How To Moisturize Natural Hair? A Complete Guide For All Hair Types!

Moisturizing natural hair and keeping it that way can be challenging. There are tons of products and various methods out there to choose from. 

The first step in any good moisturizing routine is properly cleansing the hair. Co-washes and moisturizing shampoos do not always efficiently cleanse the hair and can leave behind product residue. Use a clarifying shampoo once a month to make sure you are removing products completely from your hair. This is especially important if you use a lot of product, products containing oils and oil-soluble ingredients as well as cationic polymers (polyquats).

Fine Hair

My oldest daughter has fine hair. What has been the most effective is using natural film formers like marshmallow root, slippery elm, aloe. These ingredients are natural film formers that coat the hair strands and help trap water without weighing it down. These film formers like to hold on to water and will reduce the rate at which it evaporates from your hair. I first apply a small amount of either of these ingredients to her hair while it is wet or damp, then use an oil or a little butter to create a barrier.

Coarse Hair

The principle is the same as moisturizing fine hair. Hydrate your hair and use occlusive ingredients or a product containing film formers to create a barrier. The one thing that is different is the use of natural film formers. When using ingredients like flaxseed, aloe, and slippery elm on coarse strands, it is important to heavily dilute them. If too much is used on coarse strands it may cause them to feel rigid and dry especially when not paired with humectants like glycerin and oils (emollients). This is similar to how protein (which are film formers) impacts coarse hair. If you are purchasing products containing these ingredients, this will generally not be an issue as natural extracts are often included at low levels. However, with DIY mixes people tend to use much higher levels and may notice that their hair feels dry or hard after a few days. If you notice this I recommend you reduce the amount of the mucilage from these film formers to no more than 1/4 cup with the balance being water. (1/4 cup mucilage (flax/aloe etc) + 3/4 cup water).

Processed Hair

If you have bleached hair of regularly flat-iron, your hair will be highly porous. This means that your hair will have a tendency to lose water quickly. I would recommend you use a conditioner/deep conditioner with protein as this will help fill in the gaps in the hair cuticle(outer layer of hair) that has been damaged. Look at this as your first line of defense against rapid water loss. By filling in damaged areas and forming films on the outside of your hair, they will help to temporarily reduce your hair porosity. A leave-in conditioner containing hydrolyzed proteins/ amino acids will also be helpful for high porosity hair. You can then proceed with the above suggestions based on your hair type.

Understanding the Process

Water evaporates from our hair. There are ingredients that slow down this process and help keep your hair hydrated for long periods of time by creating a barrier around your hair.

You can slow down water loss in the following ways

Using occlusive ingredients: Heavy oils, butters, mineral oil, lanolin etc are occlusive ingredients that create a barrier and slow down water loss.

Film Forming Polymers: Aloe Gel, Pectin Gels, Flaxseed Gel Marshallow root gels are all examples of natural gels that create a barrier or gel cast. This is a film that slows down water loss. Unlike occlusives, these films aren’t as effective unless paired with a more water-resistant film former like those found in styling gels such as acrylates,copolymers, pvp and styling polyquats

How often should you moisturize your hair?

If you have highly porous hair your risk of rapid water loss is going to be higher than someone whose hair is less porous. Processed hair(relaxed, color treated, bleached) is going to be more porous than hair that isn’t.

I moisturize my hair once a week. If you find yourself having to moisturize your hair daily, it is likely that you don’t have a good enough barrier to slow down water loss or you may have product build-up that is preventing your hair from getting properly hydrated.

Many people who suffer from dry hair are actually experiencing the effects of product build-up. I don’t use a lot of products on my hair, apply product once a week and use a clarifying shampoo to ensure that my hair is properly cleansed. If you use multiple products and, or are very heavy-handed with product, it is important that you cleanse your hair frequently to remove product build. When the products you use seem to no longer work or your hair doesn’t seem to be behaving the way it should it may be a sign of product build-up.