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 wants long hair. As washing and deep conditioning your hair every day is quite impractical, a moisturizing hair cream 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 hair 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 address a common misconception about oil. Oil is not a moisturizer! The oil lubricates the hair and ‘seals’ the moisture that is already in the 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 getting into 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 draw water from the atmosphere, with glycerin being the most popular. Honey is also an excellent moisturizer, but it is more commonly used in conditioners than moisturizers.
Always avoid moisturizers that contain mineral oil or any other petroleum-based products in the first ingredients. The mineral oil does nothing more than coat the hair leaving it shiny but dry.
You may find that the best conditioners are those marketed for “wet type” styles (jheri curl or wave new) as they contain mostly water and glycerin. S curl is particularly good.
How to use hair moisturizers is just as important as choosing the right product. If you plan on blow-drying or roller-drying your hair, after towel drying, apply a dime-sized amount of a water-based moisturizer and glycerin before applying the same amount of heat protectant and comb through hair to distribute evenly. After blow drying or roller setting, your hair will be soft and silky to the touch and will stay that way throughout the day. If you plan to iron it out, just apply leave-in conditioner and a silicone-based heat protectant to hair.
Moisturizers should then 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 length of the hair with a wide-tooth comb to ensure that each strand gets its share. You can apply a little more to the ends if you wish. There is no benefit to loading your hair with moisturizer as hair is only 10-14% water and all you are trying to do is restore the moisture balance in your hair. You’re more likely to ruin your style by leaving your hair limp looking greasy or reversing your natural hair completely by applying too much moisturizer! When you use a moisturizer well, it should keep your hair from drying out without weighing it down or leaving it sticky.
Oil-free moisturizers are also a good option. They contain silicones that help ‘seal’ moisture into the hair, but their first ingredient should also be water and hair should be washed every 3 days to prevent buildup. 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 will simply lock in the moisture you already have in your hair. It is advisable to lightly dampen the hair before applying any hair oil to it.
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