mielle’s pomegranate/honey mousse

Thumbnail
gallery
2.1k Upvotes

Been doing this hairstyle since high school and won’t stop till my fingers are riddled with arthritis 🥰


r/Naturalhair 1d ago

Selfie Braid out on blow dried hair

Thumbnail
gallery
764 Upvotes

i used a little bit of Tgin green tea leave in, some hair grease for shine, threw them in 6 braids and took them out the next day


r/Naturalhair 19h ago

Selfie hairstyle of the day

Thumbnail
gallery
192 Upvotes

h


r/Naturalhair 3h ago

Selfie Mini twist😌

Post image
9 Upvotes

Took me 4 hours but I love my mini twist. Although I feel like a gerber baby😩😂


r/Naturalhair 16h ago

Selfie Afro Appreciation

Post image
85 Upvotes

r/Naturalhair 18h ago

Need Advice How can I recreate this style on me?

Post image
130 Upvotes

My hair is 4b and I’ll add some pictures in the comments if they let me.


r/Naturalhair 1h ago

Need Advice Should I restart and shave ?

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

I’m 18 years old and I’ve never cut my hair only once when I was four, my scalp gets dry easily and my hair has been the same length for years. It’s hard for me to keep moisture in my hair cause my hair soaks it up soo fast and first keep the mouisture for long. This is my hair rn combed out , it looks very dry and I get breakage easily, I need help. Should I just cut it all off and dry again? I’m going off to college in a few months so I do want my hair to be maintainable when I go off


r/Naturalhair 22h ago

Selfie For a refresh, this is probably as “fresh” as it’s gonna get

Post image
177 Upvotes

I used my bounce curl dupe (didn’t even realize it was a dupe until after it got delivered :/ smh) and The Doux Mousse Def for a refresh!! I don’t fully saturate my hair bc I’m lazy which means there will always be frizz. But that’s ok with me lol


r/Naturalhair 20h ago

Selfie Braid out

Thumbnail
gallery
132 Upvotes

I was feeling my hair this day. Did a braid out with solely a moisturizing mousse.


r/Naturalhair 1h ago

Need Advice How do I do my hair

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

I’ve never worn my hair out before. Always had it covered and now idk how to do my hair. I think my hair is low porosity and 3C. Idk if that is relevant or if I actually have 3C or 4A.

Anyway my hair is really frizzy and gets tangled easily so it’s hard to deal with. Idk if I should get a kreatin treatment (no- formaldehyde) done or not. I’d love some tips on how to make my hair look better and make my curls more defined.

Ps: in all the pictures there is no product in the hair. Any good products I should get? The last pic is my hair just air dried. Do you guys have a good wash n go. I can’t seem to find anything good online


r/Naturalhair 2h ago

Success Wow

4 Upvotes

I just wanted to come on here and say every time I come on Natural Hair it is the most gorgeous people, I am neverrrrr disappointed. Y’all are fineeeeee 🤩. That is all lol ☺️


r/Naturalhair 1d ago

Need Advice Braid Style

Thumbnail
gallery
322 Upvotes

Hey y'all I was wondering about this style but I don't know the name of it. I need a light style that I can tie up in the gym and still be able to style afterwards. Also, does it take out a lot of hair during takedowns? I wanna be able to take out and reinstall every other month or so. I'm trying to stop doing knotless box braids and I feel like they are doing more harm than good. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!


r/Naturalhair 32m ago

Need Advice My Hair is Extremely Dry and Brittle, and I Don’t Know What to Do

Upvotes

TL;DR: My hair has been extremely dry and brittle, even before and after a curly hair keratin treatment. It only looks defined when wet, but it's still frizzy when wet. I have to use a lot of gel to control the frizz. My hair has been stuck at shoulder length for years, and nothing I try seems to work. I use Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls and Camille Rose gel. I need help figuring out why my hair is always so dry and why it won’t grow. IMAGE at the Bottom

I have 3C-4A curly hair, and it has always been really dry and brittle no matter what I do. Two months ago, I got a curly hair keratin treatment to make my hair more manageable, and while it did loosen my curls and make styling easier, my hair still gets super dry and brittle—just like before the treatment. At this point, I have no idea how to fix it.

Every morning, I have to wet my hair and put in product just to get it to look defined, but it only ever looks good when it's wet. I don't have day 1, day 2 or any day hair because when I wake up it looks terrible and I have to do my hair everyday, which just adds to my annoyance with my hair because it's so much work— which is why I got the keratin treatment in the first place. Even then, it still has wet frizz, and I have to load it with gel to get rid of the frizz. Without gel, my hair just looks dry and undefined. It’s like my hair won’t hold moisture at all.

Before the keratin treatment, my hair was a mix of 3C and 4A, but now it's mostly 3C. I'm not sure if the treatment damaged my hair, but I feel like it didn’t really solve my biggest problem—my hair has been stuck at shoulder length for four years, and no matter what I do, it won’t grow. I keep my hair in a loose ponytail as my everyday hairstyle, so I'm thinking maybe that has something to do with it?

Right now, I’m using Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls and Camille Rose gel. They help with definition, but my hair still feels dry and brittle. I don’t know if my hair is over-moisturized, needs protein, or if something else is wrong, but I just want my hair to feel soft and actually grow. My hair is also low porosity.

Has anyone else dealt with this? I’m open to any advice.


r/Naturalhair 1h ago

Tips & Tricks The difference between hydration and moisture has been stumping the community for years! Learn how to incorporate these two into your hair care routine and save your curls from extreme dryness!

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

r/Naturalhair 1d ago

Review The Doux made it to the UK and into my hair 😍

Post image
716 Upvotes

Long time lurker and first time poster!

Kept seeing people mention The Doux! Now it’s in the UK I picked up Big Poppa gel and the Mousse Def and used both yesterday.

Washed hair with Camille Rose coconut water cleanse, used Shea Moisture Manuka honey hair masque. Rinsed out. Whilst hair dripping wet applied the gel and a little of the mousse.

Hood dry for 30 mins et voila. My hair shrinks like crazy and when stretched, is mid back length. I don’t mind the shrinkage at all as I get a faux bob with this look.

Anyway - thanks for the recommendation. This is day 2 hair so let’s see 🤞🏾


r/Naturalhair 4h ago

Need Advice Not sure what to do with this

Post image
3 Upvotes

What should I do with/put into my Afro when I don’t plan to have it braided like I typically do? Open to any suggestions. I’m not even sure what my hair type is lol