We began a series on How to build your hair regimen [ http://eltamiym.com/building-a-healthy-hair-regimen/ ] where we got to learn what a hair regimen is & what it entails.

Allow me to reiterate that hair routine should be unique and specific to your needs. Yes, that also includes the structure of your wash hair day & products.

I’ve had so many people ask me what products I use while some ask a summary of what I do to my hair. What they fail to realize is that as much as we have the same hair type, our hair structure is different and has different needs thus a copy paste of my products won’t solve their hair state.

This also explains why I don’t always respond to them.

This post is going to focus on factors to look into as you build your hair routine.

One of the reasons, I’ll deeply expound on this is to show you that healthy hair isn’t microwaved, it’s a process.
God calls us to steward everything according to the grace He has given us and also because He knows we have the ability to.

And the beauty is if you believe in God, you aren’t doing this alone, you have the Holy Spirit who knows all things & that includes your hair. Acknowledge Him, ask Him.

Building your hair routine shouldn’t be strenuous and stressful if you actually trust God in the process. Converse with God. That’s how I got to maneouver through the pool of info on natural hair that is on the net and got to know what works best for my hair.

Having said that, today we focus on the key things to consider to build your hair routine.

Basic factors:

🔸 AGE
A toddler can’t and shouldn’t have the same hair routine as that of an adult especially because of the stage of body development.
One thing that parents/ siblings should note is a child’s hair routine should be simple.
I’ll look into sharing child hair care tips in the future especially because this series mostly focuses on adults/teens.

🔸 TIME
Let’s face it, we have things that occupy our time other than hair.
As you build your hair routine, consider the time frame that you have & actually work with that. You don’t need to spend 6 hours on your hair if you don’t have the time. Also your routine doesn’t have to be complex for you to bear fruits.

There’s a danger in a complex hair routine that hasn’t been properly thought out. So as you consider your time, look into making your routine simple yet beneficial/ productive.

🔸 DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES
Your day to day activities will determine how your routine looks like. What do I mean by this ?
A person whose work involves strenuous activities will have to frequently clarify their hair.
If I choose to swim, there are steps I’ll need to include in my routine.

🔸 GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Where one lives/ visits will determine how their routine looks like.
Example; If I go to Mombasa for a visit, I’ll need to include daily spritz which will seek to increase my hair moisture. Also because it’s hot, I’ll look to clarify my hair just to get rid of the sweat/ oils.

PS : This will make more sense in future posts as I’ll show the practicality of it all

Complex factors;
🔹 HAIR NEEDS & GOALS
HAIR NEEDS
Your hair needs will determine your routine for example, if my hair has been shedding excessively, I’ll need to focus on increasing the protein levels of my hair, that is, if the shedding was caused by lack of enough protein.
For hair needs, it’ll require you to learn & study your hair. DON’T ignore the red flags.

Dullness of hair shows lack of moisture among other reasons.

Summary ;
Determine the need —> Know the cause —> Fix / solution

The reason why knowing the cause is important is to avoid wrong solutions
For example;

I once experienced excessive itchiness & thought that it’s either lack of moisture or Dandruff, later that week, I came to realize that the shampoo I was using is what caused the itchiness & truth be told, it is the Holy Spirit who laid that in my heart.

What am I saying ? Don’t google the cause of your hair problem. The internet will show you a bunch of scalp / body diseases when the issue could be you don’t drink enough water. – Heather Lindsey

HAIR GOALS
Hair goals vary. My hair goal is to have LONG, healthy hair.
One mistake I’ve made in the past was focus on long hair goals & ended up ignoring the state of health of my hair.
As much as your goal is to grow long hair, don’t overlook your hair state.
Long hair will effortlessly come when your hair & scalp is healthy.

🔹 HAIR POROSITY
This is the MOST crucial factor to consider in building your hair routine & yet it’s the most overlooked by people.

What is hair porosity ?
It is the ability of your hair to absorb & retain moisture & natural hair oils.

The 3 hair porosity categories are;
• Low porosity
• Medium porosity
• High porosity

Before we expound on how the levels above affect one’s hair routine , a hair porosity test first needs to be conducted so that one knows where they fall.

HAIR POROSITY TEST
Requirements
1. Clean hair strands
2. Glass of water

Steps
• Take a few hair strands. NO, don’t pluck hair off your scalp. Your hair naturally sheds on its own, take the shed hair & ensure that it’s clean/ has no products so that it doesn’t tamper with results.
[ To clean, use a shampoo & follow up with a clarifier , apple cider vinegar works well, to ensure proper removal of products. ]

• Place the hair strands in the glass with water.

If your hair floats, you have low porosity.
If it’s half way in the glass, you have normal porosity.
If it sinks, you have high porosity.

Hair Porosity Characteristics
🔸 Low Porosity.
The reason why the hair floats is because the cuticles are a little tight resulting to slight resistance in absorbing moisture.

Characteristics

• Takes time to absorb moisture and takes time to dry up once moisture is absorbed.
• Takes time to absorb products which might lead to product build up. Product build up causes itchy scalp, slows growth among others.

Solutions

1. To ease the process of absorbing water and moisture, ensure the water used is warm
2. To ease product absorption, ensure you steam your hair while deep conditioning or warm your deep conditioner in a hot water bath.
3. Because of product build up, it is advised to shampoo your hair once a week, to remove the excess products.
4. Work in sections because the tightness of the cuticles tends to result to tangles.

🔸 Normal Porosity.

This category experiences ease in water, moisture and product absorption.
When your hair has normal porosity, it holds moisture and shine for an extended period of time. Clearly, most natural women would love to have this hair type but many are unaware that hair of normal porosity can change. If you use heat often, relax your hair or chemically process it in some way, your hair porosity can change over time.
Be sure to stick to a healthy hair care regimen to maintain the normal porosity of your hair.

🔸 High porosity.
If your hair sank, it’s likely riddled with gaps, tears and openings that allowed water to easily flow in, quickly sinking the strand to the bottom.
This is usually seen in hair that is damaged by heat or dye or relaxed hair or transitioning hair.

Characteristics

• Easily absorbs moisture and easily loses moisture.
• Weak strands that easily sheds.

Solutions

Because of the nature of the strands;

1. Ensure protein treatment is done once a month to strengthen the strands.
2. If your hair is damaged, trim frequently if not ready to do a big chop.
3. Use butter and oils to properly seal moisture.

That covers the factors to look into as you build your hair regimen. I hope that was sufficiently detailed and helpful. A video on the same will be posted on my channel.

The next part(s) in the series will be on building blocks in your wash hair day & it’ll be detailed as well as married with the factors mentioned above.

So subscribe, like, share & comment to both my blog & YouTube channel.

Much Love
❤

Team El Tamiym